Student Accommodation Near Oxford Brookes University

Student housing near Oxford Brookes University

Oxford Brookes University sits a mile east of Oxford's city centre, mostly in Headington, and it's a completely separate institution from the collegiate University of Oxford across town. Whichever course you're starting, finding student housing near Oxford Brookes University usually comes down to one decision: stay close to Headington, or trade a longer commute for more of Oxford's city centre life. Housr lets you filter by weekly price, bedrooms and bathrooms, and check everything on an interactive map, so you can settle that before you sign anything.

About Oxford Brookes University

Brookes started in 1865 as the Oxford School of Art, a single room at the Taylor Institution. It became the Oxford City Technical School in 1891, merged into the Schools of Technology, Art and Commerce under Principal John Henry Brookes in 1934, and moved to its current Headington site in 1963. It was renamed Oxford Polytechnic in 1970 and gained full university status in 1992, becoming Oxford Brookes University, the only one of that year's new universities named after its own founder.

Today it teaches around 26,000 students, roughly 21,700 undergraduates and 4,300 postgraduates. It's particularly well known for architecture (the School of Architecture is regularly ranked among the UK's top five), law, business, hospitality and mechanical engineering with motorsport, a course with real Formula 1 links: alumnus Adrian Reynard, the motorsport engineer and constructor, is one of its best-known graduates. In the Complete University Guide's 2027 league table, Brookes ranks 45th out of 130 UK universities, with a top-ten result for Childhood & Youth Studies, and it holds a TEF Silver award for teaching quality. In the QS World Rankings 2026, it placed 374th out of 1,501 universities worldwide, which puts it 38th out of 90 UK institutions, up four places on the year before.

None of this overlaps with the University of Oxford. Brookes runs its own campus and its own students' union a mile from where Oxford's colleges sit, and the two institutions are entirely separate, right down to different admissions systems and different degree titles.

Most teaching happens on the Headington Campus, which spans three linked sites: Gipsy Lane, Headington Hill and Marston Road, the last of these home to the health and social care courses. Harcourt Hill, three miles out on the western edge of the city near Botley, used to run its own teaching and library services, but those moved to Headington ahead of the 2025/26 academic year. Harcourt Hill still houses students, so a room there isn't a dead end. Buses connect it to the main campus.

Popular student areas near Oxford Brookes University

Headington is the obvious starting point. It wraps around the Gipsy Lane site, so a lot of students end up in the terraced streets off London Road and Old Road, a five to ten minute walk from lectures, with a Tesco and enough takeaways on the doorstep to get most households through exam season.

Cowley, just south, is a bus ride rather than a walk from campus, but it comes with Cowley Road, the strip students from both universities head to for curry houses, late-opening cafés and the O2 Academy's music nights. It suits anyone who wants more happening in the evening than Headington offers.

If you'd rather be near the shops, museums and nightlife of the centre itself, Oxford City Centre is a straightforward bus ride from Headington, at the cost of a longer trip to lectures each morning.

Getting to campus

The 8 bus (Stagecoach) runs from Oxford City Centre through St Clements and Headington, stopping directly outside Brookes, and on to Barton, with buses roughly every 7 to 15 minutes through the day. Services 9, 100, 700 and 900 also link the city centre to Headington, and the 400 Park & Ride gives students with a car somewhere to leave it before hopping on a bus in. From the city centre, walking to Headington Campus takes around 20 minutes; cycling cuts that to under 10.

Accommodation near Oxford Brookes University

Oxford Brookes University accommodation on Housr covers everything from single ensuite rooms to full shared houses. Filter by weekly price, bedroom count and bathroom type to narrow it down fast, then switch between list view, tile view and the interactive map to see exactly how close a property sits to Gipsy Lane. Request more information or book a viewing straight from the listing. If you're still short a housemate or two, Housr Roomie connects you with other verified students looking to fill a room.

Start browsing student housing near Oxford Brookes University with Housr's filters and map view. If Headington isn't quite right, browse student accommodation across Oxford as a whole, or look specifically at Oxford City Centre if you'd rather be based nearer the middle of town.