After a late start this morning, and a traditional English fry-up in both colleges, students swapped major classes for the day. Each was given the opportunity to try out two Major classes that have aroused their interest over the past weeks – imagine a Physicist in Literature & the Fantastic, or a Creative Writer in Maths & Engineering. By all accounts, the morning was greatly enjoyed by both students and faculty alike, with many of the teachers reporting the high levels of enthusiasm amongst their new students, with plenty of requests for extra work and accompanying reading lists.
This afternoon was another great break from the norm, jam-packed with Service Activities to give students the opportunity to escape the ‘normal’ tourist trail and experience a very different flavour of Oxford. Not only was this afternoon a great way to bolster college applications with something a little bit different, it was also truly worthwhile and greatly enjoyed by all participants.
The Service opportunities on offer were all so exciting and diverse that it was a struggle for many students to choose how to fill their time! In the brilliant sunshine, some got stuck into urban farming with the organisation OxGrow, helping to transform two unloved tennis courts right in the heart of the city into an organic, sustainable and truly local food garden.
Meanwhile, another group of students set off to the Oxford Food Bank, an organisation that collects good quality fresh produce from supermarkets and wholesalers and delivers it for free to local charities such as mental health groups and children’s drop-in centres. Our students were given an enlightening talk about food waste and charity, and then helped to sort the food for delivery to various organisations around the city.
Whilst some students were off at the Energy Bank and OxGrow, others were busy in the colleges themselves. A fascinating energy debate, led by sustainability experts, was enthusiastically greeted by students and faculty alike, in particular the Physics and International Business classes. At the same time, others were baking sweet treats using national recipes for a cake sale this afternoon for the local charity, Helen & Douglas House (we raised over £100 – good work everyone!), writing letters to severely ill children through the charity Postpals, buying canned foods for the Community Emergency Food Bank, and knitting blankets for premature babies with our ‘X-treme Knitting’ club! What a busy afternoon!
As a reward for all their hard work, the students were treated to a traditional afternoon tea on Oriel’s Third Quad this afternoon - the scones, clotted cream and tea went down VERY well! This was followed by a fascinating panel discussion about Volunteering and Service, with members of the oxtrad faculty and admin discussing their experiences of volunteering worldwide, and inspiring the students also to get involved (we hope!).
To polish off such a busy day, another group of students enjoyed Antony & Cleopatra this evening, again in the stunning setting of the Said Business School Amphitheatre. An exotic setting, enticing storylines and enthralling characterisation wowed the students once again, and was a brilliant end to a brilliant day.
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