Wednesday brought with it a range of academic delights, as students forayed further into the subject matter of their chosen courses. In Economics and Management, discussion focused on industry monopolies, taking the complex example of Apple (not a monopoly in the technical sense, holding only 17.9% of the market share, but accounting for 79% of global smartphone profits). Students taking the Business Challenge are hard on Apple’s heels, continuing their work on app development.

Students are also preparing for their final project presentations: Physics students will be researching a prominent physicist of their choice and presenting on them later in the session, whilst those taking Public Speaking have been working on their own speeches on the topic ‘What I would do to change the world’.

A trip into town in the afternoon turned into a Harry Potter tour of Oxford, as students visited the Bodleian Library, interpreted in the films as the library at Hogwart’s, and the Divinity School, which served as the fictitious infirmary. At the Oxford Castle, students learned about some of the city’s actual history, and were particularly captivated by the tale of Empress Matilda; having endured a three-month siege in the Castle at the hands of her cousin Stephen, Matilda took her chance one snowy December night to sneak through enemy lines and skate across the Thames to safety at Wallingford Castle.

In the evening, students indulged in some more escapism into the wizarding world, as they watched JK Rowling’s screenwriting debut, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in the cinema room at Yarnton Manor. Others chose to stay in town for an emotive and energetic performance of Beethoven’s 6th Symphony.