Wadham’s 2026 Summer School opens doors to Oxford

This year, we were delighted to welcome participants from all over the UK for our Classics, Modern Languages and Climate Change Summer Schools, held from August 17-21.

Over five days, Summer School students experienced life as an Oxford undergraduate: took part in academic sessions and tutorials, lived in College, explored Oxford, and met current Wadham students. They also received information, advice and guidance to help them think about university applications and their next steps after Year 12.

Our Summer Schools are free to attend and are designed to give pupils from across the UK an insight into studying at the University of Oxford, both academically and socially. We are delighted to see that the experience stands participants in good stead for their university applications. From the 2025 cohort, one in four of the Summer School attendees received an offer from Oxford, achieved the grades, and will be starting here in October.

Hot off the heels of multiple UK heatwaves, participants on our Climate Change Summer School explored one of the defining challenges of our time from a range of academic perspectives. Sessions covered the impact of drought and flooding on plants, environmental macroeconomics, health and society, biochemistry and more.

“Year after year, the students demonstrate incredible enthusiasm towards tackling climate change through many different angles. This is reflected in their final group presentations on a climate change topic of their choosing, which are always a highlight for all. From Africa’s Great Green Wall initiative to the importance of fungal networks, the diverse range of challenges and solutions presented by the students are innovative, exciting, and very well-researched.”

Ashley Bang, Researcher, Department of Biology, and Summer School tutor

Our Classics students spent the week discovering the many different ways in which the ancient world can be studied at university.

Alongside seminars and classes at Wadham, students had the chance to explore Oxford's outstanding resources for the study of the ancient world, including the Ashmolean museum, and experience the kind of discussion and close analysis that characterises Classics at university.

“This year's cohort of budding Classicists were as talented, witty, enthusiastic, and frighteningly clever a group as any of us could have hoped for. They threw themselves into the week and were a delight to get to know. They will all do wonderful things; hopefully Wadham will be lucky enough to have them.”

Noah Mitchell, Student Ambassador, 4th Year Classics student, Wadham

Students attending our Modern Languages Summer School experienced the variety of language and literature teaching available at Oxford, and the incredible resources on hand, like those at the Taylor Institution Library.

Through classes, seminars and activities, they were encouraged to explore familiar languages in new ways while also getting a taste of languages and areas of study they may not previously have encountered.

“It was so inspiring and invigorating to spend the week with a group of linguists who are as passionate about and committed to studying languages as we are. The students engaged brilliantly and curiously with material across five languages (at least!), spanning five centuries and multiple continents, getting a sense of the huge variety of teaching that takes place in the Faculty. It was a great reminder of what an exciting and thriving Modern Languages community we have not only at Wadham, but across the UK."

Catriona Parry, Departmental Lecturer in Portuguese, Wadham, and Summer School tutor

The Summer Schools are about more than academic classes. Throughout the week, students had the chance to experience what living and studying at Wadham is really like.

As well as taking part in the academic programme, students received guidance on applying to university and experienced Oxford-style teaching first-hand.

Our student ambassadors were on hand throughout the week to answer questions about Oxford, share their own experiences of university life and help students settle into College.

There was also time away from the classroom to explore Oxford and to bond as a group. Among the fun activities was our annual photo for the Summer School students and we congratulate the talented winners.

We have loved welcoming another talented and enthusiastic group of students to Wadham and hope that the week has given them confidence, inspiration and a clearer sense of what studying at Oxford could be like.

A huge thank you goes to our tutors, student ambassadors and Access team for making the week possible, and to our donors, whose generosity enables us to offer the Summer Schools free of charge.

We are grateful 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 made it possible for 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. Find out more about our ambition for future generations and how you can support our schools and outreach work.