ON a sunny Wednesday morning, May 26, 17 excited Year 10 pupils boarded the bus for a trip to Oxford University, to sample just one of the many possibilities that could be available for them once they leave school.

The pupils were given a tour of Christchurch College and were able to view the very places where some of the scenes from the Harry Potter movies were filmed. However, it became very clear the pupils were far more interested in exploring how they could improve their chances of getting into Oxford.

They asked questions relating to entrance criteria, financial funding and dormitory arrangements.

The pupils were surprised to learn it would not be impossible for them to attend a university as ‘posh’ as Oxford.

Several pupils expressed that they would at least like to apply to attend a university such as Oxford.

Just when they thought things couldn’t get any better, they were taken to lunch in one the university’s famous dining rooms.

There was an audible gasp as pupils caught a first glimpse of where they would be eating – in a grand, elegant room surrounded by university pupils, some of whom were still in the robes Oxford pupils are required to wear when sitting exams.

Our tour guide, himself an Oxford student, explained that the pupils wear different coloured carnations depending on which year they are studying.

Following lunch, the pupils walked through the surrounding campus and the famous Bodleian Library which contains at least one copy of all of the books published in the world.

They rounded off their stay with a tour of the Museum of Natural History, where they handled giant, hissing cockroaches and marvelled at the treasures preserved by experts in entomology, geology, mineralogy, petrology and zoology.

It was a fantastic and motivating day for the pupils.

One summarised the day by saying: “Oxford University is like a castle of dreams.”

Let’s hope our pupils are encouraged to keep up their grades and make their dream of attending university a reality.