In May 2025, the British Educational Research Association (2025) published a series of blog special issues on potential pathways towards an integrated tertiary education system in England. Since then, the UK Government has announced that from 2026 it will introduce a lifelong learning entitlement for England, which will replace higher education student finance loans and advanced learner loans ‘to create a single post-18 student funding system’ (DfE, 2025). Additionally, the Post-16 education and skills white paper announced a number of measures to ‘bring higher and further education providers closer together by simplifying the regulatory framework for higher level study’ (HM Government, 2025, p. 43).
This series of seminars explores England’s progress towards a tertiary education system, and puts this in a theoretical, historical, and comparative perspective. Each seminar will be held in hybrid mode at The University of Oxford’s Department of Education (Seminar Room G/H) on Thursday from 22 January to 12 March 2026, from 4:15 pm to 5:45 pm. The details for the seminar series are below or download the seminar series poster (SKOPE Seminar Series – Tertiary Education in England (HT 2026).
How coordinated are the Post-16 education and skills white paper’s plans for tertiary education?
Speaker: James Robson
Date: 22 January 2026
Time: 16:15-17:45
Venue: Seminar Room G/H & Teams
Register here.
Thinking with Bourdieu to consider the potential and pitfalls of a tertiary education system in England
Speaker: Ann-Marie Bathmaker
Date: 29 January 2026
Time: 16:15-17:45
Venue: Seminar Room G/H & Teams
Register here.
How ‘tertiary’ is English post-secondary education?
Speaker: Gavin Moodie
Date: 5 February 2026
Time: 16:15-17:45
Venue: Seminar Room G/H & Teams
Register here.
From a patchwork to a panorama? Tertiary education in Wales 1997 to 2026
Speaker: Huw Morris
Date: 12 February 2026
Time: 16:15-17:45
Venue: Seminar Room G/H & Teams
Register here.
Tertiary education in England: possibilities, potential & challenges for dual-sector integration
Speaker: Chris Millward & Leesa Wheelahan
Date: 19 February 2026
Time: 16:15-17:45
Venue: Seminar Room G/H & Teams
Register here.
What are the purposes of tertiary education? Unpacking diverse perspectives and politics in England
Speaker: Xu Xin & Gonzalo Hidalgo Bazan
Date: 26 February 2026
Time: 16:15-17:45
Venue: Seminar Room G/H & Teams
Register here.
How systematic is Scotland’s system of tertiary education?
Speaker: Ellen Boeren
Date: 5 March 2026
Time: 16:15-17:45
Venue: Seminar Room G/H & Teams
Register here.
Tertiary Education in the Republic of Ireland
Speaker: Ellen Hazelkorn
Date: 12 March 2026
Time: 16:15-17:45
Venue: Seminar Room G/H & Teams
Register here.