UTC Oxfordshire

Western Valley is a civil parish in the eastern part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire, England, to the east of Harwell and the west of Didcot. Historically it was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. It consists of the western part of the Great Western Park housing estate on the edge of Didcot, and will also include the proposed Valley Park development. The parish was created in April 2023 by splitting the Harwell civil parish where it was crossed by the A34 road, which runs along most of the western boundary of Western Valley, and the Great Western Main Line runs along the northern boundary. It is bordered by the civil parishes of Harwell, Milton and Sutton Courtenay in Vale of White Horse; and by: Didcot and West Hagbourne, both being in South Oxfordshire. The parish lies wholly within the Blewbury & Harwell ward of Vale of White Horse District Council, the Hendreds & Harwell Division of Oxfordshire County Council, and the Wantage parliamentary constituency. Elections to the eight seats on the new parish council were to be held on 4 May 2023, but only one valid nomination was received by the returning officer. Nominations were reopened, and a further four candidates were elected unopposed on 14 June 2023.The parish contains two secondary schools: Aureus School and UTC Oxfordshire. These are on the western edge of the only substantial settlement, the Great Western Park housing estate, part of which is within Didcot. In the centre of this, and also partially within Didcot, is a large open space known as Boundary Park.

Didcot power station (Didcot B Power Station) is an active natural gas power plant that supplies the National Grid. A combined coal and oil power plant, Didcot A, was the first station on the site, which opened in 1970 and was demolished between 2014 and 2020. The power station is situated in Sutton Courtenay, near Didcot in Oxfordshire, England. Didcot OCGT is a gas-oil power plant, originally part of Didcot A and now independent. It continues to provide emergency backup power for the National Grid. A large section of the boiler house at Didcot A Power Station collapsed on 23 February 2016 while the building was being prepared for demolition. Four men were killed in the collapse. The combined power stations featured a chimney, demolished in 2020, which was one of the tallest structures in the UK, and could be seen from much of the surrounding landscape. It previously had six hyperboloid cooling towers, with three demolished in 2014 and the remaining three in 2019. RWE Npower applied for a certificate of immunity from English Heritage, to stop the towers being listed, to allow their destruction. In February 2020, the final chimney of Didcot A was demolished.

Didcot Girls' School (also known as DGS) is a secondary school with academy status for students in Didcot, Oxfordshire and the surrounding rural area. The school has been awarded with Language College and Enterprise College status (as of 2006). The mixed sixth form, known as Didcot Sixth Form, is shared with St Birinus School. The school is made up of seven houses which are named after famous women who are considered potential role models for the students. These are Adie House, Bussell House, Ennis House, Greenfield House, Kennedy House, MacArthur House and Wilson House. Each house group has a different colour; red for Adie, pink for Bussell, orange for Ennis, yellow for Greenfield, purple for Kennedy, navy for MacArthur and green for Wilson. There were eight houses, but Roddick House and Plazas House were removed in September 2010 to make six. In September 2012, following Jessica Ennis' success at the London 2012 Olympics, Ennis house was created, bringing the number of houses to seven. The school has four main building blocks; St. Frideswide's (also known as Frids), Austen, Sherwood (formerly New Building) and Cockcroft. A large, modern sports hall is sited next to St. Frideswide's, and the canteen in St. Frideswide's is rated five stars. The executive headteacher, Rachael Warwick, was previously the Deputy Head at Bartholomew School. The current headteacher is Georgina Littler, having been appointed from May 2020. The "Friends of DGS" charitable committee was relaunched in 2015 by parent and staff member Lisa Turner to raise funds for the school. They have a monthly 'lottery' and September 26, 2015, saw the first ever "DGS Fest", a music, craft and beer festival within the school grounds.

Harwell is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse about 2 miles (3 km) west of Didcot, 6 miles (10 km) east of Wantage and 13 miles (21 km) south of Oxford. The parish measures about 3.5 miles (6 km) north – south, and almost 2 miles (3 km) east – west at its widest point. In 1923 its area was 2,521 acres (1,020 ha). Historically in Berkshire, it has been administered as part of Oxfordshire, England, since the 1974 boundary changes. The parish includes part of Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in the southwest. The 2011 census recorded the parish's population as 2,349.

Coscote is a hamlet in the civil parish of East Hagbourne, in the Berkshire Downs 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Didcot. The hamlet was also previously referred to as Cokelscote. Coscote is now in Oxfordshire, and in 1974 was transferred from Berkshire. Currently, the Church of England church St Andrew's, Hagbourne claims the hamlet as one of its parish communities.

The Milton rail crash was a crash in 1955, at Milton, Berkshire (now part of Oxfordshire). A passenger train took a crossover too fast and derailed. Eleven were killed, and 157 were injured.

Milton Park is a 250-acre (1.0 km2) mixed use business and technology park in Oxfordshire, England, operated by MEPC plc. It is just south of the village of Milton, about 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Didcot. It is on the site of a former Ministry of Defence depot between the A34 and Didcot power station. Although closer to Didcot, it lies within the Abingdon postcode area.

West Hagbourne is a village and civil parish in the Berkshire Downs about 2 miles (3 km) south of Didcot. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 259.

Upton and Blewbury railway station was a station on the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway in England. It served Upton, with Blewbury and West Hagbourne being only a mile from the station. It was opened in 1882 to serve military camps in the area. Originally named Upton; Blewbury was added to the name of the station in 1911 to recognise the more distant but larger village in the Vale of White Horse. In the latter part of the station's history it also served the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell. The station closed in 1962.

Vauxhall Barracks is a British Army installation in Didcot, Oxfordshire. It is set to close in 2034.

Mowbray Fields is a 2.2-hectare (5.4-acre) Local Nature Reserve on the southern outskirts of Didcot in Oxfordshire. It is owned by South Oxfordshire District Council and managed by the Earth Trust.This nature reserve next to the Hagbourne Brook has a wildflower meadow, a disused railway embankment, a pond and wetland. There are many common spotted and southern marsh orchids, and more than 200 species of invertebrates.

Upton is a spring line village and civil parish at the foot of the Berkshire Downs, about 2 miles (3 km) south of Didcot in the Vale of the White Horse district. Historically in Berkshire, it has been administered as part of Oxfordshire, England, since the 1974 boundary changes. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 421.