Monday started early again so that we could be in time for the bus to get to the birthplace of Winston Churchill and today’s destination, Blenheim Palace.
We began the day with a tour of the Palace. We saw a number of lavishly decorated rooms, including the room in which Churchill was born and (more interestingly to some in the group) the room in which Chelsea footballer, John Terry, had his wedding reception.After the tour we stopped for lunch (as Alice’s midnight cereal sessions can only sustain her for so long...) which we ate in the courtyard of the palace which was bathed in the most glorious sunshine of the Summer School so far.
In the afternoon, we walked around the grounds of the Palace, admiring the breathtaking (man-made) scenery ranging from rose gardens to lakes. Afterwards, and to the infantile delight of many in our group, we rode the miniature train to the Palace’s “Pleasure Garden” to tackle the UK’s second largest hedge maze. We were a-maze-d that nobody got lost...
Once back in Oxford, we enjoyed a British afternoon tea together (complete with cucumber sandwiches!) at the Staverton Road site. After this, we took part in a “balloon debate” to further hone our analytical and argumentative skills crucial to success at interview for Oxbridge and in writing effectively. The winning team (representing suffragette, Emmeline Pankhurst) of Sarah, Stephanie, Talia, Hamza and Carl showed real maturity in their analysis, which was also exemplified with great passion (and aviator-style sunglasses) by the evening’s best individual speaker, Bogdan. How David Beckham beat off Oliver Cromwell, Isaac Newton and Queen Elizabeth II to the final round we will never know...
Next up: punting on the River Cherwell and a lateral thinking workshop!
No comments:
Post a Comment