The new Academic Year 2022-23 has just begun and our 30 MA Finance and Management students have settled in nicely into their first week of study at the UK Campus. While we work hard at the UK Campus, we also play hard. As part of our welcome social activities at the UK Campus, we organised a guided tour on Wednesday, 28 September for the students to Oxford City to visit the City of Dreaming Spires.
The visit started with a tour of Christ Church meadows and past the river Thames where our students get to see the famous river where the University of Oxford holds its boat races. The visit also included the University’s boat houses and we were lucky to see some students taking their boats out to the river!
Next stop on the tour was to the Oxford Botanic Gardens – Britain’s oldest botanic garden. Founded in 1621 by Henry Danvers, the 1st Earl Darby, this quiet wonderland was the inspiration for many writers such as Lewis Carroll, Phillip Pullman, and J.R.R. Tolkien. There we looked at the lovely rose maze, the stunning Danby Gateway which incorporates the statutes of Charles I and Charles II, naturally our students took many pictures there.
As we walked down Oxford High Street, our next stop was Examination Schools where many Oxford students took their examinations, submitted their theses, and defended their theses. An old historical building with an amazing clock tower and the quintessential Oxford quad. There, under the clock, was the ubiquitous latin phrase that graces the Oxford Coat of Arms – Dominus Illuminatio Mea (God illuminates me). Naturally, many of our students took lots of photos of this iconic building.
As we meander down Queen’s Lane, our students were transported to a period suspended in time – the Victorian lamp posts and the cobblestones that line the pavement, surrounded by the soaring college walls as the dreaming spires peek at as from the top. It was a surreal walk and we wouldn’t be at all surprised if a Victorian gentleman on a carriage suddenly appeared around the corner! Queen’s Lane merges to New College Lane and it’s of no surprise that Harry Potter fans recognise New College as the home to the Quad with the Whomping Willow.
As we leave the New College Lane, we end up under the auspices of the famous Bridge of Sighs – the Oxford one, not the Venice one. Officially, it is the Hertford Bridge which connects two parts of Hertford College over New College Lane, completed in 1914 by Sir Thomas Jackson who also designed Examination Schools.
As we walk down Catte Street, we are greeted by the grandiose buildings of the University of Oxford – the Sheldonian, designed by the Sir Christopher Wren, the Bodleian Library, and the the Radcliffe Camera. Together with the stunning light from an autumnal sun, these famous buildings were absolutely majestic and left many of our students in awe. For those movie buffs amongst us, they recognised the scenes and buildings from movies such as, X-Men: First Class (2011), Dr Strange (2016), Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), The Mummy (2017), Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018).
The highlight of the City Tour was after lunch when we were joined by the Head of UK Campus, Professor Guy Liu who took all of us into his alma mater – Jesus College. There, our students had their very first visit inside an iconic Oxford College; Jesus College was founded in 1571 by Queen Elizabeth I and amongst the few grandiose colleges of Oxford University. During the visit, Prof Liu took us to visit the beautiful dining hall, stunning quads, and the new Cheng Yu Tung Building. He took time to explain the significance of each location, the etchings on the walls, the staircases that led to what was his old supervisor’s offices; It was such a wonderful personal experience for the students to be able to visit an Oxford College and be told of its history by the Head of the UK Campus. They were all very impressed by Jesus College and very grateful that Prof Liu took time out of his busy schedule to tell them all about the history of his College and the time that he spent there as a student. This personal touch was very meaningful to the students and it would be one of the treasured memories they would have of their stay in the UK.
The city tour ended with a very quintessential English activity – a visit to the pub. And a very famous historic pub no less – the Turf Tavern (or known to the locals as “the Turf”). The Turf dates back to 1381 and our students now join the ranks of the famous people who had a pint there – Elizabeth Taylor, Tony Blair, CS Lewis, Stephen Hawking, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton, amongst many many others.
It was such a lovely day for our students and the students had a wonderful time with our staff walking along the historic streets of Oxford. The first of many cultural activities at PHBS-UK, we look forward to creating more beautiful memories with our students!
