Student Stories


We’ve asked students what it has been like at St Clare’s and here are some of their stories; learning in class, living with students from around the world

International Baccalaureate Diploma

“Truly international, vibrant, fun, gets the right results, couldn’t do better … if you want to go the IB road” – Good Schools Guide

Yasmina – British – IB

St Clare’s is not like other schools where students are simply spoon-fed information. I realised this in my first week. Teachers expected more from me and all at once I was at the helm of my own education. I won’t deny that this was shocking and strange, but now, two-years on, I couldn’t be more grateful. I have attained greater independence and new-found appreciation for my subjects. St Clare’s has bolstered me for the dynamic world ahead. I now enter it knowing that I can take whatever comes my way.

Jiangnan – Chinese – IB

Life at St Clare’s is just like the IB: challenging but fascinating. Studying in such a diverse and friendly environment has encouraged me to discuss different ideas, undertake challenges and become a more independent thinker.

Alba – Albanian – IB

St Clare’s means more to me than academic excellence: it is an academic inspiration where I discovered and developed my passion for economics.
The mixture of nationalities and diversity of cultures here has broadened my mindset and opinions. The college environment teaches you to be independent, to take initiative and to build your future.

University Pathways Stories

Danny’s Story

The reason why I chose St Clare’s is I guess because of the atmosphere, it’s very homey, everyone will get the vibe first then it will feel like home and then everything will be going for you. I love Oxford; I am looking forward to staying here for the next four years studying Politics and Philosophy at Oxford Brookes University.

Ryan – American – Liberal Arts

The cool thing about St. Clare’s, as opposed to other study abroad programmes, is that I’ve been able to make friends with people that aren’t from my own country. I’ve met people from all over the world: Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France, Argentina, Brazil…everywhere!

“This has been a really eye opening experience for me”

Alli’s Story

Alli from Colorado explains what it has been like on the Education Studies Programme at St Clare’s Oxford – will she be a great teacher? Definitely!

Megan – American – Liberal Arts

I had a nice experience at St Clare’s. It was different from my home university because it was very small in size and international. It challenged me academically and helped broaden my cultural awareness.

“A unique study abroad experience”

Emma’s Story

Emma from Elon University explains that studying at St Clare’s Oxford you get the English culture but you go to school with people from all over the world.

English Language Stories

“The moment I got here I was embraced by the people who were living here as if I’d known them for years. Life is incredible here; it’s exhausting, but it’s fun.”

Summer Courses Stories

“I’m glad that I came here to improve my English! Perfect service, perfect staff, great fun!!”

Malgorzata – Poland

“I learned how to work in groups and more grammar. Also I enjoyed our debates which taught me how to argue and how to give good examples.”

Candela – Argentina

“Candela, Argentina I’ve learnt to be less shy and be more confident in front of a group pf people Nicolina, Sweden I’m really happy that I chose St. Clare’s. I have improved my English a lot here and I have met a lot of new friends from different nationalities. I will definitely come back! Thank you for helping me in my learning.”

Juste – Lithuania

“Our main teacher was amazing and the lessons were really interesting and different from the ones that I have in my school.”

Raphael – Belgium

“Every student is given individual attention, and the location and size of the college are ideal. Everyone knows each other and this helps create a productive learning environment”

Further Reading

Looking back at summer 2018

We had so much to be grateful for this summer: weeks of pristine weather, some truly special activities, and most of all we had the chance to meet so many lovely people from all over the world. We were thrilled to host groups from Korea, Argentina and the...

IB Orientation Olympics

The orientation weekend would not be complete without the Orientation Olympics. This is an annual event for new students arriving to study Pre-IB or IB and each student is assigned a team: Blue, Green, Yellow or Red. They play a range of fun games...

Student profile: Lourdes from Spain

Student profiles is a blog feature designed to celebrate our international student body and their achievements. We are very proud of all our students, and love to share their success stories with anyone who will listen! Lourdes joined our English for Life...

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