The students on the Business and Enterprise programme here at Yarnton Manor have been set the task of creating a smartphone application idea, which they will later deliver in a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style pitch next week to a panel of potential investors. Yesterday, the students ventured out into Summertown to conduct market research. They were encouraged to ask members of the public questions regarding their new ideas, ensuring the apps had the critical mass required to start up and run sufficiently. On return to the Manor, the students set about making alterations to their initial ideas to correlate with the feedback they had received.

Students from the Medical Preparation programme enjoyed a productive morning of lessons before voyaging to the Pitt Rivers Museum of Natural History. The museum was originally founded in 1884 when General Pitt Rivers, an influential figure in the development of archaeology and evolutionary anthropology, gave his collection to the University of Oxford – approximately 26,000 objects. Today, the museum houses over half a million archaeological and ethnographic objects from all over the world. Students particularly enjoyed the out dated surgical equipment used, particularly the tools used for any trepanation procedure (drilling into the head) alongside real pieces of bone taken from the human skull.

After a delicious dinner in the Long Gallery, students rallied to participate in the Model UN debate. Students would assume the role of national ambassadors and heads of state, to discuss current and world affairs. Yesterday’s topic of discussion was ‘The representation of women in politics’. Every participant had to research and prepare a short speech, providing insight into their countries stand point on the matter. Merriam, the representative for Norway provided a remarkable solution offering a commission for women to study in Norway, whilst Matteo and Maria on behalf of Brazil gained valuable support from other nations. Overall, the competition was too close to declare one clear winner with all participants performed brilliantly.