Study English Literature Oxford Summer Courses
Oxford is one of the world’s literary capitals, home to many of the great English writers you’ll study here at Oxford Summer Courses. In this city, teeming with literary significance, you’ll study the development of the English literary tradition, sharpen your critical eye, advance your writing skills, and broaden your horizons to discover your own voice as a writer and scholar.
Take a look at our range of English literature courses for 10-24 year olds below.
Courses
At Oxford Summer Courses we are committed to the best academic experiences and to the personalised learning that has made Oxford a global academic force. So while all of our tutors are at the top of their fields depending on your age you'll be taught in slightly different ways. We use small group seminars to ensure that you get greater attention than you could elsewhere. On top of that if you're aged 16-17 or 18-24 then you'll receive weekly tutorials from leading academics mirroring the teaching method that makes Oxford a world-renowned university. Choose your English Literature course below:
18-24 years
- 2 and 4 weeks courses available
- Oxford/Cambridge University accommodation
- Tutorials & group seminars
- Breakfast & Dinner included
Our English Literature programme from 18-24 year olds is ordinarily taught through four seminars and one one-hour tutorial per week. All readings and seminar questions will be circulated prior to the seminars. Importantly, the topic of the tutorials is decided in discussion between students and tutors, as this is an opportunity for students to develop and explore their interests in a small group setting.
The course allows students to focus on their own areas of literary interest, from Medieval Literature to Modernism to Magical Realism. Students will have the chance to pursue cross-period studies, for example, comparing the works of George Orwell and Hunter S. Thompson with the plays of Shakespeare, or examining the writings of Zadie Smith alongside E. M. Forster.
16-17 years
- 2 and 4 weeks courses available
- Oxford/Cambridge University accommodation
- Tutorials & group seminars
- Breakfast & Dinner included
Our course for 16-17 year olds allows students to focus on their own areas of literary interest, from Medieval Literature to Modernism to Magical Realism. Students will have the chance to pursue cross-period studies, for example, comparing the works of George Orwell and Hunter S. Thompson with the plays of Shakespeare, or examining the writings of Zadie Smith alongside E. M. Forster.
The Oxford Summer Courses English Literature course will explore many of the underlying themes that pervade throughout literary history, offering students a historic overview of movements such as the Romantics and the Post-Modernists.
13-15 years
- 2 and 4 weeks courses available
- Oxford/Cambridge University accommodation
- Around 8 students per class
- All Evening Meals, many at local restaurants along with lunch every teaching day
Our Creative Writing and English Literature course takes place in the shadow of the city of Oxford. This city has inspired many of the greatest writers including J.R.R. Tolkein (The Hobbit and Lord of The Rings), Lewis Carrol (Alice in Wonderland) and Phillip Pullman (The Subtle Knife) and the Harry Potter films were even shot here so it's no surprise that our course is designed to inspire you to write your own stories and poems.
Our morning seminars help you to learn the techniques that good writers use and are supplemented by practical afternoon workshops where we encourage you to write your own stories and poems under the guidance of an expert tutor.
At the end of the course you'll have been introduced to different writing techniques and even had a go at writing your own story! With no more than six students to a class you'll get lots of time to ask your tutor questions and develop your understanding of Creative Writing and English Literature. These highly interactive sessions give you the chance learn about your subject and help you to develop your understanding while having lots of fun in the process!
Testimonials
Sidney Sponer - English Literature student from 2015
The academic experience at Oxford Summer Courses is amazing. I had only one other person in my English Literature class, and we got to spend a lot of time with an experienced tutor, just learning more about what we love. My professor, Amanda Holton, opened me up to so many inspiring poets and writers, including Yeats and Austen, and let me write about what I'm interested in. It can't get better than that level of familiarity in the classroom.
Staff
Dr Amanda Holton
Amanda Holton was educated at Oxford University, and is currently a Visiting Fellow at the University of Southampton. She has many years’ experience teaching Old and Middle English and the English language at various UK universities. Her main research interests are in Chaucer, the medieval and early Renaissance love lyric, and poetics, with an emphasis on the intersection of form and meaning. She also has particular interests in the relationship between medieval and Renaissance poetry. Her publications include The Sources of Chaucer’s Poetics (Ashgate, 2008), and Tottel’s Miscellany (Penguin, 2011), edited with Tom MacFaul. She is currently working on a book on the role of rhyme in love lyric from 1300 to 1579.
Catherine Lloyd
Catherine Lloyd was a scholar at St Anne’s College Oxford, where she gained a Masters in English Literature. She went on to work as a political lobbyist then retrained as a teacher. She has been on the Senior Leadership Teams of a wide range of schools, most recently working in the area Adolescent Mental Health and Education. Catherine Lloyd has a Masters (with Distinction) from Oxford Brookes Unversity in Creative Writing. Writing under the name Catherine Chanter, she has written for BBC Radio 4, had prize winning poetry published in a range of journals and anthologies and has published a novella and collection of short stories, Rooms of the Mind. Her novel The Well which won the Lucy Cavendish (Cambridge) prize and was published by Canongate in 2015. It has become an international bestseller and has been translated into ten langauges.
Prices and Dates
Select your Age Range
| Course start date | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courses – 09-10s | 30/06/2019 | 07/07/2019 | 14/07/2019 | 21/07/2019 | 28/07/2019 | 04/08/2019 |
| 1 Week – Wycombe Abbey | £1,495 | £1,495 | £1,495 | £1,495 | £1,495 | £1,495 |
| 2 Week – Wycombe Abbey | £2,795 | £2,795 | £2,795 | £2,795 | £2,795 | – |
| 3 Week – Wycombe Abbey | £3,995 | £3,995 | £3,995 | £3,995 | – | – |
| 4 Week – Wycombe Abbey | £5,195 | £5,195 | £5,195 | – | – | – |
| 5 Week – Wycombe Abbey | £6,295 | £6,295 | – | – | – | – |
| 6 Week – Wycombe Abbey | £7,395 | – | – | – | – | – |
Included in this price is:
- All Teaching, in class sizes of 15 or less
- Accommodation
- All Meals, including lunch
- A Graduation Ceremony
- All Activities and Excursions
The price does not include flights/travel or medical insurance
| Course start date | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courses – 11-12s | 30/06/2019 | 07/07/2019 | 14/07/2019 | 21/07/2019 | 28/07/2019 | 04/08/2019 |
| 1 Week – Wycombe Abbey | £1,495 | £1,495 | £1,495 | £1,495 | £1,495 | £1,495 |
| 2 Week – Wycombe Abbey | £2,795 | £2,795 | £2,795 | £2,795 | £2,795 | – |
| 3 Week – Wycombe Abbey | £3,995 | £3,995 | £3,995 | £3,995 | – | – |
| 4 Week – Wycombe Abbey | £5,195 | £5,195 | £5,195 | – | – | – |
| 5 Week – Wycombe Abbey | £6,295 | £6,295 | – | – | – | – |
| 6 Week – Wycombe Abbey | £7,395 | – | – | – | – | – |
Included in this price is:
- All Teaching, in class sizes of 15 or less
- Accommodation
- All Meals, including lunch
- A Graduation Ceremony
- All Activities and Excursions
The price does not include flights/travel or medical insurance
| Course start date | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courses – 13-15s | 23/06/2019 | 30/06/2019 | 07/07/2019 | 14/07/2019 | 21/07/2019 | 28/07/2019 | 04/08/2019 | 11/08/2019 |
| 2 Weeks – Cambridge | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | – | – | – |
| 2 Weeks – Oxford – Standard (shared bathroom) | – | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 |
| 2 Weeks – London – Standard (shared bathroom) | £4,195 | – | £4,195 | – | £4,195 | – | – | – |
| 4 Weeks – Cambridge | £7,895 | £7,895 | £7,895 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4 Weeks – Oxford – Standard (shared bathroom) | – | £7,895 | £7,895 | £7,895 | £7,895 | £7,895 | – | – |
| 4 Weeks – London – Standard (shared bathroom) | £7,895 | – | £7,895 | – | – | – | – | – |
Included in this price is:
- All Teaching, including small group seminars (8 students or less) and subject related workshops
- Accommodation and All Meals, every day, including evening meals at local restaurants
- A Three-Course College Banquet, on Friday evening (this may differ for London programme students)
- A Graduation Ceremony
- 3 Full Day Trips and All Activities
The price does not include flights/travel or medical insurance
| Course start date | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courses – 16-17s | 23/06/2019 | 30/06/2019 | 07/07/2019 | 14/07/2019 | 21/07/2019 | 28/07/2019 | 04/08/2019 | 11/08/2019 |
| 2 Weeks – Cambridge | – | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | – | – | – |
| 2 Weeks – Oxford – Standard (shared bathroom) | – | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 |
| 2 Weeks – London – Standard (shared bathroom) | £4,195 | – | £4,195 | – | £4,195 | – | – | – |
| 4 Weeks – Cambridge | – | £7,895 | £7,895 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4 Weeks – Oxford – Standard (shared bathroom) | – | £7,895 | £7,895 | £7,895 | £7,895 | £7,895 | – | – |
| 4 Weeks – London – Standard (shared bathroom) | £7,895 | – | £7,895 | – | – | – | – | – |
Included in this price is:
- All Teaching, including tutorials and small group seminars and subject related workshops
- Accommodation and Breakfast, every day
- All Evening Meals, including those at local restaurants
- A Three-Course College Banquet, on Friday evening (this may differ for London programme students)
- A Graduation Ceremony
- 3 Full Day Trips and All Activities
The price does not include flights/travel or medical insurance
| Course start date | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courses – 18-24s | 23/06/2019 | 30/06/2019 | 07/07/2019 | 14/07/2019 | 21/07/2019 | 28/07/2019 | 04/08/2019 | 11/08/2019 |
| 2 Weeks – Cambridge | – | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | – | – | – |
| 2 Weeks – Oxford – Standard (shared bathroom) | – | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 | £4,195 |
| 4 Weeks – Cambridge | – | £7,895 | £7,895 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4 Weeks – Oxford – Standard (shared bathroom) | – | £7,895 | £7,895 | £7,895 | £7,895 | £7,895 | – | – |
Included in this price is:
- All Teaching, including tutorials and small group seminars and subject related workshops
- Accommodation and Breakfast, every day
- All Evening Meals, including those at local restaurants
- A Three-Course College Banquet, on Friday evening (this may differ for London programme students)
- A Graduation Ceremony
- 3 Full Day Trips and All Activities
The price does not include flights/travel or medical insurance
Christ Church, the most magnificent college in Oxford was re-founded by King Henry VIII in the 16th century, it has educated 13 British Prime Ministers and was the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland but today it offers our students modern en-suite rooms in a grand setting.
If you stay at Christ Church this summer on either the 2nd or 16th July you’ll have:
- A superior quality en-suite room
- Breakfast in the same dining hall Harry Potter was filmed in each morning
- A special 4 course banquet each Friday in Christ Church’s magnificent banqueting hall
- A graduation ceremony in the Old Library which houses numerous historical artefacts including Cardinal Wolsey’s 16th century hat
If you are looking for a unique experience this grand setting offers our students a chance to live and study in a historical environment that has played host to inquiring minds for nearly 500 years.