An experimental study has been conducted to investigate the effects of oscillation, of varying amplitude (0 to 5 cm) and frequency (0 to 8 Hz), on the aerodynamic characteristics of a flat plate under favourable and adverse pressure gradients. The Reynolds number was 106 based on the flat plate chord-length. The study employed a subsonic wind tunnel facility at a freestream velocity of 16 m/s. An inverted aerofoil was used to produce the effects of favourable pressure gradients while a cylinder placed at various locations over the flat plate within the boundary layer was used to create the effects of adverse pressure gradients. Surface pressures were measured along the centreline of the flat plate to study the flow quantitatively. Oil flow visualisations were also obtained to examine the flow qualitatively. Boundary layer surveys were conducted to examine the effect of oscillation on the mean velocity, turbulence intensity and boundary layer thickness profiles. It was found that the flow near the leading edge of the plate, i.e., in the laminar region is sensitive to higher amplitudes of oscillation for all frequencies and this effect causes an overall increase in the boundary layer thickness compared to the stationary cases.