Disability

New College works closely with the The Disability Advisory Service (DAS) to provide support for disabled students and fully supports the University's Common Framework for Supporting Disabled Students.

The College's Disability Lead is Jonathan Black (Tutor for Welfare, jonathan.black@new.ox.ac.uk), and the Disability Coordinator is Freyja Madsen (the Academic Registrar).

Queries

If you have any queries about support for students and staff with disabilities, please email Freyja or call 01865 279596.

Disclosure

The University and the College encourage disclosure of a disability as soon as possible once you are accepted your offer. This helps us to prepare for your arrival - it really does make things easier for everyone! 

If you have a disability, it is important that you let us know about it, so we provide you with appropriate support while you’re studying at with us. We will then make every effort we can to make adjustments to accommodate your needs. The nature of our old buildings inevitably makes access difficult to some areas, but some major spaces in the College, such as the Hall, JCR and Lecture Room 6, are now accessible by wheelchair and we have adapted some student rooms to be accessible.

The Disability Advisory Service (DAS) provides information and guidance so that disability-related study support can be put in place throughout Colleges/PPHs and University departments and faculties. They can also guide you through your application for Disabled Students Allowance, or other disability related funding.

The Disability Advisory Service will email all new students who disclosed via their application form a disability (including a Specific Learning Difficulty) or long term health condition before they arrive in Oxford. This will be the start of a relationship which will provide support where needed. 

Disclosure and study support forms can also be found on the DAS website.

For an introduction to The Disability Advisory Service (DAS), please watch this video. 

The College is in the process of updating its Accessibility Audit, and in monitoring its compliance. New interventions are planned to make the Library and the Holywell Lodge more accessible. We are also in the process of creating a best practice map of the challenge, charting the interventions for accessibility. 

The nature of our old buildings does make access to some areas difficult, but major spaces in the College - such as in the Hall, JCR, MCR, Lecture Room 6, the Chapel - are all now accessible by wheelchair. Efforts are made - and being enhanced - to cater for all forms of disability. 

We have converted some existing student rooms to be accessible. 

You can find the exact location of the step-free main entrance on Holywell Street at the what3words address: ///labels.bride.free. The exact location of the step-free entrance on New College Lane can be found at the what3words address: ///lately.parent.showed. 

The New College Access Guide is available here. 

The brand new Kimber Wing - in our refurbished Morris Garages Quadrangle - gives a very high specification of adjustment for students with disability. The objective was to achieve 'best practice', both in terms of design and fit-out, and we believe that this has been achieved. 

The schemes have been created by David Bonnett Associates, a leading specialist in inclusive access. 

Equally, the College has ensured that the new Gradel Quadrangles buildings (which opened in April 2024) had accessibility baked into the design concept. Again, David Bonnett were the consultants.