Living in Oxford

Newcomers' Club
An organisation based at the University Club, which welcomes the wives, husbands and partners of visiting scholars, of graduate students and of newly appointed academic members of the University. It offers help, advice, information and the opportunity to meet others socially.

Oxford area Higher Education Staff LGBT network
A social network for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender staff at the University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University and Oxford University Press.

Oxford Women’s Network
A social and professional network for female staff and students at the University.

Sports facilities
University staff are eligible to use the University Sports Centre. Most facilities are based at the sports complex on Iffley Road, which includes an athletics stadium, football pitch, tennis courts, and swimming pool. Membership charges and some booking charges apply.

Student clubs and societies
There are over 400 student-run clubs and societies across the collegiate University, many of which are open to staff. They range from drama and music to over 80 different sports clubs.

University Club
The University Club welcomes university and college staff and graduate students. The Club offers a bar, café, gym, all-weather pitch, sports field and accommodation for members and guests.  

Lectures and talks which are open to members of the University are listed in the Gazette, which is published weekly from September to July. Talks and events that are open to members of the University and to the public are listed in the Events section of the Staff Gateway.

Courses in a range of foreign languages are run by the University Language Centre, which is located on Woodstock Road. The Centre supports University and college staff who need foreign languages for research, study and personal and professional development.

The University’s Department for Continuing Education offers over 600 short and part-time courses, including evening and weekend classes, residential and summer schools, undergraduate and graduate level qualifications, and professional development programmes.

Further information

• Gazette

• Events

• Language Centre

• Department for Continuing Education

The city hosts a series of events and festivals throughout the year, including:

• Oxford Science Festival, a three-week festival in March, which aims to engage and enthuse people about science.

• Oxford International Women’s Festival, a two-week festival in March, which celebrates the achievements of women.

• Oxford Literary Festival, a week-long literary festival held in Christ Church in late March or early April.

• Oxford Folk Festival, a three-day festival held in venues in central Oxford in April.

• Oxford Jazz Festival, a four-day festival held in venues in central Oxford in April.

• May Day, when the choristers of Magdalen College School sing an invocation to summer from the top of Magdalen College Great Tower at 6am on 1 May.

• Artweeks, a visual arts festival held during May, when artists and crafts people open their homes and studios to the public.

• Oxford May Music, a classical music festival combining concerts and lectures that explore music, science and literature.

• Oxford Pride, a one-week festival in June, which brings together lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and transsexual communities.

• Oxfringe, a two-week festival in June, which features music, literature, comedy and theatre.

• Cowley Road Carnival, a one-day carnival held in East Oxford in July involving dance, theatre, and music.

• Oxford Open Doors, a weekend event in September when University and city venues open their doors to the public.

• Oxford Lieder Festival, a two-week festival of song, which takes place in late October.

Oxford’s museums, including the Ashmolean, Pitt Rivers, and Museum of Natural History, contain collections of international importance. Details of events and exhibitions can be found in the Gazette and the What’s On section of the University website.

Each of the University’s museums has its own education service to develop programmes to increase public access to the collections. If you are interested in volunteering to help with tours and activities for visitors and local family groups, visit the Volunteers page on the Museums website. 

Further information

• Museums and collections

• Volunteering in the University’s museums

The collegiate University has a long and distinguished reputation in music. Some college choirs, such as the Christ Church, Magdalen and New College choirs, can be traced back centuries. Oxford Philomusica is the University’s professional orchestra in residence, while the Oxford University Orchestra is a student orchestra of professional calibre.

The city also has a thriving music scene. Jazz venues include The Spin at the Wheatsheaf (High Street) and the Backroom at the Bullingdon Arms (Bullingdon Road), while the Oxford Academy and The Regal (Cowley Road) host both local and international bands. Oxford Contemporary Music promotes a wide range of new music, from contemporary classical music to experimental rock and world music.

Further information

• Faculty of Music events

• Oxford Philomusica

• Oxford Coffee Concerts

• What to see and do in Oxford

• Oxford Contemporary Music (OCM)

Oxford boasts a large amount of green space, including beautiful riverside walks, the University Parks, the oldest botanic garden in the country, and college gardens. Just outside the city, you can enjoy Harcourt Arboretum, which contains one of the finest collections of mature trees in the country, and Wytham Woods, a 400-hectare expanse of woodland and grassland.

Further information

• University Parks

• Botanic Garden

• Harcourt Arboretum

• Wytham Woods

Theatres in Oxford include:

• The Oxford Playhouse

• The New Theatre 

• The Burton Taylor Studio 

• The Pegasus Theatre

There are a number of resident theatre companies in Oxford, including Creation Theatre Company and the Oxford Shakespeare Company, which specialises in open-air theatre.

Cinema-goers have a choice of four cinemas in the city:

• Phoenix Picture House on Walton Street

• Odeon cinemas on George Street and Magdalen Street

• Ultimate Picture Palace, just off Cowley Road

• Vue multiplex on the outskirts of Oxford