“I never thought Oxford was a place I’d ever end up”

These are the words of Joshua Chima as he reflects on his journey from Manningham to the prestigious university - and the huge role his mum played.

The former St Bede’s Grammar School student always had a “distant dream” of studying law at the world-famous institution.

He is now on a mission to rebalance the scales – no matter who you are or where you grew up.

“It was just me and my mum for my whole life,” Joshua told the Telegraph & Argus.

“When I was younger she was trying to seek refugee status in the UK. In the early 2010s she managed to get her status.

“It was a bit tough growing up.

“I never thought Oxford was a place I’d ever end up. It was like a distant dream.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Joshua Chima during his school days in Bradford. Pictures: Joshua Chima Joshua Chima during his school days in Bradford. Pictures: Joshua Chima (Image: UGC)

“I didn’t grow up knowing anybody in the professional industry. The only person I knew in the industry was my mum’s immigration lawyer.”

By the time Joshua’s mother was eligible to work, her qualifications from Zambia had expired.

She returned to education, earnt her GCSEs and graduated with a university degree.

Joshua said: “We had no family around in the area or in the country. She raised me by herself, put herself back in school. She was working two cleaning jobs. She always did volunteering. It shows me the struggles I’m going through compared to what she’s been through, they’re not that big.

“She was like, ‘if I can do this you have no excuse’.

“I decided to be stubborn and do four A Levels when teachers told me to do three, apply for Oxford.”

After winning the Scott Wagland Gemma Curtis Bursary from Eversheds Sutherland, he joined the university in 2020.

He is now in his final year and treasurer at the Oxford Union.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Joshua Chima went viral online when he shared this inspiring image of himself and nine other black freshers at the University of Oxford. As part of the caption, he said: Times are changing. Joshua Chima went viral online when he shared this inspiring image of himself and nine other black freshers at the University of Oxford. As part of the caption, he said: Times are changing. (Image: UGC)

The family’s journey became clear when Joshua brought his mum to one of Oxford’s iconic 190-year-old debates.

Joshua’s story comes after The 1% Study recently found just 90 partners from over 13,000 partners at major law firms in England and Wales are black.

In a message to other young people dreaming big, he said: “The key thing is giving back to the community so there’s a few people from my school who aspire to go to Oxford and do things like this. I give them coaching.

“I remember where I came from. The multiculturalism in Bradford is something I just love. All my friends were different backgrounds and bringing that here [to Oxford] is so important.

“If you had no barriers on what you wanted to achieve, what would you go for? Go for it.”

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