Introduction
Christ Church is one of the largest colleges of Oxford University, and sits alongside 39 other independent, self-governing colleges within the wider collegiate University. The House, as it is also known, is a unique institution, being one foundation with two functions: religious and educational. The two parts, Cathedral and College, are equal partners. Christ Church is an education provider strongly committed to teaching and research, as well as a Cathedral committed to the furtherance of religion. Christ Church is also an employer committed to providing policies that are fair, equitable and consistent with the skills and abilities of its staff.
Christ Church’s Equality & Diversity Working Group was formed in 2017 and became a committee reporting directly to the Governing Body of Christ Church in Trinity Term 2018. The Committee meets termly, and its membership is drawn from all constituencies of Christ Church, including staff (academic and non-academic, representing the College and Cathedral) and students. It has established a regular cycle for monitoring equality data and acts, and as a contact point for the discussion of equality and diversity issues across the joint foundation. The Committee’s remit includes socio-economic background and mental health in addition to the characteristics protected under the Equality Act (2010).
The Committee considers the impact its work has on its communities and pays due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
Whilst the College often closely follows (and works with) the policies and practices of the central University, it nonetheless sets its own equality objectives in line with its own local priorities.
Christ Church wishes to create a culture of acceptance, inclusion and belonging, where individual differences are celebrated.
Our approach to equality and diversity is outlined in more detail in our separate Equality Policy.
Public Sector Equality Duty
The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination in employment or the provision of training and education in respect of a number of ‘protected characteristics’. These are: age; disability; gender reassignment; pregnancy and maternity; race (including ethnic origin and nationality); religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation. Marriage and civil partnership are also protected in respect of employment only.
The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is a duty requiring public bodies and others carrying out public functions to have due regard to:
eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010;
advancing equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it; and
fostering good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
In addition, the Act introduced a number of specific duties which require the College (as a public sector institution) to:
Annually publish information to demonstrate our compliance with the General Equality Duty.
Publish objectives setting out how we will meet the requirements of the Act, at least every four years; and
Ensure the published information and objectives are made available to the public.
This report provides a review of Christ Church’s activities in support of equality and diversity during the academic year 2024/25 (01 October 2024 to 30 September 2025) and provides an update on progress towards its existing equality objectives in addition to key priorities for 2025/26.
Equality objectives
Christ Church’s equality and diversity objective(s) agreed for four years with effect from October 2025, are:
Increasing a sense of belonging (for staff and students)
Building a culture of respect for all
Celebrating EDI in Christ Church
Establishing quantitative and qualitative measurements of what we do and who we are
Updating relevant policies and procedures to consolidate best practice
Further ongoing equality and diversity objectives include:
To attract those from a black or minority ethnic background to apply for senior roles, including Governing Body, by reviewing recruitment processes, job description processes, and advertising practices
To continue to improve Christ Church’s provision for the support of students from financially less advantaged backgrounds
To develop and further Christ Church’s access initiatives
Progress during 2024–25
(1) Support for students from socio-economically less advantaged backgrounds
We continue to work on Christ Church’s provision for the support of students from socio-economically less advantaged backgrounds.
In 2017, Christ Church introduced a 50% maintenance subsidy to UK undergraduates with a household income of £16,000 or less, and a 25% subsidy to those with a household income of £42,875 or less. In Michaelmas 2022, the upper threshold for eligibility for a 50% maintenance subsidy was increased in line with changes to Moritz Heyman Scholarships, increasing our support for students in this bracket. A further change, to both thresholds, came into place in the 2023-24 academic year: currently, undergraduates with household incomes of £32,500 or less normally receive a 50% subsidy on accommodation while undergraduates with household income above £32,500 and below £50,000 normally receive a 25% subsidy on accommodation.
Grants are available to students for books, study, travel, sports, the year abroad, and University language courses. In addition, undergraduates whose household incomes are below a certain level are eligible to apply for summer bursaries to help them meet living costs while undertaking a summer internship, laboratory placement or academic course. Christ Church has signed the University’s Standalone Pledge to provide support for estranged students. The College has generous financial assistance funds for which all enrolled students are eligible to apply. There is detailed information on financial support on the outward-facing webpage and forms for applications on the intranet, and the Academic Office is responsive to student feedback about the way information is set out on these pages, and regularly reviews the financial assistance and grant provision. The Academic Office has a dedicated Student Funding & Support Officer whose remit includes supporting students with financial assistance applications as well as bolstering support and improving visibility for the other forms of financial support available.
In 2024, a new Student Experience Fund was set up to offer funding for costs associated with College Subject Societies, such as social events, dinners and subject talks/events with external speakers.
(2) Academic Study Skills Support
We maintain a comprehensive Academic Skills Support programme led by four part-time Academic Skills Advisors. All undergraduate students are encouraged to engage with our varied programme of support including sessions on essay writing, time management and revision. This programme was established in Michaelmas 2022 in response to student feedback and increased support needs following pandemic disruption to education. A review of the programme took place in spring 2025 towards the end of the three-year pilot, and it was agreed to increase the programme’s budget in order to offer a higher number of one-to-one sessions to students. Uptake of these sessions remains high.
(3) Commitment to Access
As part of Oxford’s regional outreach, Christ Church’s access work focusses on two ‘link regions’: the North East of England and the London borough of Barnet. As well as giving information, advice, and guidance sessions in the regions and welcoming schools to Christ Church, we offer sustained contact programmes in both Barnet and the North East (Christ Church Horizons and Aim for Oxford).
Barnet
The Christ Church Horizons programme starts in Year 10, when pupils come to Christ Church to explore science or humanities subjects through a series of short academic tasters. The aims in Year 10 are to increase knowledge of the benefits of higher education, to raise awareness of the breadth of university courses and where they lead post-university, and to help pupils make informed future choices. In 2025 we offered four ‘Exploring Humanities’ events and four ‘Exploring Sciences’ events. Nearly 200 state-educated pupils from Barnet came to Christ Church between April and June.
The Year 12 strand of the programme consists of after-school sessions in Barnet, followed by a graduation day in Christ Church. We aim to support students in exploring beyond the curriculum and in developing key skills required to make competitive applications to university and to Oxford. 50 students who were selected based on academic potential, as well as contextual information, took part in the programme. The participants engaged in after-school discussions with Oxford academics through a series of workshops, as well as taking part in information, advice, and guidance sessions, and celebrated completing the programme with a ‘graduation day’ in Christ Church.
At the end of Year 12 state school pupils from Barnet who were considering applying to Oxford were invited to attend online workshops on admissions tests (offered in collaboration with Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge) and at the beginning of Year 13 online interview workshops in subject-specific groups.
The North East of England
Aim for Oxford is our programme for sixth-formers in the North East of England. The participants explore subjects with university researchers, experience academic and social life at Oxford University during a summer school, receive advice on how to apply, and are supported throughout the application process. 67 students were selected to take part in the programme in 2025. The cohort met a wide range of widening participation criteria, for example: 71% had been eligible for Free School Meals and/or 16-19 Bursary, 43% would be the first in their families to attend university, and over 50% were from areas of socio-economic disadvantage (measured by postcodes with indexes of multiple deprivation 1 or 2 or ACORN categories 5-6).
Beyond Aim for Oxford, we offered a pre-open day residential for nearly 100 pupils from state schools in the North East of England, in collaboration with St Anne’s, Trinity, and Lincoln College.
We also continued our collaboration with The Brilliant Club on a ‘Scholars’ Programme’ for Key Stage 3 pupils from the North East, who came to Christ Church, St Anne’s College, and Trinity College in the spring. The Brilliant Club Scholars’ Programme offers up to 14 places per school, and at least 55% of the students selected by the school must meet one of their widening participation eligibility criteria. Christ Church hosted three schools from County Durham, totalling 40 pupils and 6 teachers.
Beyond our link regions
We are keen to support pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and groups that are under-represented at Oxford beyond our link regions, through subject-specific initiatives with a national reach and collaborations with charities and organisations that have similar aims.
Our ‘Discover Computer Science’ programme, offered to Black and Mixed Black women in year 11, in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science, was in its forth year, and consisted of four online sessions and a ‘graduation day’ in Christ Church for the participants and their supporters. We also held our annual ‘Women in PPE’ day, a Geography essay competition on the topic of ‘Home’, and a History of Art study day in collaboration with the History Faculty, all followed by online admissions test workshops and interview workshops supporting participants with the admissions process.
Christ Church continues to play a lead role in supporting IntoUniversity Oxford South East, a centre tackling educational disadvantage in our local community. IntoUniversity works with local schools and young people to provide a safe space where pupils feel motivated to learn and inspired to achieve. As well as co-funding the centre in Blackbird Leys together with the University of Oxford, Christ Church hosts IntoUniversity events in College, where pupils find out about university and Oxford from our current students and members of staff.
We are proud supporters of Target Oxbridge, an organisation that supports talented Black African and Caribbean students and students of mixed race with Black African and Caribbean heritage in gaining access to Oxford and Cambridge and were delighted to host their spring residential at Christ Church.
Through the Christ Church 'Access Hub' we are able to offer support to partner organisations: as well as receiving financial support from the College, our Hub partners can make use of our rooms to host events, and benefit from presentations and workshops run by our Access staff. 2025 Access Hub partners included Debate Mate, Thinking Black, and Parallel Histories.
(4) The Diversifying the Visual Environment Working Group
Christ Church's ongoing commitment to diversifying the college's visual environment and recognising outstanding achievements and contributions across a variety of fields was evident in 2024-25. A set of six new portraits were commissioned for the College's Law Library, which is used by undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers. Previously, this space had only a single image of a woman (a marble bust of Queen Victoria) and no ethnic or racial diversity amongst its portraits. Four new portraits recognising excellence in the field of Law were installed in September 2025. These included portraits of Christ Church's first woman undergraduate to become a High Court Judge, a woman graduate student who is now a very senior judge in Japan, and an Indian-born former early career academic at Christ Church who now holds a Professorial Chair in Law at a leading UK university. The working group also oversaw a nomination process involving students, staff, and alumni for new portraits that will be commissioned for the College's dining hall. The plan is to commission the new portraits for the dining hall in 2026, with two further portraits for the Law Library expected to be installed early in 2026 that will further diversify the range of protected characteristics represented in this space.
(5) The Four College Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Fund
Christ Church continues to work with a consortium of colleges to maintain a joint fund to which students may apply for grants to host events that promote equality and diversity across the four colleges. In the 2024/25 academic year, the Four College fund supported events including a Henna & Tea Social, an EDI Book Club, an EDI Creative Writing Workshop, an Iberocamerican Law and Access Dinner, an art workshop called ‘Sensory Encounters: Blindness as an Imaginative Position,’ and an Iftar dinner.
(6) The Colonialism Working Group
A Postdoctoral Research Fellow (PDRF) was appointed in October 2024 to look at the legacies of colonialism at Christ Church. The first year of the project focused on mapping the financial aspects of Christ Church’s historical links to slavery and colonialism. This project involves engaging members of the Christ Church community and the wider public in discussions about colonial histories and their legacies. A bi-termly reading group was open to all students, academic and non-academic staff at Christ Church – to explore key debates and approaches in this field. More information is available here: https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/research/research-project-colonialism-and-its-legacies-christ-church.
(7) Accessible Communications
The Christ Church Intranet launched in 2023 continues to provide an additional channel for the organisation to communicate with members of the community, as well as aiding peer to peer communication.
(8) Accessibility Audit and Building Works
The installation of a lift and accessible toilet and ancillary facilities in both the Lee Building and Tom 7 (JCR/GCR) which were approved and started in 2023-24, were successfully completed in 2025. The Hall toilets were extended and refurbished in conjunction with the Lee Building works and whilst not wheelchair accessible consideration as been to colour selection and contrast to assist with visual impairment.
Work on a wheelchair accessible route through Christ Church continued with the timber ramp to the Chapter House underway and regrading of paving in the southwest corner of the Cloister about to start.
The Foundation Architect continues to explore options for a wheel accessible route to connect Tom Quad to the Cloister and Meadow Quad, a lift under the Hall staircase having been discounted for structural reasons.
The Access consultant has provided access audit reports on:
• Visitor Centre
• Tom 1
• Tom 2
• Tom 3
• Tom 4
• Addendum to Great Hall, McKenna Room and environs audit to include Kitchens, Staff dining and SCR.
The Access consultant will continue with the next phase of audits comprising:
Tom 8 Admin/Academic Office/Lecture Theatres
Tom 9 Treasury/Steward.
St Aldates Quad - student accommodation.
117 St Aldates - Student accommodation.
Tom 8 Admin/Academic Office/Lecture Theatres
Tom 9 Treasury/Steward.
St Aldates Quad - student accommodation.
117 St Aldates - Student accommodation.
As part of the 117 St Aldates audit, the Access consultant has been asked to investigate the feasibility of providing accessible study rooms on the first floor.
Approved by Governing Body
11th March 2026
