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Wadham Reads

Wadham runs a book club for Year 12 students in UK state schools or sixth-form colleges.

Registration for the 2026 book club programme has now closed.

Students work with Wadham's Tutor for English, Dr Douglas Clark

Wadham Reads encourages students to share their own ideas

Student ambassadors support discussions and share their lived experiences

Why Wadham Reads?

Wadham Reads bridges the gap between studying literature at A Level and at university. We aim to provide Year 12 students with a taste of analysing texts at degree level, using commonly studied A Level texts as a springboard for broader discussion on their literary contexts and themes.

How does it work?

The programme consists of 3 online sessions spread across the summer term, as well as a final invite for an in-person Wadham Reads Day in Oxford. You can find out more about this year's visit here.

This year's online sessions were based on the theme 'Possible Worlds':

  1. Prose: Utopian Thinking with Dr Douglas Clark
  2. Drama: The World as Stage - As You Like It with Dr Clark
  3. Poetry: Portuguese Poetry and Empire with Dr Catriona Parry

Session 3 introduced students to poetry in translation, encouraging them to consider studying English alongside a beginner's language.

Each session involves:

  • a short lecture from a Wadham tutor
  • breakout room discussion with current Wadham students
  • Wadham students share their discussions with the wider group, allowing tutors to provide feedback and answer questions
  • general Q&A with tutors and current students on studying and living at Oxford

“I’ve been introduced to new literary concepts and ideas that have enhanced my love for the subject... It’s also just made doing English at Oxford feel far less intimidating and like something I could actually pursue.”