We are delighted to offer a new fun weekly class for primary school age children from year 2. We will teach fencing skills and games in a fun environment alongside our regular club sessions. The sessions run from 7pm until 8pm during term time alongside our regular fencing club session at our regular venue at Headington School Oxford.  Please note that there is no juniors class on 18th September Sessions will be structured as follows: 15 mins warm-up/moving 15 mins core skills 15 mins skill-based game based on the skills taught that evening) 15 mins combat game/ free fencing All kit will be provided (a fencing mask and plastic sword). We ask that participants bring a long-sleeved jumper to wear as additional protection for their upper body, and a bottle of water to stay hydrated.   Adults are asked to remain on-site during the sessions so that they are available to assist their fencer should this be needed.   Pricing This class is charged on a termly basis. The price you see reflects the number of sessions between payment date and the next school half-term.

Oxford Fencing Club Taster Session Come and try out the fun, exciting sport of Fencing at this taster session with Oxford Fencing Club. The session will last about one and a half hours and will be directed by the club coaches to give you an idea of what a beginner’s course will be like. You will be shown the basics in footwork as well as having a chance to try the equipment and then have a bout with fellow course participants.  This is ideal for adults and juniors who are interested in fencing but are not sure if they want to sign up for the eight week beginner’s course. The cost for the session is £16 payable in advance by credit card or bank transfer.  A group who attended a recent taster commented:  "Thanks for Friday night. We had a good time and were all surprised just how difficult it is just to stand correctly let alone move forward and back. Please pass on our thanks to the two chaps who tried to show us what to do, it must have felt like trying to pin jelly to a wall!"   This session will be open to adults and juniors (minimum age 8) and all you need to bring is some exercise clothing with long sleeves (e.g. tee shirt, track suit bottoms and non-marking trainers) plus some water. We will show you the basics using plastic swords so that you can have a quick and safe introduction to the sport. All safety equipment will be provided.

Learn to Fence Our courses for beginners (minimum age 8) are led by James Kingston, a qualified British Fencing Association coach registered with England Fencing. The course lasts for 8 weeks and takes place in the sports centre of Headington Rye Prep School: see location.  An attendee at one of our recent courses commented "We were all instantly welcomed, and each leasson became the highlight of my week, and great value for money ... It was a great introduction to the sport, and I managed to make a lot more progress than I initially predicted, and will definitely be continuing." Fencing courses for Beginners  When a beginners' course is complete you should be able to compete in a proper fencing bout with your fellow beginners. The weapon used in the beginner’s course is a foil and you can go on to fence with the other weapons; epee and sabre if you decide to continue with the sport.    Course Dates The course will run on Friday evenings for 8 weeks. The dates for Autumn 2026 are: Friday, 2 October 2026 Friday, 9 October 2026 Friday, 16 October 2026 Friday, 23 October 2026 Friday, 30 October 2026 – NO COURSE. Half term Friday, 6 November 2026 Friday, 13 November 2026 Friday, 20 November 2026 Friday, 27 November 2026 Aims and objectives  of the fencing course for beginners  Aims:  At the end of the course the participants will be able to practice the conventions of a match in bouts with other course members.  They will know sufficient fencing terminology to take individual lessons from a coach and understand help from other experienced fencers within the club.  Objectives:   To be able to adopt the correct 'en garde' position.  To be able to coordinate foot and hand actions to execute a simple attack or a defensive retreat.  To appreciate the idea of 'fencing distance' and be able to maintain it.  To be able to take the 'high line guards' in order to execute a simple parry.  To be able to execute a simple direct riposte following a parry.  To be able to continue a 'simple attack', avoiding the simple parry by the use of disengagement’.  To understand and be able to state the basic rule of 'right of way' for simple attacks and ripostes at foil.  To have experienced supervised bouts with other course members.  To understand the area of the target at foil, piste layout, basic fencing rules and etiquette.  To be familiar with basic piste rules, and the role and powers of the referee.  To have gained experience of simple judging of non-electric bouts.  To have received an introduction to the world of fencing, club, competitions, the various age groups, the various weapons.   To understand that this basic course is an introduction to the world of fencing that can lead,  with more experience and practice, to trying other weapons and fencing with more experienced members of the  club   Registration and payment for the course must be made in advance via this website (contact us to arrange payment methods); unfortunately it is not possible to join at the first class of a course.  What happens after the course?  If you enjoy the course and you want to continue with the sport, you are welcome to come to the club regularly. We run follow-on courses to teach you further skills, our club coaches are available for individual lessons, and free-fencing is available twice a week. Please visit our membership & fees page for full details of what that entails. Please note that you will need to be a member of British Fencing to fence at OFC (or any fencing club) once you complete a beginner’s course. Details can be found at www.britishfencing.com and the cost of membership starts at £18 per year. Information that we collect Any information that you give us will be stored in our online administration system, TidyHQ. You can log in to this service at any time to view or update all the information that we hold about you, and change your communication preferences.    Required Information When you join the club, we ask you to provide your name and email address so that we can get in touch with you about events that the club may be running, updates on our club sessions and with other information that may be relevant (e.g. information about competitions, club-branded equipment, or social events). In addition to these details, we also require the name and phone number of someone who we can contact in an emergency. As part of our support of British Fencing, all members of the club must also be members of British Fencing. For this reason, we ask you to provide your BF membership number. Course Attendees In addition to your name and contact information, our public liability insurance policy requires that all course attendees are members of British Fencing. You may join British Fencing for free by visiting https://bf.sport80.com Optional Information If you wish to let us know about your address, date of birth, or any medical conditions that you think are relevant, please let us know on the form. Children’s information If you are the parent/guardian of a junior member or course attendee, we ask that you provide your email and contact information rather than your child’s. Parents/guardians consent that the club can use any information that they provide about their children for the purposes detailed below. We only ask for your child’s name for the purpose of creating accurate attendee lists for courses, and so that we know who our members are. How long we keep information for The information that you provide will be stored on our administration system, which is web-based and used to manage the finances of the club, email information about events and activities within the club, and generate membership and attendance lists. We will keep this information for up to three years after you cease being a member of the club or attend a course, for the purpose of monitoring membership statistics. After that time, we will delete any details that you have provided. Who can access the information The information that you provide is only accessible by members of the club committee (Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Safeguarding Officer) and the coaches who teach lessons. What we use the information for Personal information that you provide is used for administering your membership of the club (or attendance at a course that we provide). We will use your email address to send you information about club sessions, competitions and events, and social functions, unless you opt out of communications from the club. When you attend one of our beginners’ courses, we are required to ensure that you are a member of British Fencing’s Introductory Membership scheme. We do not share your personal information with any other third party for any other purpose. The privacy policy of TidyHQ may be viewed here (https://tidyhq.com/privacy/).