Drivers are facing extra delays this morning on their journey to work in Oxford as thousands of prospective students arrive in the city.

Undergraduate applicants and their families are expected to visit Oxford University today and tomorrow, with more than 7,000 people expected each day.

Traffic on routes heading into Oxford, including Botley Road, is already busier than usual.

Oxford Mail:

The route along Botley Road and the Abingdon road were both seeing very high levels of traffic this morning (Credit: Google Maps)

The Venturefest showcase for hi-tech entrepreneurship, which is being held at the King's Centre in Osney Mead, West Oxford, starts this morning at 7.45am and will also add to Botley Road congestion.

Highways managers at County Hall have been liaising with Oxford University to make sure there are no major hold-ups and the Oxford Bus Company has said it will run additional park-and-ride services if there is sufficient demand.

Prospective students have been told that if they arrive in Oxford by train, or if they park at one of the park-and-rides they could be greeted by a staff member or student volunteer wearing a blue university T-shirt.

Helen Charlesworth, head of communications in the undergraduate admissions and outreach team at Oxford University, said earlier: "It’s particularly important that students from as wide a range of backgrounds and schools as possible get a chance to see life at Oxford up close, to see what it’s really like."

All colleges and departments will be putting on events, along with the university’s museums, libraries and other facilities.

Information points will be staffed by university staff volunteers on Radcliffe Square and at the corner of Parks Road and South Parks road in the science area.

The undergraduate admissions and outreach team will run an Open day Information Centre at the Examination Schools in High Street, where student services advisors on student fees and funding will be available to give advice.

For further information visit ox.ac.uk