The February half term holiday is nearly upon us, so here is a selection of fun stuff happening in and around the city during that week. Whether you’re scrambling to arrange childcare while school’s out, or looking for things to do together with your children, we’ve got you covered. And if your budget and mental energy are low, you might be pleased to hear we’ve a week’s worth of suggestions for exciting, varied low- or no-cost activities, to keep everyone happy.
Activities where you can leave your kids while you do something else
There’s a huge array of holiday clubs available, offering myriad activities, lots of different size groups, and for all ages of school children, with some offering bursaries for those who need them. Here is a selection of our favourites.
The kindest gym in Oxford, Project PT, offers a ‘camp for kids who don’t like camps’, which offers a nurturing environment for kids to try out things like skateboarding and pad-based boxing, arts and crafts, den making, and slack-lining. For kids who love football, Ignite runs a week’s camp at the City Football Club, as well as arty crafty activities (in case their siblings don’t!). And for children who are into lots of different sports, they can spend their half term doing basketball, badminton, dodgeball, athletics, football, hockey, squash, and swimming at the Oxford University Sports Centre on Iffley Road.
At the Story Museum, the Story Explorers camp takes place in the Hogwarts-inspired Magic Common Room, and prioritises play, drama, craft and, of course, stories. The North Wall is offering two mornings of interactive drama workshops, called Character Creations. And for a fuller programme for budding actors, film-makers, costume designers and comedians, head to Creation Theatre’s week of workshops. The Oxford Opera Company are leading a day’s workshop, putting together a performance of HMS Pinafore in just five hours! And over at the Centre for Music in Barton, there are three free afternoon workshops (plus free lunch) for kids age 10 to 14 who want to learn about writing lyrics, crafting beats and recording music, to make their own song. Truly something for everyone!
The Project PT
Ages 5 - 13. Mon 16th to Fri 20th Feb, 8.30am - 4.30pm. St Ebbes School. From £110 for two days, to £250 for five days.
Ignite at Oxford City Football Club
Ages 4 - 11. Mon 16th to Fri 20th Feb, 9am - 3pm. Oxford City Football Club. £30 per full day.
Iffley Sports Centre
A couple of days left
Ages 4 - 12. Mon 16th to Fri 20th Feb, 8.30am - 5.30pm. Iffley Road Sports Centre. £49 per full day.
Story Museum
Ages 8 - 11. Tues 17th and Weds 18th Feb (Thurs sold out), 10am - 4pm. Story Museum. £44 per day (bursaries available for low-income families).
North Wall
Ages 8 - 11. Mon 16th and Tue 17th Feb, 9am - 12 noon. North Wall Arts Centre. £40 for two days.
Creation Theatre
Ages 7 - 16. Mon 16th to Fri 20th Feb, 9am - 5pm. St Andrew’s Church, OX2 6UG. £55.50 per day.
Listen Up!
Ages 10 - 14. Weds 18th to Friday 20th Feb, 1-3pm. Centre for Music, Barton. Free, including lunch.
Opera in a Day
Ages 8 - 12. Wednesday 18th Feb, 10.30am - 4pm. Museum of Oxford. £40.
Stuff to do together with your kids
If you have time over half term when you’ll be with your kids (or you’ve borrowed someone else’s) and are seeking things to do together, then look no further! Here is a selection of events which are happening specially for half term, as well as some suggestions for places which are always fun to visit, and regular events which happen to fall during the holiday too.
Activities in Oxford city
If the weather isn’t too hostile, or you have the right clothing and your kids are in the right mood, then Oxford is full of great outdoor spaces to have fun in. From anywhere in the city it’s possible to cycle to a different playground every day for a fortnight, should you be so inclined, and we are blessed with a large number of big parks and nature reserves within the city itself.
One of DI’s very favourite outdoor spots is the Oxford City Farm, where anyone can go and hang out on a Saturday morning to visit the animals, meet friends, admire the green growing things and build with giant lego. They also sell farm produce, so you can get fresh veg and herbs, and eggs for your Shrove Tuesday pancakes (Pancake Day this year is Tues 17th Feb). Even better, the farm is just round the corner from Florence Park, with its marvellous community cafe Flo’s, and family-friendly pub The Jolly Postboys as well.
If you and your children like to explore big outdoor spaces, then you might consider getting yourself a permit to walk in Wytham woods. The permit is free, the woods are beautiful and huge, it’s not far from the city centre, and there’s a bus, the ST2 that goes there from town.
As for indoor entertainment in Oxford over half term, a great place to start is with our superlative crop of museums. At the Story Museum, a wonderful place to sink a day at any time of year, as well as the usual delights you can also enjoy three performances and a workshop this half term. Author Beth Woollvin will be exploring the world of her new book, Robin Hood, on the Tuesday. Wednesday brings a workshop on designing your own videogame character. On Thursday you can encounter Two Young Dragons, and on Saturday you can enjoy puppet theatre, in Snow White Rose Red Brown Bear.
The Ashmolean Museum, always worth a visit for kids keen on treasure (plenty of shiny gold coins from all eras), Japanese warriors (for the Samurai armour and weapons), ancient Egyptian mummies, or history in general, is holding a festival on the first weekend of half term, suitable for kids and celebrating the many communities and faiths of our brilliant city. Entry to the museum is always free, as is the festival.
In addition, on Thursday 19th, the Ashmolean is also hosting a family drawing workshop, as part of The Drawing Project, a collaborative art project based on two paintings which are in the Ashmolean. The Drawing Project exhibition is on at the North Wall until 7th March.
Another standard go-to for days out in the city, and also free to visit, the Natural History Museum is running two days of Spectacular Skeletons on the Monday and Tuesday of half term. There will be specimens to touch and crafty activities to get stuck into, alongside the spectacular stuffed menagerie which is always to be found amongst the fossil-studded columns and ornate leaf-decked iron work of this lovely place. And if it’s raining cats and dogs, not only will you be warm and dry inside the museum, but you’ll also get to experience the sound and sight of the downpour on the glass roof.
The Museum of Oxford, homed in the Town Hall, is also running events and activities for kids and their families over half term. The Art Trail and Hands on History sessions are drop-in, with no need to book, and are included in the ticket price. The Mindful MOX Slow Looking workshops need to be booked, and the ticket includes entrance to the galleries. And towards the end of the week MOX is a great place to learn about and celebrate the Lunar New Year. On Thursday 19th, crafting sessions will explore Chinese New Year traditions, then on the afternoon of Sunday 22nd you can enjoy a grand celebration of the New Year, with lion and dragon dances, musical performances on traditional Chinese instruments, food stalls, craft activities, kung fu, Chinese calligraphy, and more.
Over in Headington Quarry lies a hidden gem, Science Oxford. Open to families every Saturday, it offers interactive science exhibits designed for children, 15 acres of woodland to explore with the kits and trail maps provided, and a cafe to keep everyone going. There are also special events happening both Saturdays of half term. On the 14th will be Amazing Anatomy, where you can celebrate Valentines Day by learning about the wonders of the human heart. Starry Night, on the 20th, will include a planetarium show, stargazing, and VR headsets from Space Oxford.
If you can’t make it to Science Oxford for the night sky event, but your kids are fascinated by space, then you can head anytime to the Space Store in the Covered Market, for virtual reality rocket rides, and all the space-themed trinkets your smalls could desire.
Also in the centre of town, to occupy you and your smalls for a couple of hours, is the Oxford Illusion Museum. Enter an unassuming door on the High Street, and swiftly find yourself upside down and through the looking glass. Or to lose yourself in another land, head to Thirsty Meeples board-game cafe in the Gloucester Green market place, where for a fixed fee you can play any of their extensive library for up to three hours, as well as get fed and watered.
Of course, the classic place to head in dreadful weather is the cinema. You can find all the screenings listed on Daily Info, and you’re bound to find something your kiddos will enjoy.
If your little ones are bouncing off the walls and need to get the wiggles out then we can offer two active rainy day options. For the under 6s, the Valentines Family Dance Party on 14th at the North Wall will help everyone shake it out and feel good. For bigger kids, the ice rink can be a great place to use up extra energy, and the serenity of gliding on the ice might also help counteract any grown-ups’ frustration after using the More app to book tickets.
And if you are seeking company for yourself as well as your young children, then you’ll find people to chat to, good coffee and healthy, low-priced hot food at the Donnington Doorstep community cafe. It’s open 10am - 1.30pm on a Friday, and there is no entry fee. It’s a safe space full of toys for the smalls, where you can relax a little while they play.
If your younger children are up for taking in a show, there’s a play designed for ages 3-7 at the North Wall, about a badger who likes everything to be Tidy, and at the JDP, on Sunday 15th Feb, there’s a family cushion concert, in which kids can learn about the building blocks of music like rhythm. If your kids are a bit older, then you and they might enjoy Here and Now: The Steps Musical at the New Theatre, or Oxford’s own big-name a-capella group Out of the Blue over at Cornerstone Arts Centre in Didcot.
If you have the kind of offspring who are interested in classical music, and who are happy to sit quietly for a longer stint (with or without something to draw with), then over half term you can take advantage of Oxford’s rich programme of free daytime concerts which happen during University term times. Sunday 15th brings an afternoon violin and piano recital by James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong at Trinity; on the Tuesday lunchtime you can head to the Wesley Memorial to hear internationally-acclaimed classical guitarist Kevin Loh; the Thursday brings a choice of the regular St Peter’s College lunchtime recital by members of the college, or Mihaly Gyorfi (piano) and Stefan Rogers (cello) at the University church, St Mary the Virgin; and on Fridays Wadham College, well known for its creative and progressive alumni, present lunchtime recitals by college members. If money isn’t a barrier, you and your young music-lover can also head to the Coffee Concert series at the Holywell Music Room, held every Sunday morning.
Activities outside Oxford
For those with access to a car, a bus or train ticket, or a sturdy pair of legs, there’s a whole host of fun half-term activities to be found outside the city.
For animal-loving children, you have nearly as many options as there are days in half term, (though you might need to sell one of your children to afford all of them)! For farm animal delights, Cogges Farm is reopening for the new season on Saturday 14th, the Cotswold Farm Park is open from 13th Feb offering the chance to see lambs and lambing, or you can head to the Buckingham Goat Centre, where they’ve got half term activities and visiting parrots. If you’re seeking wilder, more exotic creatures, there’s the Cotswold Wildlife Park (though you might do well to buy tickets in advance in case it’s busy), Crocodiles of the World, and the Living Rainforest, all not too far away.
If one or more of your kids has additional needs, you could make the journey over to Thomley, a welcoming activity centre in Buckinghamshire, set up to be suitable for kids of all abilities and disabilities. They have playgrounds and sensory rooms galore.
Other things you can head out to do are: Bale Play in the Barn at High Lodge Farm (joyful straw bale obstacle course anarchy); axe throwing courses for four or more people booking as a group (age 8+); steam train days at Didcot Railway Centre; the code museum at Bletchley Park (easy to combine with a quick scoot over to Ikea for meatballs or a bookcase); the Tolkein exhibition and half-term crafts at child-friendly Banbury Museum; or even a big day out skiing at the Milton Keynes snowdome, for those who wish they were in the Alps this season!
If you’re craving fresh air then the grounds of Waddesdon Manor (between Bicester and Aylesbury) are open most days over half term, and they’re running Zoolab live shows both weekends, all about native species. Stowe House in Buckingham, and its National Trust gardens, are also keen to welcome young visitors, with Chinese New Year themed activities included in the house ticket prices, and a stargazing event on the Tuesday and Wednesday evenings of half term. Or if you’re looking for something more low key, swing by Bunkers Hill's delightful independent plant nursery, where there are always trails for the kids to hunt out, and other fun things to spy here and there, while you can sneakily shop for bedding plants and the like.
Free or very-low/no cost activities for the whole week
It can be really useful to have free or very cheap options up your sleeve when it comes to school holidays. Not only because it’s great to save money, but also because if you haven’t travelled far or spent lots of money then it doesn’t matter nearly so much if your small person throws a fit and needs to go home again after ten minutes! It makes for a much more relaxing time all round. Here’s a whole week’s worth of entertainment, chosen from everything mentioned above, that will make for a super fun half term and will set you back hardly anything.
Sat 14th Feb- Valentines Family Dance Party, 10.30am and 1pm, North Wall, pay what you can.
Sun 15th - One World Festival (day 2), 11am - 4pm, Ashmolean Museum, free.
Mon 16th Feb - Spectacular Skeletons, 1pm - 4pm, Museum of Natural History, free.
Tues 17th Feb - Pancake Day! Head out to buy your eggs, flour and milk together, and give the kids a budget to choose the toppings. Then go home, put on some great music, and cook up a feast as a team. Or whatever variation on that you have patience for!
Weds 18th Feb - Florence Park playgrounds (free), and Flo’s Cafe. There’s a token system at the cafe to get a free meal if that’s what you need.
Thur 19th Feb - Lunchtime recital, 1.15pm, St Peter’s College, free.
Fri - Donnington Doorstep community cafe, 10am - 1.30pm, no entry fee, low cost home-cooked hot food, free meals available.
Sat - Oxford City Farm Community Session, 10am - 1pm, free.
Sun 22nd - A wander in Wytham Woods. Free, but requires permit.
Have you got something you want to add to our half term guide? Drop us a line at info@dailyinfo.co.uk!
Image credits: The Ashmolean Museum, The Story Museum, Dancin' Oxford, Cotswold Farms