Oxford boasts one of the best educational experiences in the world. The distinctive tutorial system provides very close contact between students and researchers at the leading edge of their fields. Competition for places is intense and the University’s selection system aims to identify those with the greatest ability in their chosen field of study.

Oxford has educated 25 British Prime Ministers; at least 30 international leaders; 47 Nobel Prize winners; 6 current holders of the Order of Merit; at least 6 kings, 12 saints and 20 Archbishops of Canterbury; and some 50 Olympic medal winners. Oxford is an international university: more than 130 nationalities are represented among a student population of 20,000, and the University undertakes research projects and collaborations all over the globe. 38 per cent of academic staff and 35 per cent of students are from overseas.

Oxford is also an entrepreneurial university. Isis Innovation, the University’s wholly-owned technology transfer company, has created over 60 spin-out companies since it was established in 1988, whose combined value is around £2 billion. Isis files, on average, one patent application each week and manages over 400 patent application families and 200 licence agreements. Its consulting arm manages around 200 consulting projects at any one time.

Oxford University Press, the publishing arm of the University, is the largest university press in the world, with a presence in more than 50 countries and 4,750 employees worldwide. At a conservative estimate, over 18,000 jobs in Oxfordshire are supported directly or indirectly by the University, the colleges, Oxford University Press and University spin-out companies.