Twenty-nine Magna pupils from Years 10 to 12 accompanied Mrs Stafford and Miss Hearse to a visit to Merton College at Oxford University. Upon arrival, the cohort of aspirational students were greeted by Jenny, Oxford’s School Liaison Officer, who gracefully introduced the group to the itinerary for the day.
The students and staff alike listened attentively as Jenny explained the different structure of Oxford opposed to other universities, and she made sure to cover essential topics ranging from the 30 different colleges which make up Oxford, to the financial costs associated with the courses per annum and living expenses.
Two second year Undergraduates then made an appearance, and a Q&A was hosted within the T.S.Eliot Theatre. This section of the day was particularly helpful for the students as they were able to receive insightful advice and knowledge on the day-to-day routine of an Undergraduate student, what to include in a Personal Statement, the interviewing process, and even the assessments which take place at the end of each term, consisting of eight weeks (this latter information received was particular to History, Politics, Economics, and Maths courses, but are generally applicable to the wide array of courses that Oxford offers).
After being sat for an extended period of time, it was time for a tour, and Jenny did a fantastic job with engaging the students with abstract facts about particular areas of the college. After a brisk walk through the chilly gardens, the students were able to see the table where J.R.R. Tolkien (the author of The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit) delivered his tutorials to his students in the 1950s; the tour continued past the croquet grounds, and the students were met with the Merton Chapel, which dates back to the thirteenth century as the college was founded in 1264, where the wedding scene in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story was filmed. When they ventured inside, a rather large Siberian Jade vase was pointed out, which had come from Tsar Alexander of Russia, and it had arrived in 1822 after being sent in 1816, and the college had to pay the delivery fee! The pupils shortly found themselves in the ‘Mob Quad,’ the first Undergraduate accommodation built during the college’s establishment, which had to be built in two parts, resulting in two different stone patterns and textures being used. This Quad is also home to the oldest continuously functioning library for students and academics in the world.
Lunchtime then arrived, and the pupils got to enjoy a beef roast dinner and lemon drizzle in the Hall, decorated with paintings from a range of time periods, including Thomas Bodley (1545-1613) who founded the infamous Bodleian Library, which houses thirteen million works of literature.
Contently full, the group returned to the T.S. Eliot Theatre where they participated in a ‘Thinking Big’ workshop. It was here where subject-specific interview questions were discussed to help the students think critically and to practise describing their thought processes out loud, a skill which is needed for the Oxford teaching style. Some open prompts included: “Why might it be useful for an English Literature student to read the Twilight Series?” which sparked a great debate amongst the Sixth Formers, or “Should doctors ever have to think about value for money in treatment?” for any aspiring medical students, to name a few examples.
It is safe to say that the Magna students thoroughly enjoyed this exceptional opportunity, returning back to the Academy with buzzing imaginations and a new academic drive going into their GCSEs and A-Levels, after a regenerative snooze on the coach back, of course.
-Areya S, Year 12.