Yesterday we had the pleasure of welcoming our Session 4 students, and their parents, to the breezy Victorian oasis that is Lady Margaret Hall. Students arrived ready and eager to meet their classmates and counsellors, and to explore the buildings and sprawling grounds of the pioneering Oxford college that has fostered so many bright minds and is now to do the same for our ORA students.

Students and parents alike enjoyed a traditional afternoon tea under the lofty ceilings of the Monson Room, whose French windows allow for sunlight to spill in from the Lannon Quad beyond, and for the convivial hum of new friendships to rise upwards into the air. Once students had bidden their parents a fond farewell, they congregated in the Simpkins Lee Theatre for a welcome talk by Programme Director Sarah. She extended the warmest greetings to all students, and exhorted them to take every opportunity that will be offered to them over the coming weeks, be it the chance to challenge themselves in their chosen academic subject, to try their hands at a new skill or sport in their free time, or to soak up as much of the history and culture of the city of Oxford as they are able.

Taking advantage of the college’s lovely, leafy grounds, and weather that was squarely above the English average, students and counsellors got into some ice-breaker games after dinner― featuring heavily were crowd favourites Ninja, Zip-zap-boing, Wink Murder and Guess Who. The 11pm curfew was then willingly observed by all students, many fighting off jet-lag, and all anticipating the start of classes at 9 in the morning.