AIBU being worried about being in black in Oxford

[poloevi]

It’s looking likely that my family will need to move to Oxford soon because of my husband’s work. We have two young kids (7, 4) and I just wondered what it’s really like being black in Oxford. I have lived all over the UK so am not naive about how different places can be when it comes to diversity. I know Oxford seems to be multicultural but I’d be interested to know what its really like for black people living in Oxfordshire eg how are schools dealing with issues of racism, have you experienced racism on the street etc. I have family members that wear headscarves that have sometimes faced unpleasantness in some of the places we’ve lived, is that the sort of thing you expect to experience in Oxford or not?

Hi OP, I live in Headington and love it here, it is a very family friendly area. There is a small farmers market here every Saturday which has moved to Quarry Hollow Park due to Covid and is even nicer than when it was in central Headington I think.

I am white so I can’t give any personal experience of dealing with racism, but it is a welcoming and multicultural area in my experience- lots of people move to Oxford from all around the world to work at the Unis so you often meet people from other countries and cultures.

Cowley road is great for places to eat etc but parks are not all that nice for kids. You can also easily end up living in a street with a lot of student houses. It is very close by so we just head down when we want to eat out etc. Oxford traffic can be a bit of a nightmare in normal rush hours so I would consider where you need to commute to as well as school catchments.

Another Oxfordian here. I’m mixed race (though not Black) and compared to many other places in the U.K. I’ve visited/lived, I find Oxford to be a very multicultural and tolerant place (my DP finds the locals unfriendly/rude, but that’s nothing to do with race!) No-one bats an eyelid at people in religious dress, multiracial families, etc - it’s so international that no-one really looks out of place IME. There’s definitely a bit of a town/gown divide but no-one normal actually gives a shit about that. The only downside is that the population (certainly in central Oxford) is very transient - lots of international families here for the duration of a degree, visiting fellowship, etc, so my DC (similar ages to yours) have already had to say goodbye to school friends after a year or two, which is a shame.

It is insanely expensive though: in North Oxford (inc. Summertown & Jericho) a family home will set you back at least a million. West Oxford is fine and cheaper than the North (though Botley Rd traffic is a nightmare and Osney floods), and you can buy a (relatively!) affordable 3-bed in Marston/Headington/Cowley. As pp have said, Blackbird Leys, Barton, Wood Farm and Rose Hill are areas of high deprivation and the schools aren’t great. Primaries in North & central Oxford, Marston and Headington are all pretty good AFAIK. For secondary, Cheney, Matthew Arnold and Spires have a good rep (so does Cherwell but I won’t comment on that!) There’s also the brand new Swan Academy in Marston. Several private schools too.

Lastly, there are plans to heavily restrict cars from entering the city centre (look up bus gate plans on the city council website) - so worth taking that into account if you need to rely heavily on car travel. Generally public transport is OK though, and cycle lanes are improving, so I don’t personally find I need to drive much.

HTH!

I grew up in Banbury and went to secondary school in Headington.

I experienced more racism growing up as a child in Banbury, but it definitely has become a lot more diverse over the years.

I enjoyed my secondary school and I personally did not experience any rascism at school, however my older brother did experience problems with being stopped by the police, which only stopped when his best friend's Dad (police officer) spoke to his superiors.

Also, my younger brother did struggle with not seeing many other black/mixed race children in his school.

It completely depends on the area you choose as to how diverse it is and I can only give you my personal experience growing up, which in Headington was on the whole positive and I felt very safe walking round the high street during school lunch time.

This is all really useful, thanks everyone

I don't think it's unreasonable for you to be worried -- only sorry it's something you have to worry about! I have lived in Oxford for over a decade and am from the Scottish Borders. I am white, so can't speak with personal experience, but I will say I had never been anywhere as diverse as Oxford with the exception of London before I moved here for uni. Particularly in terms of the black population, there are some amazing Jamaican restaurants and Afro-Caribbean shops, particularly in the Cowley Road and East Oxford. I lived out in East Oxford in my second year of uni (agree; the University of Oxford itself has quite a low proportion of black students, but that does not reflect the town). I love East Oxford/Headington/Cowley Road area and would highly recommend it!

I can't advise very much on places to move not knowing your salary expectations, as Oxford is extremely expensive, but I would say Oxford itself is very diverse whereas the rest of Oxfordshire isn't so much. Now I live in West/North Oxfordshire in a village and sad to say there is nobody here who isn't white.

@AdamAntonia

Not impressed with Cherwell, Adam? I did my practice in Oxford and remember hearing about Cherwell. Thought it was very highly regarded.

I’m amazed by this thread. I’ve lived in various Northern cities and used to live in Oxford. I still visit family there.

It is one of the whitest places I’ve ever been. I’m amazed that other people have seen this other side to it.

I was born in Oxford (Blackbird Leys) and lived there and in Witney (12 miles west) for many, many years.
For a long time there were few, if any, black people in Witney. I then lived in Cowley, and that was totally different, very multi cultural. I then lived on Cumnor Hill (Botley), again it was very white.
In my view, it really depends what part of the City you choose.

OP I grew up in Oxford. It’s a lot more multicultural than you would expect and has a fairly sizeable black population for a town of its size. It’s also very liberal and overt racism is very frowned upon.

I’m white so difficult to totally empathise with your anxiety but I can imagine how it would seem but the town part of Oxford (as opposed to the university bit) is much more down to earth than you might think.

I suppose the difference might be that as the city is surrounded by a very white commuter belt and had a very white transient student population, the actual mix of people there each day is much whiter than the city’s population. Whereas in Northern cities the surrounding commuter areas and the student population are both diverse.

It is one of the whitest places I’ve ever been. I’m amazed that other people have seen this other side to it.

The 2011 census says 22% BAME (as distinct from 13% in England), 64% White British, and the remaining 14% white, but from a non-British background.

As other people have said, I think diversity in Oxford is heavily dependent on area, but the university is also more diverse than it was when I was there -- 18% BAME acc. last year's stats.

As previous posters have said, I’d say Oxford for the size is multicultural and welcoming - however if you do head out to the countryside that very quickly changes.
All the places people have mentioned are either within the ring road (Headington, Marston, Summertown, Jericho) or external towns such as Abingdon, Bicester, Didcot, Banbury, Kidlington (yes it’s officially classified as a village but totally is not!)

Any of the above places I believe you’d be fine.

I’d suggest taking a look at Bicester from all of the above external towns because it has a very diverse population growing due to Bicester Vilkage and such good London connections with 2 train stations.

The internal towns, in order are Jericho, Summertown, Headington.
Wolvercote might be worth looking at too, really lovely there.

However as soon as you reach somewhere such as Woodstock (which is gorgeous) you will find very little ethnic diversity. My son went to secondary school there and in a year group of over 1000 I believe there was less than a handful of BAME students.

Hmm I wonder how diverse the actual population is without the students? But we are a mixed (white/East Asian) family and feel relaxed in Oxford, possibly more so than many other cities - I wouldn't want to move. One easy way to find out some data would be to look at the secondary school ofsted reports I believe they give ethnicity breakdown numbers.

If the population count includes the students then students make up about a quarter of the population.

A quick google finds some data from 2019. Realise you are after personal experiences though.

http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/sites/default/files/DataProjSELG201005RacePaperfinall_0.pdf

2010 not 2019 darned autocorrect! And actually some of it's 2007 sorry

I’m from a little village near Wheatley and went to Wheatley Park school. (Obviously like 20 years ago)

I’d say it was a lovely school and very diverse back then. I hear good things about it now. I wouldn’t be worried if I was you.

OP, avoid the catchments of The Oxford Academy and St Gregs like the plague. They are really awful nightmarish schools.

@Whatisthisfuckery

OP, avoid the catchments of The Oxford Academy and St Gregs like the plague. They are really awful nightmarish schools.

Just out of interest, why are these such bad schools? I've heard good/mixed things about Cherwell, Cheney and Matthew Arnold but not much about the ones you mention

Sorry but the “I’m white, but the area is super diverse and I’ve never seen racism happen” posters are giving me a good giggle

Well this from January pretty much sums up the problems with Oxford Academy: www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/18168795.oxford-academy-rated-inadequate-ofsted-placed-special-measures/

St Greg's was in special measures a few years ago, not sure what it is like now.

Both schools draw from areas of high social deprivation which I presume is part of the problems they have. It's worth remembering that Oxford and nearby towns have some very well known private schools so the education gets quite segregated as far as I can tell: you have the private schools, then the children of academics/professionals who can afford to live within catchment for Cherwell/Cheney/Matthew Arnold (or who get university accomodation within those areas), and then you get the other schools that have a terrible reputation. Wheatley Park is just outside the city so is slightly different, as are the schools in Kidlington etc. (And I'm sure I've made some generalisations there but that's how it has seemed to me)

Matthew Arnold is a very good school -- I used to live very close to it in the Elms Rise estate, which is probably one of the most affordable bits of Oxford that isn't actively horrible (semis go for around £350k, which is still mental but it's not a £2.3m townhouse on the Woodstock Road...)

Went to Oxford at the w/e and must say that I didn't see many non white people, less so than I do in my own home town. It did actually stand out for me, especially being a large city, but maybe because where I live is very multi-cultural. Not sure that helps at all.

I wonder if it might be worth you also looking at Reading as it is easily commutable to Oxford and has some decent schools. It seems very diverse - but probably more people of Asian heritage than African/Caribbean.

I know this is an older thread now, but wondering if OP did make the move and how you found it, as I am now in the same boat, considering this area