Oxfordshire Recovery College

03/09/2025

A reminder that our Autumn Term will start on Wednesday 10th September. There are still spaces on some of our upcoming courses, to find out more about what is coming up during our Autumn Term take a look at our website https://restore.org.uk/learning/oxfordshire-recovery-college/
We look forward to welcoming back our wonderful team of tutors and all of our students 🧡💜

15/08/2025

Celebrating Oxfordshire Recovery College's 10th Anniversary, there was a week-long programme of events – from tea parties to zentangling.

Activities applauded the hard-work and passion of so many people, and helped to share ORC with others in the community, including the unveiling of a brand new video (visit https://oxfordshirerecoverycollege.org.uk).

Over 80 people attended the Big Tea Party at Elder Stubbs Allotments where Oxfordshire Recovery College began. There was lots of cake, chatting with friends old and new, and wonderful live music from .

Read more: https://restore.org.uk/news/2025/what-happened-to-mark-10th-anniversary-of-orc/

07/08/2025

Restore welcomes new Chief Executive Officer, Beth Hendry.

As a former mental health nurse and experienced leader in health and social care, Beth brings insight, compassion, and commitment to change. Her focus: tackling inequality, amplifying lived experience, and building sustainable mental health services across Oxfordshire.

READ MORE: https://restore.org.uk/news/2025/meet-beth-restores-new-ceo/

Learn more about Restore’s work at restore.org.uk

07/08/2025

100 kilometres, non-stop, this weekend. All supporting better mental health!

Avril is a volunteer tutor for Oxfordshire Recovery College, which is a part of the Restore family. This weekend Avril is going to walk 100k continuously and her fundraising is fast-approaching £1000!

To support Avril, and help smash the £1000 target, please find her fundraising page here (the link will also be in the 'story' posts above for the next 24 hours).
https://www.justgiving.com/page/avril-allenby-2

Good luck Avril! Great work!

17/07/2025

Avril, one of our wonderful tutors is doing a challenge walk on the Gower this weekend. The challenge is walking 100k continuously on the 19th and 20th July, this is no mean feat at all and we are all right behind you Avril.

Whilst doing this incredible challenge Avril is raising money for Restore, the amazing mental health charity we sit within, she is so close to her target of £1000 and we would really love to help get her to this target.

Please have a look at Avril's page for further information and get behind her to complete the challenge! On behalf of everyone here at ORC we wish you the very best of luck!

Help Avril Allenby raise money to support RESTORE

16/07/2025

This week ORC is celebrating 10 years since our first courses were launched in 2015. We have had numerous events taking place so far with more to come!
The first of our week long celebrations started with Celebration events across the county in Banbury, Witney and Didcot. Students came together to create celebratory bunting to be hung at our culminating event this Friday (More info below) Students then created themselves a self care jar or bag, filled with things that help maintain wellbeing on those difficult days. There was a real sense of connection at all of these sessions and students embraced the activities. We held an online Zentangle workshop, Zentangle is a structured method of drawing repetitive, abstract patterns called "tangles" on small pieces of paper, designed to promote relaxation, focus, and creativity. As part of these week long celebrations we are also holding public events, the first one took place online on Monday when we welcomed Dr Khadj Rouf, Consultant Clinical Psychologist to lead a talk on putting Trauma Informed Care into Practice. we had over 40 people join us for this talk and were really grateful to Dr Khadj for giving us her time.

Still to come this week -
This afternoon students will take part in a BIG doodle to create a new mural for our office.
Thursday - Library of Life Launch 2025, brave students will be stepping forward to show their short films about journeys in mental health. There are 10 films to watch, including a new short film about the impact of ORC. This will be held at The Asian Cultural Centre (Oxford) from 6-8pm and is open to anyone.
Friday - The BIG Tea Party - Our culminating event to round off the week. This is a celebration of all the hard work many people have put into creating ORC over the last 10 years and will be held where it all started in 2015 at The Elder Stubbs Allotments (Oxford) from 2-4pm. The event will feature an ORC exhibition, the launch of our new coproduced office mural, creative activities, live music and lots of delicious cake. This is a public event so please do come along and learn more about what the Recovery College does and how to be a part of it. For further information about any of the upcoming events or Oxfordshire Recovery College please contact our office - contactorc@restore.org.uk

08/04/2025

Last week we rounded off our Spring Term with Wellbeing events for students around the county, getting creative with Origami and making paper roses using an old music book was a wonderful way to wind down after an incredibly busy term.

Our Summer Term course dates are now available via our website https://restore.org.uk/learning/oxfordshire-recovery-college/ and our Summer Term will commence on Wednesday 23rd April.

ORC will celebrate it's 10th Birthday this Summer and have lots of events planned around the county to celebrate and promote this. More details about all of these events nearer the time.
🧡💜

10/10/2024

Today is World mental Health Day, and the theme is workplace well-being, a chance for us all to share, connect and check in with each other. ORC offers over 60, free Mental Health and Wellbeing courses across Oxfordshire and online.
If you would like to find out more, please visit our website https://restore.org.uk/learning/oxfordshire-recovery-college/ or contact us at contactorc@restore.org.uk - 01865 779613.

For more mental health support or for mental health first aid training opportunities visit Restore's website https://restore.org.uk/

Today everyone is talking about . A chance to spark conversations, offer support, and check-in with friends, family, and colleagues.

The theme is workplace well-being. A healthy workplace is good for both people and business. Restore's training team is out today, actively engaging with over 100 people in Oxfordshire workplaces!

If your organisation would like to prioritise workplace well-being this World Mental Health Day, make a start by saying hello here: https://restore.org.uk/learning/training/

03/05/2024

Restore's Online Auction is now live and ready for your bids!! Some amazing items on the list so why not treat yourself to something special whilst helping great causes 💜🧡💚

03/05/2024

Any runners out there interested in taking part in The Oxford Half Marathon??

🏃‍♀️ Inspired by the London Marathon? Channel that motivation closer to home! Restore Lives, Run Oxford. Sign up for the Oxford Half today.

🏅https://bit.ly/restore-oxford-half-2024

29/04/2024

Our wonderful tutor Tina will be running a Mindful Movement with Tai Chi Chih session at the Dorchester Festival on Friday 10th May. All of the details can be found in Tina's description below. More details on all of the events happening at Dorchester Festival can be found on the Dorchester Festival website. https://dorchesterfestival.com/ or on the Restore website https://www.restore.org.uk/2024/oxfordshires-most-imaginative-community-event-the-dorchester-festival-is-back

This event is FREE but please do book a ticket using the link on the right so that we know how many people are coming! Join Restore’s Oxfordshire Recovery College for a free introduction to

28/03/2024

We rounded off our Spring Term yesterday with a Wellbeing event for our students, it was a wonderful, calm afternoon together creating some amazing Easter baubles and wool hearts. All of the students were really engaged and enjoyed the afternoon.

Our Summer Term will commence on Tuesday 16th April with lots more courses running every week.

On behalf of all at ORC we hope you have a wonderful Easter break.
🧡💜