University experience

Oxford is an iconic and renowned university with an impressive history. As the oldest university in the English-speaking world, Oxford is a unique and historic institution. There is no clear date of foundation, but teaching existed at Oxford in some form in 1096 and developed rapidly from 1167.

There are 39 Colleges within Oxford and around 100 major academic departments, from medical sciences to humanities. Oxford also boosts some impressive accolades including ranking first in the world in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

There are over 24,000 students at Oxford, including 11,955 undergraduates and 12,010 postgraduates. Oxford is also very competitive: more than 23,000 people have applied in each of the last three admissions cycles, and there are usually only around 3,300 places. Oxford is also home to a multicultural community. International students make up almost 45% of the total student body with  students from more than 160 countries and territories.

There are many famous alumni who studied at Oxford including the actor Riz Ahmed, The poet TS Eliot, Professor Stephen Hawkins (physicist) and Mark Thompson, CEO of the New York Times Company and former Director-General of the BBC.

Location

Oxford university buildings and colleges are located across the city centre in stunning buildings. The journey time from The Spireworks is also a few minutes’ walk to the various colleges. 

Oxford train station offers regular services to other parts of the UK and the Oxford tube bus service runs 24/7 and reaches London in around 1 hour 40 minutes.