With a heavy heart, we bid farewell to the first 2019 session of students from Lady Margaret Hall. This cohort have all show incredible passion, enthusiasm, and dedication over the course of their programmes and it’s been wonderful to watch them all learn and grow together. We all have a special thank you to say to the wonderful ORA staff for making the session happen!
In their classes, our students have demonstrated time and time again how bright, committed, and full of ingenuity they are. Our Introduction to Medicine students shone particularly as they showed great maturity during a gory dissection. Meanwhile our Introduction to Architecture basked in all the inspiration that a beautiful city like Oxford offers. Every single student has worked incredibly hard throughout their programmes and they should all be very proud of what they’ve achieved this summer!
In the moments between studying, our students have made the most of the chance to form a wide and diverse friendship group. Over the session it’s been really wonderful to see the same students coming together time and time again to play netball or football. At the party on Friday it was clear that there are really strong bonds between the students in this session – we really hope they’ll all stay in touch after going home!
Our students have also used their time outside of lessons to showcase their numerous artistic talents. From creating fabulous and resourceful superhero costumes to amazing the judges with their talents in the talent show, it’s been very clear there are some promising artists amongst this cohort!
Throughout the session, our students have benefitted from the knowledge of a range of professionals and experts. Alex Holmes gave a talk on bullying which resonated with many of the students and Vicky Kalogeiton talked to the students on the very relevant topic of technology in the future.
Taking part in Model UN has helped students become more confident in public speaking and leadership, helping them to grow personally as well as academically. Meanwhile, masterclasses on CSI, sales and marketing, and fan-powered cars expanded the students’ skill base and let them experience life in professions they’d never tried before. Armed with all this new knowledge, our students leave us with skills that will stick with them for life.
Excursions formed another exciting part of the students’ stay and let them make the most of the culture around them. Around Oxford, the student went punting, shopping, and explored Oxford Castle. They’ve also had a chance to go further afield and explore the bustling port city of Southampton!
All this hard work and fun culminated in a beautiful graduation ceremony where our students all received the certificates they’d worked so hard for. Then it was time to celebrate! Our students were joined by the St. Peter’s cohort and managed to make a few new friends as they sung and danced the evening away.
We’d just like to say a massive well done to every one of our students for working so hard. We wish you all the very best of luck in whatever you choose to do and hope that we’ll see you again next year!