Wadham Summer Schools 2024

We are able to run the most extensive summer school programme of any Oxford college thanks to the support of our generous donors and alumni. Each August, we hold five-day residential summer schools in Climate Change, Classics, and Modern Languages for Year 12 pupils in UK state schools or sixth-form colleges. The week of classes, tutorials, and workshops, while staying in college accommodation, mirrors closely the undergraduate experience at Oxford and Wadham.

This year, the summer school students have enjoyed learning with tutors, current Wadham students, and peers who are as passionate about their subject as they are. The experience has helped them to make informed choices about their direction of future study. All students received support from current undergraduates and from our Academic Office team members on making successful applications to top universities.

UCAS evaluation shows that the summer school participants are significantly more likely to apply to, receive an offer from, and accept a place at a top university, including Oxford. In the last three years, almost three quarters of the summer school students applied to Oxford and just under half of the participants received offers. We have been delighted to welcome some summer school students from previous years back to Wadham as undergraduates. We look forward to seeing what the 2024 cohort do next and hope to see some of them again.

Wadham aspires to become a beacon of fair access and academic excellence. Our vision for Access to Excellence includes securing funding for every step of the educational journey – from pre-16 outreach to increased support for our students and graduates. Thanks to our donors, including Foundation Fellow John McCall MacBain (Jurisprudence, 1980) and the McCall McBain Foundation, which funds the Modern Languages summer school, and John Howie (Botany, 1990), whose support enabled us to launch the Climate Change summer school in 2023, Wadham is breaking new ground with our access programme. We aim to raise aspirations and attract talent through summer schools, school visits, and online support.

Applications for next year's summer schools will open in February 2025.

Find out more about how you can support our extensive access work.