The University in the community

• More than 15,000 people take part each year in courses offered by the University’s Department for Continuing Education, making us the fourth largest provider of continuing education in the UK. It offers more than 600 short and part-time courses in and around Oxford and online.

• Students on the Department of Education’s Postgraduate Certificate in Educational Studies (PGCE) work in 25 Oxfordshire comprehensive schools. Oxford graduates are regularly recruited by Teach First, a teacher-training programme that places exceptional graduates in challenging secondary schools.

• The University’s colleges and departments undertake a wide range of outreach work in local schools and across the community. In early 2008, 14 modern languages students spent time in 5 Oxfordshire state schools helping GCSE students to increase their confidence and oral skills in French and German. Our long-running Classics outreach programme continues to offer events and activities for students of all ages, with fun, informative and imaginative ways to learn and think beyond the confines of the curriculum.

See education links:

• Department for Continuing Education
• Teach First

• Each of Oxford’s museums has its own education service, as well as a Community Education Officer who works across the museums to develop lasting relationships with local groups and develop programmes to increase access to the collections for everyone.

• As well as running their own lively education and families programmes, our museums contribute to monthly object-handling and creative activity sessions for children at the Oxfordshire Hospital School. This provides education for school students who have been admitted to hospital and who would not otherwise be able to visit the museums.

See museum links:

• Visiting Museums, Libraries and Places of Interest
• University of Oxford Museums and Collections
• Oxfordshire Hospital School

• More than 8 million visitors come to Oxford each year to visit the University, its colleges, museums and galleries, gardens and theatres. Venues such as the Sheldonian Theatre and the Holywell Music Room host year-round programmes of concerts and other cultural events that are open to everyone.

• In addition, we provide funding and other support for local cultural bodies such as Oxford Inspires, the Oxford Playhouse and the Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board. We also take part in city-wide cultural events such as Opening Doors, Opening Minds and the annual Heritage Open Days.

• Oxford runs a range of activities to encourage local schools to take part in curriculum-enriching projects. These include the Oxford University Science Roadshow, which in March 2008 saw Oxford scientists visit selected schools around the county to give workshops and public lectures to the local community.

• We also support events in the city of Oxford for national projects, such as the Kids' Lit Quiz, an annual international literature competition aimed at motivating children and young people to read for pleasure.

See events and activities links:

• Sheldonian Theatre
• Oxford Inspires
• Oxford Playhouse
• Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board
  
• Opening Doors, Opening Minds
• Heritage Open Days
• Oxford University Science Roadshow
• Kids' Lit Quiz

• Oxford University Student Union’s Vice-President for Charities and Community works to co-ordinate and develop student volunteering, and puts local charities and community groups in touch with Oxford students.

• Many of our students volunteer their time with local organisations and charities. JACARI, for example, links students from Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University with local children who need help with reading, writing and speaking English. JACARI volunteers visit children in their own homes for an hour or so a week, meeting their parents and often becoming good friends with the whole family.

• Another joint initiative of Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University, the CommUniSports scheme, runs coaching and other sports projects in the local community. More than 185 volunteers and 1,200 local children have taken part since it began in 2003. The scheme, which offers a range of courses from one-off taster sessions to weekly term-time programmes, has also worked with a range of community groups such as the Oxford Crime Reduction Initiative.
  

• Many students also volunteer their time with KEEN.  KEEN is a charity run jointly by students from Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University which provides activities for children and young people with special needs.  Each week of the Oxford University term, KEEN runs sports, drama and social sessions.  Student volunteers run the sessions and provide one-to-one support for the children and young people who attend.

See voluntary work links:

• JACARI
• CommUniSports
• KEEN