Classroom & career
The University of Oxford is not only for the academics and students fortunate enough to study within its walls; it is a resource for everyone. At a time when access to education, skills, and career support is critical for social mobility and economic resilience, Oxford recognises its responsibility to serve the wider community. We want to empower individuals at every stage of life, whether they are exploring new interests, reskilling for a changing world of work, or seeking guidance and confidence to pursue meaningful careers.
Education should open doors, not only for those enrolled at the University, but for people at every stage of life.
Across our divisions, departments, colleges, and professional services teams, Oxford is working to widen access to learning and strengthen pathways into meaningful employment. Academic departments are sharing their expertise through outreach and enrichment, access programmes, and careers specialists to support learners from school age through to mid-career transitions.
Alongside research-informed initiatives, a wide range of practical programmes, outreach programmes such as mentoring schemes, employability workshops, school partnerships, and community learning projects, are helping eliminate barriers to opportunity in our community and beyond.
Below you can explore some of the ways that our departments, colleges, and staff, and students are working to expand access to education and supporting career development.
Opening pathways through language and creativity
The Queen’s Translation Exchange (QTE) encourages young people to engage with languages and international culture through creative learning and national outreach. Its flagship Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators engages over 22,000 students from 400+ schools each year, bringing literary translation into classrooms across the UK. Alongside this, QTE trains university students as Creative Translation Ambassadors, creating a pathway that connects classroom learning with higher education and future careers in languages.
Bringing hidden histories into today's classrooms
Invisible East, based within Oxford Lifelong Learning, uncovers the hidden history of medieval Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia. Working across Arabic, Persian, Judeo-Persian, Hebrew and several other languages, the team transcribes, translates and digitises previously unknown texts, revealing new perspectives on everyday life, cultural exchange and religious diversity across the medieval Islamicate East.
Building on this research, Invisible East creates opportunities for learners of all ages to engage directly with history. Through workshops in UK secondary schools, online sessions with students in Afghanistan, UNIQ taster sessions, the University of Oxford's travelling Oxplore Festival, and Oxford Lifelong Learning courses, participants work with original historical sources, explore the ethics of cultural heritage and discover how historians reconstruct the past from surviving fragments.
To date, the programme has reached approximately 1,000 young people, working with teachers and educational organisations to develop engaging, curriculum-relevant activities. Its freely available teaching resources help bring overlooked histories into classrooms, encouraging curiosity, critical thinking and a broader understanding of cultures and communities.
Where culture builds confidence
Since 2016, the Iffley Academy Partnership has brought together Oxford University Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM) and The Iffley Academy to create meaningful cultural learning opportunities for young people with complex Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) primarily autistic spectrum conditions and moderate learning disabilities. Each year, around 50 pupils achieve nationally recognised Arts Awards while taking part in museum-based learning, exhibition curation, consultation, and career experiences that build confidence, creativity and independence. In addition to creative and practical arts projects in 2022 a museum grade case was installed at the school. This enables students to work with a range of GLAM staff to co-curate exhibitions allowing students own ideas and agendas to emerge via selection of objects and wording of labels. Students also help shape more inclusive cultural spaces through accessibility consultancy, demonstrating how their ideas and insights benefit wider audiences via benefit gain whereby improving access for one group of visitors enables better access for all visitors. The partnership contributed to Iffley Academy achieving Artsmark Platinum status, placing it among the top 9% of schools nationally, and was recognised with the University's 2026 Vice-Chancellor's Local Community Engagement Award for its lasting impact through education, inclusion and partnership.
“I’ve learned so many new skills and the placement has given me independence and confidence especially when talking to people… I am more comfortable with flexibility within a new routine. Working in the museum has turned my life around and given me a purpose. It was the best decision I have ever made.”
Learning across life
Real-World Skills, Real Career Pathways
Apprenticeships at the University of Oxford provide flexible, practical routes into skilled employment while supporting career development at every stage. Open to both new entrants and existing staff, they combine paid work with structured learning, enabling people to gain recognised qualifications, develop in-demand skills, and progress in rewarding careers.
For school leavers and early-career applicants, apprenticeships offer accessible pathways into roles across the University. Existing staff can develop new skills, advance within their profession, or transition into new career areas, reflecting Oxford's commitment to lifelong learning and continuous development. Oxford currently supports around 290 apprentices and has helped more than 500 people complete apprenticeship programmes since 2021. Approximately 80% of new entrants secure a permanent role or progress to a higher-level apprenticeship. In recognition of this impact, the University was named Best Apprenticeship Employer at the Oxfordshire Enterprise Awards 2025.
Programmes span a wide range of sectors, including Business Administration, Finance, Human Resources, Laboratory Science, Engineering, Horticulture, Facilities Services, Coaching, Management, and AI and Data. Beyond the workplace, Apprentice Ambassadors support school visits, careers events and science fairs, helping inspire the next generation and promote apprenticeships as a valuable pathway into employment.
“I highly recommend the University apprenticeship programme, praising the support, opportunities, and sense of belonging it provides to every apprentice”
External engagement
Partnerships, research, collaboration and resources form a connected portfolio, linking activity from local communities to global contexts and creating impact beyond the University.
