Black and white image of students in Victorian dress sitting on the lawn of an Oxford college, taking notes and listening to their tutor who stands in front of them.

The history of lifelong learning at Oxford

Nearly 150 years ago, a movement called ‘Oxford Extension’ began at the University of Oxford, a movement that would eventually become today’s Oxford Lifelong Learning.

The history of Oxford Lifelong Learning is several stories in one: it’s the story of a handful of dedicated Oxford University tutors who felt that educational opportunity was essential to the nation’s welfare and future; it’s an account of ordinary citizens collaborating with Oxford to design a format of education that served their needs; and it’s the story of adult education evolving as successive generations of students, from 1878 to the present day, participated in ever-growing numbers.

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