PUBLISHED 04 July 2024
Last week, twelve intrepid Lower Sixth and Y11 students set off from Preston train station to attended the annual summer the University of Oxford Open Day. The first thought that struck most of us was that we might be asked for a quick game of quidditch, or be spotted as a Muggle, as from the moment we set foot in the first Oxford college it felt like we had walked onto the set of Harry Potter.
Once we had all recovered from being slightly star-struck by the majestic buildings and ornate architecture of the city, we set about exploring many of the colleges, including Keble, Queens, Oriel and Jesus. We marveled at each college chapel, saw the accommodation for first years and met many helpful students who explained what it’s like arriving at the university, living there and all the societies that you can join.
The highlight of the first day for most of us, was probably punting on the River Cherwell. While some preferred to work up a sweat punting the boats, others preferred to sit back and enjoy the beautiful scenery, whilst secretly waiting to see if anyone would fall in, to which there were a few near misses!
By day two everyone was fully immersed in the city, and visited their own subject specific departments, attending the admission talks, example lectures and lab demonstrations that were all taking place. To round the trip off, we visited some of the more famous colleges and really got a feel for what it would be like to live and study in such a diverse and historically rich city.
Personally, my favorite part of the trip was seeing the subject departments as it helped me to finalise which degree course, and college, I would like to apply for at university.
I think everyone can agree that the open day visit has given us all extra motivation to strive to apply and hopefully be accepted into one of the most prestigious universities in the world. However, besides the academics, culture, and history, there is no doubt that any of us will forget the time we went punting in Oxford!
Seren and Katie, Year 12