City of Oxford College

About Us:

City of Oxford College is an education college in Oxford, England. It has two campuses one in the city center, and one in Blackbird Leys to the southeast of Oxford city. Earlier known as Oxford Cherwell Valley College (OCVC), it changed the name when the Oxford Cherwell Valley College Group reorganized and become the Activate Learning group in 2013.

City of Oxford College provides vocational training programs, primarily for the post-16 sector, across different subjects. Programs include vocational training for school leavers and professionals/adults, A-levels, apprenticeships, higher education, international study, learning for leisure, and courses to help the unemployed get back into work.

Founded in 1960, and based at the current Blackbird Leys and Oxford city center campuses, the Oxford College of Further Education offered courses to students at all levels. At the turn of the millennium, the student population was made up of 1,872 full-time and 7,533 part-time students. The College was divided into three faculties: arts, engineering services, and business and technology.

On 31 July 2003, Oxford College of Further Education merged with North Oxfordshire College in Banbury to become Oxford and Cherwell College. The newly-merged college also became home to the Rycotewood Furniture Centre, which moved from Thame where it belonged to Rycotewood College to the Oxford city-center campus.

A new campus was opened in Bicester in 2005. This is when the college became Oxford Cherwell Valley College (OCVC). In 2010 OCVC, along with the Learning Skills Network (LSN), took responsibility for running Reading College. OCVC then became the Oxford Cherwell Valley College Group.

In 2013, the OCVC Group reorganized and restructured. It became Activate Learning, and the two OCVC colleges (Oxford and Banbury) changed their names.OCVC (Oxford) became City of Oxford College.