There was still a little shyness hanging around at breakfast yesterday morning, but as the meal went on and our students found more and more in common with each other, they became more and more confident.

As the morning lessons began, the students were beginning to feel more settled and they rose to the challenge of their first classes wonderfully. With so many different classes going on here, from Graphic Design to Chemistry, there’s plenty of fascinating content being covered every day at Jowett. We hope to see our students remain this enthusiastic about their studies every day too!

Once the last class had ended, it was time to grab a bite to eat before heading out into Oxford city for the first time! The counsellors treated the students to a guided tour of all the biggest tourist hotspots in the city, from the Radcliffe Camera to the Bridge of Sighs. The students were all able to judge first hand whether the city was worthy of its nickname as ‘the city of dreaming spires’ and, from all the amazed faces, it looks like they decided it is!

Back at Jowett that evening the students enjoyed a quiz their counsellors had devised. The most popular round by far was one where the students had to match the staff with their baby pictures! The winning group was awarded a prize by the counsellors as a reward for all their expert knowledge.

Afterwards, a few students who had caught the competitive bug decided to challenge their new friends to a game of table tennis or fussball before bed. It’s safe to say by the time curfew arrived, everyone felt very much at home at Jowett.