As we come towards the end of our first week in Oxford, it’s great to see how well our cohort have begun to work together. Some really strong friendships have begun to blossom over the last week and we have high hopes for our students staying in touch after the programme finishes.

Our students growing closer has been really beneficial in their lessons, too, particularly where there’s a high level of group discussion, like in the Political Science and International Relations. As the students become more comfortable around each other, those who were a little nervous about putting their opinions forward have come out of their shells and contributed some really perceptive ideas.

For lots of students, the afternoon was an opportunity to get stuck into some more creative activities after a busy morning of classes as they tried their hands at tie-dyeing some t-shirts. It was quite messy and there was plenty of laughter amongst the students as they got dye everywhere but on the t-shirts! By the time the creations were laid out to dry, everyone and everything was a little more colourful than it had been and the students were feeling very bubbly and chilled-out.

Elsewhere, the skilled orators amongst the cohort built up their public speaking skills in a debate workshop. With an on-campus debate between the students scheduled for Monday, there were plenty of students who wanted to get some practice in – or just size up the competition – before debate day!

Tennis rounded off the day on an active note, giving everyone the chance to work off some of their energy before they made their way to bed.