Tag Archives: Oxford

Discovering Oxford 2023

Here we are with the class of 2023 discovering Oxford: the city of dreaming spires.

Come on parents… let’s jump in:
Francesco from Italy with David Meddows (More Than English co-director).

It’s busy. It’s international. It’s inspirational and it’s ours for the day. More Than English co-director David Meddows used to be a lecturer at Oxford Brookes University, so he was our guide for the day.

The Bridge of Sighs, Oxford, named after the Ponte dei Sospiri, Venice.

We got off the coach by the Ashmolean Museum and from there walked past Trinity College and under the Bridge of Sighs, named after the Ponte dei Sospiri in… where else (?) Venice.

Venice has gondolas. Oxford has punts.

Venice? So what do Venice and Oxford have in common? Well, while Venice’s waterways are on an altogether bigger and more dramatic scale, Oxford nevertheless has its own proud tradition of leisurely travel by waterway. In Venice they have the gondola. In Oxford, we have the punt.

Alexi from Mexico discovering the ancient backstreets of Oxford.

Winding our way through the ancient back streets, we walked half-way across the compact city centre ‘soaking in the atmosphere’ of the university colleges (that together make up the University of Oxford) and arrived at Magdalen Bridge for a punt on the river. This activity is in the tradition of Oxford University students who take picnics on punts and reflect on notions of philosophy, art and science.

**Warning: this video contains scenes of a duck attack on our students!**

Crossing the road we immediately entered the vast campus and lands of Christchurch College, you know, the one whose dining room features in the Harry Potter movies.

From there a leisurely walk brought us to the Covered Market where students enjoyed looking around the boutique shops. Our final destination was inevitably the Westgate Shopping Centre which provided students with a well-earned opportunity for retail therapy and a chance simply to relax and spend time together conversing in their linguafranca: English.

A fantastic day: congratulations to all our students.

Important: no ducks were harmed in the making of this video.

Home is where the heart is: a light game of football back in the spectacular grounds of Moor Park to finish off the day.

Day 28 – Wednesday, 7 August 2019 – Oxford

Summer school 2019 is almost finished, but not before one more amazing excursion. This time, students went to Oxford, a beautiful historic city, known for its world-famous university.

To make sure we were ready to have a great day, our chef prepared delicious pancakes.

Pancakes for breakfast!

By 10:30 we were off the bus and ready to experience the best Oxford has to offer. Students had chosen between a relaxing punting ride on the river and a visit to the Natural History and Pitt Rivers museums.

Punting in Oxford

The punting adventure is a piece of classic Oxford experience. It took us along a shallow river from where we could see some of the city’s most famous locations. Not only were the sights pretty, but the ride itself was very relaxing and serene. We even saw some ducks swimming next to our boats.

The fabulous Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford

The Natural History museum is a wonderful place with lots of exhibits you can touch and read about, but the attached Pitt Rivers museum is a really special and unique place. It’s a museum of things from all over the world, organized by topic, not by time or place. This fact alone makes visiting this museum a very rewarding experience, like going into a collector’s secret giant room. Its three floors are packed with all sorts of things from tools and weapons, to totems and the famous shrunken heads of the enemies of amazonian tribes.

After some free time to enjoy Oxford, the two groups met up in front of the iconic Christ Church Cathedral and headed back to Moor Park or “home”, as sometimes students refer to it, as it really does feel like home after all this wonderful time we spent together.

Take a walk through Oxford with us!