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25 Fascinating Facts About Oxford You Need To Know
Home to one of the most prestigious Universities in the world, in one of the most beautiful and architecturally stunning cities in England, a visit to Oxford is a must! Yet do you know these 25 fascinating facts about Oxford?
Wander through the twists and turns of its quaint streets. Brush past forward-thinking professors. Delve into museums full to the brim with treasures and devour the endless knowledge in Oxford’s bookshops. Experience the magic of Harry Potter. Find the door to Narnia, and with a bit of luck, you might just get lost in Wonderland with Alice for hours whilst punting down the river.
25 fascinating facts about Oxford that you need to know
There is so much to Oxford that we cannot wait to reveal to you below. Here are 25 fascinating facts about Oxford.
Oxford University is old, very old!
The University of Oxford is roughly 922 years old, making it the second oldest University in the world. It is beaten in age by the University of Bologna which is around 930 years old. In terms of University rankings however, it is currently ranked no.1 in the world in the Times Higher Education World for 2023.
This is a great reason to come and join us at Summer Boarding Courses for your Summer School experience.
Balliol College was built as a punishment
Founded in 1263 by John Balliol, Mr. Balliol had to pay for this college to be built as a punishment for insulting the Bishop of Durham.
The good news is that Balliol College has produced 3 British prime ministers. In fact, all in all, the University of Oxford has produced 27 British Prime Ministers. 13 have come from Christ Church College, 3 from Trinity College, 2 from Brasenose College and the rest from Hertford, Jesus, St. Hugh’s (where our Oxford College Summer School is), St John’s, Somerville and University College.
Oxford is a great place to become an author
Oxford has more published authors per square mile than anywhere else in the world! Famous authors tied to Oxford include JRR Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings), Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland), CS Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia) and Mark Haddon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time).
…and become an actor too!
Emma Watson, who plays Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, studied at Oxford’s Dragon and Headington School (where our SBC Oxford and Headington Oxford Summer School is).
Tortoise Wars
Founded in 1555, Trinity College is one of Balliol College’s biggest rivals as they live in such close proximity to each other. Every College has a tortoise that they own, and every Summer in May, the colleges come together to have a tortoise race.
A circle of lettuce is placed on the ground, 8 metres wide, and spectators wait for the tortoises to come out of the middle of the circle to reach the lettuce line to win.
Balliol College currently holds the record for the fastest tortoise winning in 4 hours back in 2004. Yet on this day, when Balliol College took their tortoise out in the city to celebrate, they lost him! They firmly believed that Trinity College were the thieves, and poured washing up liquid into Trinity College’s fountain in retaliation.
Join us in Summer!
Join Summer Boarding Courses for an unforgettable Summer learning English in our prestigious schools for ages 8 to 17.