Applications are now open for Oriel College’s Year 12 Study Day residentials, which will take place between the 29 March and 2 April 2026.
About the Programmes
These four residentials Study Days are designed to give Year 12 students from non-selective UK state schools who are considering applying to competitive universities an insight into what life and study is like at an Oxford college. This year, the Study Days will be Classics (29–30 March); English (30–31 March); Women and Non-Binary Students in STEM (31 March–1 April)*; Music (1–2 April). On the first day of each residential, students will arrive at Oriel College in the afternoon, enjoying activities led by Student Ambassadors and the Oriel College Outreach team. The second day will consist of various academic taster activities led by university academics and outreach professionals, to provide more insight into the courses on offer at the university.
All expenses (accommodation at Oriel, meals, and activities) are funded thanks to the generosity of an Oxford alumnus. Reasonable public transport travel costs to Oxford to attend a Study Day will also be reimbursed. For further information about what travel costs will be reimbursed, please contact Carys Owen, Outreach Manager, at outreach@oriel.ox.ac.uk .
To apply for a place on one of our Study Days, students must satisfy the following criteria:
- Currently in Year 12 at a UK state school
- Predicted A-Level grades or equivalent qualifications which meet the University of Oxford’s standard offer for the relevant undergraduate degree course (see the university website for full details)
- Interest in studying a degree level course relevant to the chosen Study Day discipline
*Place allocations for the Women and Non-Binary Students in STEM Study Day, hosted in conjunction with University College, will take place separately and is only open to students who have signed up to the Bright Matter programme and have attended at least one online session. Eligible students will be invited to attend one of the Study Days being run by the participating colleges (St Anne’s, St Catherine’s, St Hilda’s, Magdalen, Mansfield, Oriel, and University College). For more information about Bright Matter, please see here.
In this case of oversubscription, applications for the three Oriel Study Days will also be prioritised based on the following criteria:
- Studying at a non-selective state school
- Studying at a school with limited history of progression to Oxbridge
- Eligibility for Free School Meals
- Experience of being in care, present or past
- No parental/guardian history of attending university
- Home postcodes in IMD (Index of Multiple Deprivation) quintiles 1 and 2, and POLAR-4 quintiles 1 and 2
- No experience of other Oxford outreach events
- Studying at a school in one of Oriel’s link regions
Students will also not be accepted onto multiple Study Days, so must only apply to one.
For any further questions about the Study Days, please contact outreach@oriel.ox.ac.uk.
How to apply
Students can apply for a place on the Study Days using the online forms below. In this form you should also provide an email address for a teacher at your school, who may be contacted for a short reference in support of your application.
The deadline to apply for all of this year’s Study Days (excepting Women and Non-Binary Students in STEM) is 11.45pm on Sunday 15 February. Due to the volume of applications we receive, no late applications will be considered.
To be considered for the Women and Non-Binary Students in STEM Study Day (31 March–1 April), or one of the other Bright Matter Study Days taking place across the University, please ensure you have participated in the Bright Matter programme.