Heatwave kicks off Summer 2017!

The very first week of Summer 2017 is almost over, and the spotlight is on Yarnton Manor.

Arrival Day was the hottest day of the year since June 1976, according to some sources, and the students were cheerfully sweating as they arrived for their Summer courses. Fans were obtained from anywhere we could possibly find and installed in students rooms, and what followed was an afternoon of mingling on the lawn for afternoon tea, palm-pushing games (don’t ask) and a musical display by several budding piano virtuosos in the Manor. Far too many scones were eaten, far too much tea was drunk, and students went to bed tired and hot, but happy.
Classes started the next day, with no let-up in the heat-wave, and students knuckled down to their respective courses with vigour. A Model UN debate on the disputed territory of the South China Sea got their oratory juices flowing, and the ORA Quiz was resoundingly won by the Los Latinos team, who demonstrated a broad depth of general knowledge in all areas. Later in the week, the Insight Masterclasses team visited the Manor, and students were able to choose between examining giant millipedes and skin-shedding pythons in Zoolab, or solving a carefully-contrived crime scene in Forensic Outreach. For the more creative-minded students, there was the option to critically analyse the science of film-making, or find their own poetry voice. 

But it hasn’t all been academic rigour. The summer solstice arrived mid-week, and students braved the 32 degree heat as they took their first trip into Oxford. There was a river, there was punting…you do the maths. General dampness ensued, but despite one students’ cheerful claim to have had a close brush with death, the only things anywhere near to being dangerous were the ducks.
Summer 2017 is off to a smashing start, and we can’t wait to share more highlights on a week by week basis. Please see the campus blogs for more detail on daily events. Or if you’re still thinking of joining us later in the summer, apply for one of our last few spaces!
Images: ORA