A Tutor’s Perspective

“Pupils of the Classics department at Ashbourne College were lucky to be offered places on the Oxbridge Classics day. John Wilson's excellent recommendation to board the Oxford Tube, which departs just a short walk behind Ashbourne, took us all in no time to the Sheldonian Theatre, where a throng of excited pupils from all over the UK had gathered.

After getting the experts' lowdown on how to apply for Oxbridge, we were invited to lunch at Brasenose College, a good chance to meet with other students. A stroll of Oxford guided by a Classics undergraduate lead us through picturesque back corners to the impressive quads of Christ Church's fountain Court. Most of us were very impressed to discover the vaulted staircase, where a certain popular magic adventure story was filmed.

All that fun continued at the Old Schools where an enthusiastic young Oxford archaeologist took us on a slide tour of recent excavations that she worked on in places as exotic as Syria and Hadrian's Wall. We learned a lot about slaves and foreigners in the Roman Empire, and that was much more fun than we expected!”

A Student’s Perspective

"Going to Oxford for the first time I was impressed. The Sheldonian Theatre's round dome and romanesque columns immediately grabbed my attention. Inside a crowd of people was restlessly trying to get a seat with a good view. A lecturer from Oxford discussed aspects of studying there with good humour. Afterwards we joined a tour of Christ Church College, built by Henry the VIII. I was fascinated to learn that its battlements provided security to the kings of England during wars. We then headed to the Old Schools and decided to attend a University lecturer on Roman afterlife. On the way out we picked up prospectuses of the Colleges, hoping this wouldn't be our last visit as students."

" I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Oxford. I never had the pleasure of visiting Oxford University before. My first impression was that Oxford was very large and it wouldn’t be hard to get lost. I was astonished by the capacity of the Sheldonian; the statues and decor were very beautiful and awe-inspiring: it was quite unlike anything I had experienced ever before. The speakers were very humorous and put us at ease; it was very interesting to learn about the interview and admissions' process and how similar they are for both Oxford and Cambridge. Both speakers were very informative and it was interesting to learn how Classics can fit with many other subjects. Dining in the spacious College Hall was great; the other pupils were very friendly and happy to offer help. The tour of Christ Church was fun. We learnt a lot about the College, we even saw the place where Harry Potter was filmed. The lectures afterwards offered a lot on the curriculum: I would like to study at Oxford.”