Oxbridge Group - St Hughs visit

On 23rd January, a group of Year 12 students took the journey up to Oxford to visit St Hugh’s college, with which Gravesend Grammar has close ties as it is a ‘link school’ to the university. The two hour drive eventually brought us through the very charming city of Oxford, at which point we checked into St Hugh’s. The College was established in 1886 and began as a women-only institution; this heritage is emphasised by the students and staff with great pride, with one of the front entrance hosting 1910s-style suffragist banners on its gates. We began our tour in a conference building and heard a talk from a member of staff whose job covers outreach and partnerships with sixth forms, and a Q & A with two student ambassadors. They took us on a tour of St Hugh’s and its facilities, showing us the main building with its dining hall and impressive library, as well as the chapel. The college library was noticeably larger, according to our guides, because when the college was founded women were barred from the central libraries. In protest to this, the women of St Hugh’s founded their own library to rival the male only libraries in size and extent.

After eating lunch we had a short talk about the admissions process, and then a quick tour of some of the campuses dotted around the city itself, including Trinity and Balliol; all of the colleges we saw from outside were breathtaking! I think it’s worth putting emphasis on how much the history and architecture of the university adds to the atmosphere - simply being there makes one feel a part of something a little larger than oneself. Upon returning to the St Hugh’s campus, we received a 30-minute taster tutorial from one of the college’s senior tutors, Professor Robert Vilain. Professor Vilain’s academic work covers comparative literature in English, French and German; in spirit of this, we discussed and analysed the short story ‘Eine Kreuzung’ - ‘A Crossbreed’ - by Franz Kafka. The short session was very insightful and added greatly to the trip, giving us an idea of the more personal mode of teaching used at Oxford. In all, the visit to St Hugh’s was of great value to the students who went, and has definitely encouraged me to look closer at Open Days to other colleges at Oxford! Thank you to Mr Pallant and Mrs MacMahon for organising the trip and driving us to Oxford.   Theo Li