Outside the programme, many students make new friends through the local churches in the city, and give something back to the community by volunteering for organizations that help the vulnerable and less advantaged, and improve the Oxford environment. SCIO helps and encourages all students to develop a healthy balance between study and other things, and to that end holds weekly events that give students the opportunity to talk and share what has been happening over the week. SCIO also provides optional field trips, some close to Oxford and others further afield, that enable students to understand their place in Oxford in a larger historical and geographical context.
Many students list their time at their home away from home as one of the greatest pleasures of the programme, meeting students from other CCCU colleges and universities.