With the weekend fast approaching now, our students were beginning to come down with a case of weekend fever yesterday. Chatter over breakfast was louder than it has been yet and our students’ excitement filled the halls as they made their way to classes in the morning.

For lots of classes, their first assignments are coming up this week so despite some initial restlessness, students were determined to put their heads down and make the most of their class time.

The major event of the day came in the afternoon with the arrival of guest speakers at Lady Margaret’s. Alex Holmes led the students in a very interactive, more workshop stye talk which had them all gathering out on the grass to talk about bullying. By getting the students to step forward if various statements applied to them, Alex helped show our students that – no matter where they come from, they all have a lot in common and that what differences there are should be celebrated.

Alex Staniforth gave a more goal-oriented but no less inspiring talk about how initial failure shouldn’t keep our students from trying to achieve their goals, and reminded them of the importance of a positive mental attitude. 

Both speakers clearly resonated very well with our students. The effects of listening to them could already be seen in the evening activities as students reached out to new friends while playing tennis or approached their homework with new vigour.

The sense of inspiration and conscientiousness the speakers left also helped to increase the numbers of students attending a short talk on applying to Oxford University before bed. Lots of our students have dreams to attend the university and it was great to see so many of them ready to work hard to make that dream a reality!