Exploring the City of Oxford
Students make the most of the city at the weekend. Oxford is a vibrant modern city, with plentiful cafés, shops, pubs, theatres, cinemas and restaurants and is just eight miles from the School.
There’s lots on offer. There are seven permanent theatres including Oxford Playhouse, and numerous others which spring up across the city in the summer months. The School has strong links with The North Wall Arts Centre and Pegasus Theatre. Theatre companies that regularly visit Oxford include English Touring Theatre, Headlong, Wise Children and Frantic Assembly. Also within striking distance are London Theatres, Birmingham Rep Theatre, The Watermill in Newbury and Warwick Arts Centre. The Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford upon Avon is just 40 minutes away by car.
The city hosts a plethora of live music venues and the Cowley Road Carnival is held annually each July. There are two world-renowned museums, the Ashmolean and the Natural History Museum plus the contemporary visual arts gallery, Modern Art Oxford as well as a variety of cinemas. There are two rivers running through Oxford where you can punt, lots of green spaces and even woodland if you venture a little out of the city.
Transport within Oxford is good – great bus services and lots of cycle lanes. There’s good public transport linking Oxford and Woodstock and it’s also easy, quick and relatively inexpensive to get to London by train – frequent (every 10 mins during peak time) and by bus.
The majority of our Students live in Kidlington, a busy town about five miles from Oxford which has a good range of shops including two large supermarkets, banks, hairdressers, takeaways and pubs, and excellent access to Oxford. Other options on the school bus route are Yarnton and Begbroke, which are quiet, well-placed villages halfway between Oxford and the School.
If you want to make the most of country living, Woodstock is a beautiful historic town only a couple of miles from the School. It has the gentrified feel of many Oxfordshire towns but with plenty of restaurants, pubs, wine bars and hotels, plus a museum and library, it has lots going on and the added advantage of being only 15 minutes from the School by bicycle.
Travel To The School
The School provides a subsidised bus service from Oxford city centre, Woodstock Road, Kidlington, Begbroke, Yarnton and Woodstock to the School. We advise students to live in easy walking distance of the school bus pick up points. If students are living in Woodstock they can also walk (approximately 30 minutes) to the School.
Accommodation
The School does not have student accommodation onsite. Students on the One/Three Year courses generally house share, usually North of Oxford (just 8 miles from the School) or in towns and villages surrounding the School (Kidlington, Woodstock etc). A list of local estate agents will be provided and students can get in touch with each other during the Summer to find a private rental together.
As the Foundation Courses are only six months long, the majority of students on the course stay with local host families, and the School provides a list of local families known to the School.
The Oxford School of Drama
The School is on Stratford Lane on the outskirts of Woodstock in a stunning set of old converted farm buildings. It is made up of studio and theatre spaces within its own gardens surrounded on all sides with views of the Oxfordshire countryside.
Yarnton
Other options on the school bus route are Yarnton and Begbroke, which are quiet, well-placed villages halfway between Oxford and the School.
Woodstock
If you want to make the most of country living, Woodstock is a beautiful, historic town only a couple of miles from the School. It has the gentrified feel of many Oxfordshire towns and although it is small, it has plenty of restaurants, pubs, wine bars and hotels, plus a museum and library and the added advantage of being only 15 minutes from the School by bicycle or 35 minute walk across the fields.
Oxford Parkway Train Station
This is the closest (15 minutes by car) train station to the School and has good links to London (Marylebone).
Taylor Institution Library
The bus bay outside of the Taylor Institution Library is the first pick up point on the School’s bus route.
Kidlington
The majority of our Students live in Kidlington; a busy town conveniently located between the School and Oxford City Centre. It has a good range of shops including two large supermarkets, banks, hairdressers, takeaways and pubs, and good public transport links to the city centre.
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