A slice of the cake that is ORA Summer School 2017!

ORA Summer School campuses are full of excited students who can’t wait to get their teeth into student life in Oxford, Cambridge and London.

ORA’s 19-25 year old students arrived at Merton College on Sunday, to be greeted by the beautiful medieval stone quad, and the iconic Bridge of Sighs just around the corner. Despite this particular colleges’ moniker as “the place fun goes to die”, Merton students have already experienced a delicious afternoon tea on a leafy Sunday, the golden solitude of the Bodleian Library, and energising discussions about who they would least like to push out of a hot air balloon. Given that the figures discussed were either historical or imaginary, this wasn’t as dark as it sounds. The week was crowned with a Michelin-starred dinner at at Le Manoir aux’Quat Saisons, where a four course tasting menu and a glass of bubbly awaited our adult students.

The younger students have also been having a ball of their own. Those at Yarnton Manor have been discussing the Fibonacci sequence, app development, the history of Oxford Castle and “fake news.” There was also an expedition into Oxford for a scavenger hunt, during which students were tasked with such feats as taking a picture with a college porter and buying the largest item they could for only £1. The Kebab Squad were ultimately triumphant in their quest.
Meanwhile, St Catherine’s College students were introduced to Sirius Black. This Sirius was not, in fact, a rather misleading black dog, but an inky scorpion which happens to glow in the dark.  He came to visit with his friend Tango the Corn Snake, and the pair succeeded in delighting “Catz” students with their antics during an Insight Masterclass on Zoology.

Lady Margaret Hall took a trip to London this week. The budding doctors amongst them visited the head-turning Wellcome Collection and the Alexander Fleming Museum, while the soon-to-be engineers paid court to the robots in residence at the Science Museum.
Students at St Hugh’s College were equally well cared for, as they were taken on an exploration of the city of Oxford, hunting for sites used in the Harry Potter movies. (When really they were supposed to be discussing which college was older…Merton or Balliol?)
If you want to join us later this summer, there is still time! Don’t miss out…
Images: ORA