Yesterday, beneath a blue sky that we hope shall set the standard for the rest of the fortnight, the students arrived at Jowett Walk. Friendships struck up on the coach collecting students from the airport were able to flourish amid a welcoming tea— and more friendships, soon to be recognised by students as a key theme, were begun with the counsellors, who were eagerly on hand to show students to their rooms and quickly make them feel settled in and at home.

With tea fully enjoyed and appetites sated by ample supplies of cake, students and parents alike headed to the marquee beside the Balliol cricket ground, where Christine Luscombe-Whyte, the Programme Director in Jowett Walk, greeted all assembled with a warm welcoming talk.

After the talk, with students excited by all that Christine had mentioned, it was time to say goodbye to parents, before dinner and icebreaker games on the Balliol pitches adjacent to the Jowett Walk buildings. Splat, the quick-thinking circle game requiring lightning-fast reactions, was especially popular out on the lawns, as were several games involving names and memory indoors. After such quick exertion at the end of a day of so much activity and travel, it was no surprise that students fell asleep without trouble— tired, unquestionably, but very much looking forward to all to come.