Year 12 students from state schools and colleges across the UK are invited to join Lady Margaret Hall (one of our lovely Oxford colleges) for a Modern Languages and Linguistics Taster Day on Wednesday 22nd April.
Lady Margaret Hall Fisher Studios LTD
This Modern Languages and Linguistics Taster Day gives students the opportunity to experience the richness and diversity of our undergraduate degree programmes. Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) tutors will offer a series of taster workshops focusing on French literature and Spanish cinema, alongside introductory sessions to Portuguese, Russian and the study of Linguistics. These tasters will give an indication of the variety of areas and approaches that make up a Modern Languages course, which extends across literature, language, film, history, culture, and thought, and of the wide range of skills our students hone through their in-depth study.
The day will include a discussion of the Modern Languages and Linguistics application process at Oxford, a mock interview, and a Q&A with tutors and current undergraduate students in Modern Languages. All attendees will also have a tour of LMH with one of our student ambassadors and a free lunch in the college hall.
We welcome any Year 12 student from a UK state school who has a keen interest in languages and linguistics, who is studying at least one language (French, German, Spanish) at A-level, and is considering studying modern languages at university. No prior knowledge of a specific language or of linguistics is required in order to attend a taster session on that topic.
There are three new exciting tasks for pupils in Years 8 to 12, as well as our prestigious Camden House Book Proposal for postgraduates and early-career researchers at a UK university.
To clarify: Round 1 and Round 2 are separate competitions. You may enter both, but do not need to have entered Round 1 in order to enter Round 2.
Entries should be submitted via the online form. Please note that we cannot accept postal or email entries. Entries received by post, by email or after the deadline will not be considered.
The deadline to submit your entries is 26 March 2026 at 12 noon.
Results will be published on our website in June 2026. Winners and runners-up will be contacted by email and invited to a prize-giving ceremony at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, in June 2026.
St Anne’s College runs a Supercurricular club – a series of online seminars aimed at Year 12 students looking to explore their interests ahead of applying to university.
This year, St Anne’s will be running eight sessions on a range of different subjects (from pathogens to music to Japanese literature) at 4-5pm every Thursday from 16 April to 4 June 2026.
Each taster session will be one hour long and will introduce students to our researchers’ work, and what this subject area might be like to study at undergraduate level. Open to Year 12 students who would like to get a taste of their subject at this level and learn from an Oxford University academic!
A list of the session topics can be found below:
More information and recordings of last year’s sessions, including one on how to read a medieval poem (with our lovely Tutor in German Dr Anna Wilmore), can be found on the St Anne’s website here: St Anne’s Super-Curricular Club
Oxford’s University College, Magdalen College, and the Faculties of History and Modern Languages are delighted to announce that the virtual BAME Humanities Study Day will return for 2026 on Wednesday 8th April!
This event offers UK state school students with Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) heritage an exciting opportunity to engage with academic taster sessions from across the Humanities subjects, and also to access insight into Oxford student life and support with the admissions process.
The day will open with an introduction to the University of Oxford followed by the opportunity to attend two humanities subject lectures. Students will learn more about the Oxford application process in our subject-specific admissions workshops. The day will conclude with a live student life Q&A where you will have the opportunity to ask your questions to current Oxford students from BAME backgrounds.
Screenshot of the Q&A with undergraduates from the 2021 Humanities Study Day
For the academic lectures you will be able to choose from the following subjects:
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Classics
English
History
History of Art
Modern Languages
Linguistics
Philosophy
Theology.
You will be able to specify your preferred lectures on the application form. All lectures will be recorded and available to watch after the event. If you are unable to attend live on the day but would like access to the recordings and resources, then please still submit an application via the form below.
Before attending the subject day, I had no prior ideas about attending Oxford, nor was I really interested. This was mostly because I thought Oxford was an unreachable place for someone like me, a coloured girl who does not come from a highly prestigious background, which I believed Oxford to be the opposite. Attending the study day made me realise Oxford is actually a very accessible and open place for someone of my background…
– 2023 Study Day participant
Eligibility Criteria:
Year 12
Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic (BAME) Heritage
Attend a UK State School (unless you have extenuating circumstances or meet several of the priority criteria listed below)
If spaces are limited, priority will be given to students who meet one or more of the following: first generation in your family to attend university, have experience of being in care, are a young carer, are eligible for Free School Meals/Pupil Premium, are from an area of deprivation or area with a low rate of progression to university.
Applications are now OPEN and will close on 2nd March. You can apply via this online form.
If you have any questions about this event please email one of the organisers, Nuala Marshall (Senior Outreach & Access Officer, Magdalen College) at outreach@magd.ox.ac.uk.
Somerville College, Oxford offers an annual series of four virtual Study Days for Year 12 students attending a UK state school.
Prospective students and their families look around Somerville College
These days feature taster lectures or workshops run by Oxford University academics, which will offer a challenging and entertaining introduction to university-level study of the subject.
There will also be opportunities to hear advice from admissions and outreach staff about applying to Oxford and Cambridge, and to ask the college tutors and current undergraduates questions about their subject of interest.
The virtual Modern Languages Study Day will take place on Wednesday 18th February and the daily timetable for the day is as follows:
15:00-15:50: Admissions talk with Q&A 16:00-17:00: Academic taster session (attendees have a choice between 2 different subjects per day) 17:00-17:30: Subject Q&A with Academic and Student Ambassadors
The sessions are open to all Year 12 students at a UK state school who are considering a degree involving modern languages of any kind, whether that be French or another language.
For those still deciding what to apply for, we encourage you to attend in order to learn more about Modern Languages and what it might be like to study them at Oxford.
These sessions would also count as great examples of supercurricular activities, and might give you ideas about topics or further reading to include in the personal statement.
On Saturday 7th March 2026, the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages will be holding its annual Beginners’ Languages TasterDay, an event dedicated to our beginners’ languages courses. This event offers students from UK secondary schools in Year 12 or equivalent an opportunity to gain greater insight into studying a language from scratch at Oxford. Students in Year 11 who are starting to consider their options for university are also welcome to attend.
Our beginners’ languages degree courses offer an exciting and rare opportunity for undergraduates to study a new language from scratch and engage with new cultures along the way, or to pick up languages they learned up to GCSE but could not continue at school. The courses are challenging yet rewarding, with many designed to bring students up to A-level standard within the first year.
The Taster Day will take place in the University’s brand-new Humanities building, the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. After an information and Q&A session in the morning, students will have the chance to attend taster sessions in two of our beginners’ languages. There will also be a Q&A session for companions in the afternoon which offers parents/guardians/teachers the chance to ask a panel of academics, undergraduates, and Faculty staff questions about supporting their children/students through applying to and studying at Oxford.
Modern Languages Open Day 2022 photo (c) John Cairns
The following languages will be represented at the Taster Day, with academics and current undergraduates present to provide further information about the course(s) and to answer students’ questions:
German
Portuguese
Italian
Russian
Czech (with Slovak)
Modern Greek
Polish
The provisional event programme for 2026 can be found here.
To register for the Taster Day, students should fill out this form by 12 noon on Friday 13th February so we know who to expect at the event. Please note that spaces will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, and the form will close once our maximum capacity has been reached.
We are also pleased to be able to help students who are in need of additional financial support with reasonable expenses such as travelling to and from Oxford for the event. There is a space to include this information in the registration form.
Studying a language from scratch at Oxford
Our beginners’ languages courses offer an exciting and rare opportunity for students to engage with a new language and culture for the first time, or to pick up languages they studied at GCSE. The courses are challenging yet rewarding, with many designed to bring students up to A-level standard within the first year. Therefore, we would love to welcome students who are strong linguists and/or who are looking for a new challenge at University to this event.
As well as alongside a post-A-level language, most of our beginners’ languages can be studied in conjunction with subjects from the Humanities such as English, History, Linguistics, or Philosophy, for which applicants do not need to be studying a language to A-level or equivalent. With this in mind, we would also welcome students of Humanities subjects who are interested in picking up a language at University.
For further inspiration and information, below are some links to content from our tutors and undergraduates about why taking a language from scratch is so worthwhile:
Happy New Year everyone! We hope you had a wonderful time and enjoyed the festivities over the Christmas holidays.
A new year brings new opportunities to explore your options of studying Modern Languages at Oxford.
For example, on 21 February 2026, Exeter College is running an inspiring, immersive day dedicated to all things Modern Languages for Year 11 and 12 students.
The Radcliffe Camera from Exeter College
Whether you’re passionate about French, Spanish, Italian, German, or simply curious about studying languages at university level, this is your chance to experience Oxford up close.
In the morning, you’ll explore the historic Turl Street site and gain a clear, insider’s view of the admissions process and what studying languages at Oxford is really like.
Across two afternoon sessions, you’ll take part in small‑group workshops led by Oxford tutors in French, Spanish, Italian, or German. Choose your languages, explore real academic material, and experience Oxford’s teaching style first-hand.
Subject Days are often oversubscribed and selection is based on academic merit and contextual factors. We warmly encourage applications from students who identify with any of the following criteria.
Students on Free School Meals.
Students from IMD Q1 and Q2 (*check your postcode at the link below)
Students who have been or are currently in care.
Please provide as many details about yourself to aid the shortlisting process.
The programme will be free of charge, lunch will be provided, and travel bursaries are available.
Will UNIQ help you shape your future? Apply now and find out!
What is UNIQ?
UNIQ is Oxford’s free access programme for UK state school students. Featuring a sustained contact programme and in-person summer residential, you’ll be taught by Oxford academics and explore subjects aligned with your academic interests. The programme encourages you to make friends with other UNIQ participants: you’ll meet them at regional events and live alongside them during the Oxford residential, where current undergraduates will also be supporting you and on hand to answer your questions about student life at Oxford. We’ll also support you to make a strong university application to a course at Oxford or elsewhere.
What Modern Languages courses are available?
For Modern Languages, there will be courses available for Spanish, French, and German taking place over the summer of 2026. Each varied course allows students to explore several exciting elements of degree-level language studies, such as language, literature, theatre, film, and linguistics, and provides the opportunity to experience a taster of two other European languages at beginners’ level.
How can I apply?
Applying is quick and simple – just register and fill out the form on the UNIQ website. It shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes. Before you apply you should check that you meet our eligibility requirements and browse carefully the 30+ courses on offer to decide on your first and second choice.
Applications close on 13 January 2026. You can find out more about the programme and selection criteria on the UNIQ website (www.uniq.ox.ac.uk) and by following us on Instagram (@OxfordUNIQ). If you have any queries about the applications process, check out our FAQs or contact us at uniq@admin.ox.ac.uk.
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We’ll be back in January 2026 with more blog posts. In the meantime, we wish you a restful and peaceful festive period and a Happy New Year!
The Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages is delighted to announce that this year’s Flash Fiction Competitions in French, Spanish and German are now open!
Our annual Flash Fiction Competitions invite secondary school pupils to submit a complete story of no more than 100 words, in French, Spanish, or German, for the chance to win up to £100.
Our 2026 Competition marks the first year in which German will be included and we’re excited to be expanding the Competition after many successful years!
Entries are judged by a panel of academics who are primarily looking for creativity, imagination and narrative flair, as well as linguistic accuracy. Pupils’ language skills will be considered in the context of their age and year group: in other words, we will not expect younger pupils to compete against older pupils linguistically. Each language competition is divided into three age categories:
Years 7-9 (ages 11-14)
Years 10-11 (ages 14-16)
Years 12-13 (ages 16-18)
The judges will award a top prize of £100, as well as prizes of £50 to a maximum of two runners up, in each category. Certificates will also be awarded to pupils who have been highly commended by our judges. Results as well as the winning, runner up, and highly commended stories will be published her on our blog if entrants give us permission to do so.
More information and links to the submission forms can be found on our website. Pupils may only submit one story per language but are welcome to submit a story in two or three languages if they would like to. For some inspiration, they can have a look at last year’s winning entries in French and Spanish.
Please note that pupils must enter the competition themselves: teachers cannot enter on their behalf for reasons of GDPR compliance.
The 2025-26 edition of the Anthea Bell for Young Translators has commenced!
The Queen’s College Translation Exchange launched the Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators in 2020. The competition is inspired by the life and work of the great translator Anthea Bell. It aims to promote language learning across the UK and to inspire creativity in the classroom. By providing teachers with the tools they need to bring translation to life, they hope to motivate more pupils to study modern foreign languages throughout their time at school and beyond.
The Anthea Bell Prize is free to enter and open to pupils aged 11-18 at all schools across the UK. The Prize currently offers French (into Welsh and English), German, Italian, Mandarin, Russian and Spanish.
The Translation Exchange wanted to make sure that this wasn’t a one-off event, but something that could be integrated into the year’s teaching. Before entering the competition, we invite you to prepare your students using their free teaching resources. Registered teachers receive teaching packs throughout the year, in the build up to the competition.
Register here to receive updates about the Prize, as well as access to free creative translation teaching resources.
The 2025-2026 Prize launched on 19 September 2025, in time for European Day of Languages (26 September) and International Translation Day (30 September). The 2025-2026 competition will run from 2 February to 27 March 2026. You can find the names of the 2024-2025 competition winners, runners-up and commendees here.
Information about the Anthea Bell Prize for Schools in Wales is also available in Welsh.
The Anthea Bell Prize left me wanting to delve further into the world of translation and the possibilities that come with it.
– Year 12 student participant, 2024 competition
Find more information and resources via the Translation Exchange website here.
A blog for school students and teachers and anyone else with an interest in Modern Languages and Cultures, written by the staff and students of Oxford University. Updated every Wednesday!
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