Daily schedule
After registration on Sunday afternoon, we invite you to a welcome meeting in the Amersi Lecture Theatre in New Quad, where you will meet your tutors. Join us in Deer Park afterwards for our opening drinks reception, followed by dinner in Brasenose’s historic dining hall (informal dress).
Seminars take place on weekday mornings. Most afternoons are free, allowing you time to explore Oxford, enjoy a variety of optional social events (see details below), or to sit back and relax in one of the college's atmospheric quads.
Your course culminates on Friday evening with a closing drinks reception and gala farewell dinner at which Certificates of Attendance are awarded. For this special occasion smart dress is encouraged (no requirement to wear dinner suits or gowns).
Social programme
We warmly invite all Inspiring Oxford students to take part in our optional social programme, with all events provided at no additional cost. Events are likely to include:
- Croquet on the quad
- Chauffeured punting from Magdalen Bridge
- Expert-led walking tours of Oxford
- Optional visit to an Oxford Library or the Ashmolean Museum
- River Thames afternoon cruise
- Quiz night in the college bar
- Scottish country dance evening (where you do the dancing!)
Seminars and field trip
Monday
The Regency of Henry VI and the Road to War
We begin our journey in the shadow of Henry V’s death, when his infant son inherited not only a crown but also the weight of an empire. During Henry VI’s youth, England was ruled by a regency council whose decisions would echo across the century. Together, we examine how this fragile political balance sowed the seeds of future conflict, explore Henry’s early attempts at kingship after 1437, and consider how his personality, piety, and politics led the realm down the perilous road to civil war.
Tuesday
The First Phase of War (1455–1461)
Today we dive into open conflict, from the First Battle of St Albans to the triumph of Edward IV. We trace how personal rivalries, dynastic ambition, and military innovation reshaped England. Through close analysis of the reigns of both Henry VI and Edward IV, we ask how did York’s revolt transform into a full-blown war of succession? Was Edward IV a new kind of monarch, or merely another player in a deadly family feud?
As we explore his achievements and missteps, from his controversial marriage to Elizabeth Woodville to his delegation of power to Richard, Duke of Gloucester, we reconsider Edward’s place in history and his role in redefining kingship itself.
Wednesday
Richard III, Henry VII, and the Wars of the Roses and the Gentry
Few figures divide opinion like Richard III. Was he a ruthless usurper or a maligned reformer? Today’s sessions explore his rise to power, his short reign, and the legends that have haunted him ever since. We then turn to the dawn of a new age under Henry VII and ask whether Bosworth truly marked the end of the Wars, or simply the beginning of a new myth.
We then shift focus from monarchs to those who lived under their rule: the gentry. Through their letters, we’ll glimpse the anxieties, loyalties, and daily realities of a society caught between peace and war, an intimate look at life beyond the battlefield. Our readings will give us not only some brilliant insights into life in late medieval England, but also a different perspective on the Wars of the Roses.
Thursday
Field Trip
Today, your tutor accompanies you on a full day field trip to the King Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester, and to Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre.
Friday
The Women of the Wars of the Roses
We close the week with the women who shaped the era: queens, mothers, and power brokers who stood at the heart of dynastic struggle. From the indomitable Margaret of Anjou to the politically astute Elizabeth Woodville, the formidable Margaret of Burgundy to the letter-writing Margaret Paston, we’ll explore what it meant to wield influence in a time of turmoil.
Finally, we turn to the enduring cultural legacy of the Wars: how novelists, playwrights, and filmmakers have reinvented this conflict for modern audiences. In our concluding seminar, we’ll bring together all we’ve learned, reassessing the causes, consequences, and characters of this extraordinary age to decide who truly emerged victorious from England’s longest family feud.
