Monday was a chance for our students to meet their teachers and get started with their lessons. Our cohort showed themselves as a very confident bunch from the moment they came down the stairs for breakfast. They were all talking and laughing together as though they’d already been together for two weeks.

The students carried this confidence forward into their lessons too, fearlessly taking on all the challenging concepts their first classes threw at them.

In the afternoon, the counsellors had planned a city tour to introduce the cohort to the city, but the students decided to let their adventurous sides take over and explore the city on their own! They split into groups to discover all the secrets that Oxford has to offer. With a city full of so much culture and history, it’s hardly surprising that the students wanted to search out their favourite parts of it for themselves.

The other advantage of running their own tours, of course, was that they got to stop for snacks on the way. In the hot afternoon sun, everyone appreciated the chance to grab a cold drink or an ice cream to keep them cool as they explored the nooks and crannies of Oxford.

In the evening, the counsellors tested the students tour guiding skills with a surprise ‘history of Oxford’ round in the quiz. They all got full marks in that round, of course!

The students took advantage of the cooler evening air to make friends over badminton, frisbee and tennis – though a few students were enticed away by the sight of a cat wandering onto campus!

After such a packed day, the students were eager to get off to bed and get some rest before an exciting day of masterclasses.