For some time in Jowett Walk, excitement had been growing surrounding the prospect of the annual ORA Talent Show. It has been evident for some time how many different impressive talents there are among the students in Jowett, and more than a few had been practicing hard for the show.
Before the Talent Show, however, there was a day to come of lessons and activities. Business students headed to the train station museum, and also exposed their business projects to outside criticism. It was a very educational experience, and it was heartening to see how far the Business students have come, and how much more refined their projects and approaches are than when they first began.
In Fashion and Costume Design, budding young creators are finalising their displays, using glue guns to safely weld together different materials. Some of them are looking like they have a great deal of potential, and we can’t wait to see them once they’re finished.
In the afternoon, students had the chance to roam the streets of Oxford once again, for what may well be the last time this year. We’re sure that they’ll miss it— but, perhaps, the shops of Oxford will miss them just as much. Some of the students have amassed impressive collections of Oxford memorabilia, and the hoodie numbers in particular are very high!
Other students headed to Blackwells Bookshop, a place famous for its megalithic array of books. The students who visited it were astounded by the proportions of the Norrington Room, a great vault of shelves underneath Broad Street, where they found some very interesting books to help improve their English in an enjoyable way.
The Talent Show, when it finally arrived at the end of the day, was a huge amount of fun. Counsellors Lawrence, Lea and Seb were the judges; Lawrence and Lea put aside their real personalities to become, respectively, a snarky Simon Cowell-like figure and a loud American, giving the Talent Show a very authentic feel. The performances were very varied, but all excellent: unsurprisingly, given the level of enjoyment on the pitches over the week, there were some football-related acts, but there was also magic, singing, and even a hip hop dance number from our twin sisters Zatla and Kira. After the Talent Show was over, lots of nationalities put on spontaneous renditions of well-known songs in their language. The Italians stole the post-show, um, show with a hilarious recreation of an Italian night out, complete with some breath-taking dancing. It was a very memorable night.