Each year, thousands of school-age students from across the UK find themselves transported to different times, places and cultures through inspiring, hands-on learning experiences at the Ashmolean Museum.

'I really want young people to feel as though this museum belongs to them,' says Clare Cory, the Ashmolean's Education Officer: Secondary and Young People. 'I want them to know that they can visit whenever they're in Oxford, that they can bring their friends and family with them, that these are their objects.'

Since being appointed to the post in 2014, Clare has spent a lot of time developing the number and variety of sessions available to secondary schools inside the museum, as well as exploring the opportunities that exist for young people outside the school day. Last year, almost 9,000 students aged between 11 and 18 took part in the programme, which consists of taught gallery sessions, A-Level study days, free exhibition visits and extra-curricular activities.

'A key part of my job is to use the museum's world-class collections to bring alive the connections between cultures, places and times for students,' explains Clare. This ethos drives all aspects of the programme, with pupils encouraged to formulate questions, explore themes and develop lines of enquiry based on the objects and artworks they encounter in the museum. During a taught gallery session, for example, participants might use Turner's painting of the High Street to learn about perspective, or an ancient coin to consider aspects of the Roman Empire.

For older secondary school pupils, Clare has found a way to deepen this engagement even further. Shortly after starting in the role, she initiated a series of A-Level study days focused around the museum's collections – object-rich sessions that connect sixth-form students with leading academics from across the University. 'This is a unique opportunity that we are able to offer as a University museum,' she notes. 'It really helps to bring our collection to life for the young people who sign up.'

But while a large portion of the museum's secondary education programme is targeted at students, they aren't the only beneficiaries of Clare's hard work. The Ashmolean also offers teachers – both trainee and more experienced educators – the opportunity to learn about integrating teaching from objects into their lessons. 'We have a lot of expertise to offer in this area, and work with teachers across a range of subject areas including history, art and design and classics,' says Clare.

Another strand of the secondary education programme seeks to engage with young people outside the school day. Two years ago, Clare began CREATIVES – a young people's panel that gives local sixth form students a chance to go behind-the-scenes at the museum in their free time. Participants get together once a month to handle objects, learn about the collections, meet with museum staff, and plan and deliver events for other young people through workshops and at Live Fridays.

The experience, Clare explains, has been instrumental in helping those involved to develop transferable skills and discover their own strengths. 'I've seen a visible growth in confidence in a number of the participants,' she says. 'When the group works on an event, they have to think very carefully about everything from health and safety through to conservation, promotion and engaging with members of the public, so it's been an extremely valuable process for them.'

Earlier this year, the Ashmolean successfully raised the funds it needed to secure the secondary education programme for a further three years. Following the success of the appeal, Clare is now pressing ahead with ambitious plans for the coming year, including an expansion of the CREATIVES programme and a new project working with asylum seekers and refugees from a local school.

As she explains: 'The funding enables us to develop and extend our existing programmes, as well as deepen the relationships we have with our schools and audiences. Thanks to our donors, we can help a whole new generation to feel that the museum belongs to them.'

The Ashmolean's Teach and Inspire appeal received generous support from CHK Charities Ltd, Rothschild Foundation, Geoffrey and Caroline de Jager, a family trust and over 100 members of the public.