University of Oxford UNIQ Summer Schools Classics: Rome Residential Course

You arrive on Monday and leave on Friday, and the teaching takes place during the day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, in an academic program run by an Oxford faculty. There's no published hour-by-hour timetable for Classics: Rome, but across UNIQ the material is pitched at the level of a first-year Oxford undergraduate, with current academic and graduate teaching staff and the student ambassadors there to help. Timetables vary by subject and can include tutorials, library or museum visits and presentations, and many departments also run workshops on preparing an Oxford application.

Evenings are for optional social activities with your college group, exploring Oxford and other colleges, or relaxing in the common room with the student ambassadors. At the end of the week, a mini conference brings together everyone on your week. If you have a school project due during or just after your week, UNIQ suggests finishing it before you go. Don't plan on music practice or sports training either, because there aren't suitable facilities.

You can apply if you're in the first year of sixth form at a UK state school or college. That means Year 12 in England or Wales, Year 13 in Northern Ireland, S5 in Scotland, or the first year of the IB Diploma. Grammar schools count as state schools, and home-educated students can apply too. Students at independent or private schools can't, even if they're there on a bursary. You also need to:
- be a settled UK resident, or expect to have home fee status when you apply to university (eligible students from the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey can now apply)
- be under 18 at the time of the residential, with exceptions for some Northern Ireland students and for students in an offset year because of serious disruption to their education
- have no more than one completed A level
- not have attended UNIQ before

Beyond those rules, UNIQ weighs your grades and your background together. It normally expects at least six GCSEs with one or more at grade 7 or A, or in Scotland six National 5s with at least one A. It strongly prioritizes care-experienced students and takes Free School Meals eligibility and socioeconomic background into account. If something affected your exam results, the form has an extenuating circumstances section, and UNIQ takes it into account. Classics: Rome adds no subject requirements of its own. You choose a first and second course when you apply. If Classics: Rome is full, you may be offered your second choice, and if both are full, you may be put on a reserve list. Across all its courses, UNIQ works with over a thousand students a year.

Yes. UNIQ costs nothing for you or your school, and it pays for your travel, accommodation, meals, teaching and staffing. There are a few exceptions:
- If you miss UNIQ's travel deadlines or lose your ticket, you may have to buy your own.
- Fuel for a car journey isn't reimbursed.
- Snacks, souvenirs and anything you forget to pack are up to you.

If paying for something during the visit worries your family, UNIQ asks you to get in touch.

Each college is managed by a Site Manager, who is a senior student ambassador. Undergraduate ambassadors stay in college with you and take you to lectures and seminars. You get your own lockable bedroom. Shared bathrooms are common in the historic buildings and are on gender-segregated corridors, while en suite rooms may be on mixed corridors.

Every college offers a vegetarian option. UNIQ can't guarantee halal, kosher or other religious diets, because each college runs its own catering, so tell the team about dietary needs as soon as you're offered a place. If nothing suitable is available, UNIQ will make other arrangements with you. If you'll be fasting, get in touch beforehand. UNIQ will ask a student to break their fast or go home if their health suffers. There's no published staff-to-student ratio, so families who want one should ask UNIQ.

You can only apply online, through the UNIQ website.

1. 1

   Before you start

   Check the criteria and choose a first and second course whose weeks you can attend. UNIQ will publish each course's 2027 week before applications open, and the five possible weeks run from 28 June to 30 July 2027.

2. 2

   From 15 December 2026

   Fill in the online form, which asks for your qualifications and background and for a teacher who may be contacted later.

3. 3

   By 13:00 on 19 January 2027

   Submit a fully completed application. Unsubmitted drafts aren't considered and there's no confirmation email, so look for the application submitted screen.

4. 4

   Right after the deadline

   If you spot a mistake, email UNIQ as soon as you can, because there are only about three days after applications close to make changes.

5. 5

   By early March 2027

   Decisions arrive by email, and you must accept an offer within one week.

6. 6

   Spring to June 2027

   Successful students go to a weekend regional event and an online meeting before the residential.