Daniel Dipper has overcome the barriers to success on his path to Oxford (Picture: John Cairns)
As the first in his family to attend university, Daniel Dipper has set the bar high with a place at Oxford.
The 20-year-old is nearing the day when his parents will watch him graduate despite being told ‘don’t even think about it’ by teachers who doubted his application would succeed.
He also had to overcome the obstacles presented by going to a state school in an area with one of the worst levels of social mobility in the UK.
Daniel, from Peterborough, is now considered ‘queen bee’ on campus after landing his coveted place with support from Zero Gravity, a social mobility tech company.
But at one point even his dad had doubts he would study in the city of dreaming spires.
‘The main challenges included the application process where there were lots of stages and conflicting information about how to go about it,’ Daniel says.
‘There was also the time challenge where I had to prep for the process while doing my A-levels but not getting as much support as students at other schools might get.
Daniel Dipper has acclimatised to life at Oxford after being supported by the Zero Gravity online platform (Picture: John Cairns)
‘I also had teachers say, “you’re not Oxbridge material, so don’t even think about it”, so there was a bit of judgement associated there.
‘There was also a challenge to adjust as students from independent schools might come with friends or family to university but I didn’t have that network, so I had to make it myself.
‘You have to deal with the pressure of wanting to do your best while quickly learning to live away from home.’
Daniel went to school in Fenland, ranked as the second-worst place in the UK for social mobility according to government-commissioned research.
His dad left school with only his GCSEs before working in computer software while his mum stayed at home to look after him after he was born.
Daniel was one of three students in the first ever cohort from his state school to achieve an Oxbridge place, despite not even having known what the phrase was until Year 12. He sealed the deal with A*s in history and maths and As in geography and chemistry.
The school leaver overcame another challenge of starting at Magdelene College in 2020 during the pandemic and came down with the infection during his first term.
Daniel Dipper has settled into life at Oxford University as a DJ and voice for accessibility issues (Picture: Daniel Dipper/Zero Gravity)
He has since become a popular character on campus, where he is working to improve accessibility for those with similar backgrounds to his own.
The History and Politics student lists one of his highlights as DJing for around 400 people at Lady Margaret Hall college’s ball last year.
Having been behind the decks since the age of 15, first playing at a local social club for birthdays and the occasional wedding, he brought his equipment to campus and now plays regular gigs under the name ‘DJ Dan’.
‘The ball went onto 5am on May morning when the choir is singing from the top of the tower at 6am so it was quite a surreal experience,’ he says.
‘I’m sometimes doing three events a week and I might be playing some nightclubs next term as I have made some connections there.’
Another highlight was a term as vice president of the debating society and he has taken part in public discussions on imposter syndrome and social mobility issues. Crowned ‘number one name on campus’ by Cherwell, the university’s student newspaper, he was described as a ‘queen bee’ who was ‘working hard to improve access at the university’.
Daniel was supported in the application process by Zero Gravity, a tech-driven business helping students from low-income families land places at top universities, and is still involved with the platform as an expert panel member. Founder Joe Seddon, who grew up in a single parent family and went to state school, also broke barriers by going to Oxford.
He set the company up five years ago aged 21, using the last £200 of his student loan after graduating and running his brainchild from his childhood bedroom in Morley, West Yorkshire.
Joe Seddon started the Zero Gravity social mobility project from his childhood bedroom after university (Picture: Zero Gravity)
Joe is now considered one of Europe’s leading social entrepreneurs and was recognised in last year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 list for launching the platform, which has mentored more than 8,000 students to elite universities.
He describes Zero Gravity as the ‘first ever tech-driven business for social mobility’ with the aim of bridging the gap between talent and opportunity.
‘We use proprietary, game-changing technology to level the playing field for UK students to help them realise their university ambitions,’ Joe says.
‘Zero Gravity’s algorithm identifies talented students from low-income backgrounds while they’re still at school and then digitally connects them with mentors, masterclasses, and a membership community of students, to help them realise their full potential.
Daniel is now eyeing his graduation ceremony after three productive years at Oxford (Picture: John Cairns)
‘The platform works anytime, anywhere, and is available to low-income students across the UK completely for free.
‘We power school students into university, but we also provide university students with opportunities to build fantastic graduate careers.
‘Through the Zero Gravity platform, low-income undergraduates can have access to career mentors, masterclasses with industry-leading experts, as well as exclusive opportunities with major corporate partners such as HSBC.’
Daniel is now eyeing a place at business school and a possible job in consulting after his final exams in June.
Looking ahead to the big day, he says: ‘I think it will be very surreal, my parents have been quite a few times to see me but they’ve never seen the old buildings and the theatre where the ceremony takes place so it will mean quite a lot to them. I remember before I applied my dad said, “you can apply if you want to but I don’t think you’ll get in”.
‘Now my dad is telling people his son is at a university ranked as the best in the world, so it will no doubt be quite an emotional moment.’
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Daniel Dipper is the first member of his family to go to university after overcoming a series of hurdles.