The Art and Culture of Oxford

Founded in the 9th century, Oxford, the city which is part of Oxfordshire in South East England, offers a lot of cultural attraction that we should see. These include theatres, museums, art galleries, and also for music. The art and culture of Oxford is well-known for its originality and the history behind it.

One of the oldest museums in England is The Ashmolean Museum which was founded in 1683. The museum is part of The University of Oxford. Here we can find original pieces of artwork by Michelangelo, Pablo Picasso, and Leonardo Da Vinci there. In Oxford, we can also find The Bate Collection of Musical Instruments. There are many collection of musical instruments that have historical background. It is also located in The University of Oxford.

For the theatre, we should come to The Sheldonian Theatre. The theatre was built in 1664. The other is The Holywell Music Room. It is well known as the oldest music room in Europe. Oxford is also famous for its art galleries, one of them is The Christ Church Picture Gallery which have many paintings and drawings by influential artists from 17th century. Nowadays, Oxford have many art galleries for modern art paintings, drawings, and installations.

The more interesting things are for the music. Beside the classical music which usually held in The Holywell Music Room and The Sheldonian Theatre, also for the famous Oxford Bach Choir, The city of Oxford also have grown important musician artists in the 20th century such as Thom Yorke for his art rock musical groups, Radiohead. Also, Ride which is British shoegazing band that active in 90's.

There would be a lot of list if we have to describe all of art and culture in Oxford. There has a lot of artists, performers, and writers that rhymes with its historical background and beauty landscape.

Oxford on sundays, Never GO! Keep sleeping is better

Honestly, I won´t go again to Oxford on sunday to search for some entertainment, after being there the last sunday.

Why do I say that?

I thought the city of Oxford, one of the most popular cities in England and in the worl thank´s to the famous university, was going to be amazing for students like us. There are a lot of colleges and private halls filled with students but we didn´t see any of them, only tourists were on the streets. It was drizzting, so this wasn't a reason for not see anybody or any good entertainment to do there.

One of the first things we did, was to go to the castle of Oxford to see an exhibition wich was advertised as being a "super exhibition of The Earth from the air that has giants pictures" like they said in the webpage of Oxford. Obviusly, there is always an exaggeration in advertising but this really wasn´t how we had espected it to be. The pictures were big but not "giants" but i can't say the pictures weren't interesting, just the way they were shown to the people was lacking in energy. Finally, after seeing around seven pictures you could look just in front of you the shop of the exhibition, it was like the pictures were the streetside and the end of the street was the shop.

As you can see in the picture, the castle of Oxford is next to a modern house! So another aspect that we didn't liked. Maybe the exhibition was for middle-aged people and older that would like it but I don't think many students like us would.

Walking on the streets looking for something to do, we could see a lot of pubs and night clubs closed. It was logical because it was sunday. So I could say that maybe a lot of students will join them but not on sunday in the morning or afternoon. However, I think if you go not like a day-triper like us and you sleep in Oxford you could go to this pubs, night clubs and have a good time with the other students. This night club of the picture could be a good option and you can see that it's open all the week nights.

The best thing you can do as student in Oxford on sunday could be go shopping because there are lot of stores but obviously anybody goes to Oxford to go shopping, because could do it in any city of England.

FAQ: All Souls – A different College

What is All Souls?

All Souls is a college of the Oxford University. Its establishment dates from 1436, during the office of King Henry VI. The main person in charge of this construction though was Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury.

How many students and what kind of branches of study are there?
This college isn´t an usual educational establishment, therefore you can´t find students and that shouldn´t come as a surprise nor branches of study. It is an institution where neither teachers nor students work. In this college you can just find an elite troop, namely the "Fellows".

Who are the Fellows?

It is a proudly cherished speciality of All Souls to nominate students as a Fellow. Every year this college ask 70 students with the best final grades to take part of the entrance examination. After the test remains just 2 or 3 students become a Fellow.

To be a Fellow is a great distinction and in addition one has exceptional advantages.
First of all one gets a scholarship for the next seven years, so this is really financially rewarding.

Another benefit is that although the Fellows have to make their promotion, they are on a par with teachers. A particular amusement, especially for gourmets, is the possibility to take a three-course menu in the majestic dining hall.

What is the entrance examination about?
This test is based on a project to find someone, who is not only brilliant in expert knowledge but also in general knowledge. The ambition is to find a genius, no more, no less. Ideas for this test are a dime a dozen.

The exam consists of 5 different tests, whereas just 2 tests are about the expertise of the students. The rest of the exercises deal with odd things, like:"Is Free Trade free?" or "Do too many people support Manchester United?"

Everyone who doesn´t know, which kind of University one´s choose, has now good reasons to try it in Oxford.

FAQ; of the beginners, by the beginners, for the beginners

1.　How to get there?

What you need to do is quite simple. First, you should go to Paddington underground station which is on four tube lines; Hammersmith&City, Bakerloo, Circle, District. Next, after you buy the tickets, you should search the train which is going there. Do not forget to bring your student identification card so that you can make a discount. There are five trains every hour from 5:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.

2. Where to meet my friends at Paddington?

The ticket counter in the Paddington overground station is one of the good places to meet. Avoid choosing the Paddington underground station because you cannot get contact with your friends with phones there.

3. How long does it take to get there?

It depends on the train which you get on, although it takes about between one hour and a half and two hours. This enables you to have a trip to Oxford, even if you are given a lot of weekend-homework by your teacher. One of my suggestions is that you should bring something interesting such as a book and music.

4. What is the trip of Oxford like?

It will be a long journey, which means walking a lot. It is better to put trainers on than to do boots on.

5. Is there any recommendations?

There are two other recommendations for your trip. First, it should be evitable to go there on rainy days and in winter. If you do not follow that, your trip should be though. Next, you decide clearly what you want to do there in advance. It is expected that many university students do not decide it but if you want to make your trip more fun, you should do it.

I hope your trip will be brilliant, following my suggestions. (309 words)

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Things to know about Oxford University

The University in Oxford was built at the end of 12th century, however the accurate date is unknown.
This university became in a short time an important educational establishment not only in Britain but also in the whole world.
The demanded extradition of British students from the University of Paris helped the Oxford University to become a famous institution of education, because most of the fleeing people from France registered in Oxford.

Over the next years inquisitive people from foreign countries followed oxford's good reputation to study at this university. By and by, foreigners with different persuasions gained influence and asserted student communities.
To stop the influence of this people a small group of founder decided to built their own institutions, which are independent from their area of influence.
This is why the Oxford University contains 39 independent colleges and 6 permanent private halls, today.

Although Oxford University is so large and famous, there is a great competitor in the same country, namely the Cambridge University.
This old rivalry has its seeds in a conflict between students and citizens in Oxford in the 13th century. Because no one was able to settle this dispute, a lot of scholars escaped to Cambridge, where they established a new university.

Nowadays, Oxford University is distinguished and a lot of famous and important personalities, like Bill Clinton, joined their studies in Oxford.
Recently, the university received a mention for the best English university by famous University Guides.

summary about oxford cafes

I intend to explain about where to eat in Oxford in this section. There are plenty of places which we can eat in Oxford but if you want to eat meal with your family or friends without waiting, it is the wise way to make an appointment in advance. The reason for this is not only tourists but also people living in London go to Oxford, using their weekend so it is quite crowded all the year around especially during holidays such as summer and winter.

Anyway I would like to focus on places which serve good lunch because this guide for mainly day-trippers and university students, although I said at the beginning, there are many kinds of restaurants, cafes and pubs to have a meal. Where I would like to introduce you are two cafes. One is named ‘Noodle bar’ and another is named ‘Harvey’s Sandwich Bar’.

First, the former which is Noodle bar, serves you different kinds of Chinese food such as noodle with soup, fried rice and dumplings. There are two reasons that I strongly recommend it. Noodles with soup which the bar supplies you make your body hot on the windy and rainy days which are often in England. In addition, the prices of all menus are not expensive and if you are a student you can eat everything at a 10% discount off the regular price.

Next, the latter also supplies you many kinds of sandwiches. This bar has several kinds of bread such as sandwiches, pitas and baguettes. This bar starts to make a meal for you after you ordered so that you can eat something fresh to eat such as vegetables, meats and cheeses. Similar to the former, this cafe is also cheap. Thus it is popular among younger generation. (297 words)