Oxford Double Win At Boat Race!

That time of the year again, when students, alumni, tourists, locals and people caught in traffic jams watched the Oxford v Cambridge boat. This annual sporting contest watched by millions around the word saw Oxford's women's and men's boat complete a successful trouncing of Cambridge, It was an event made historic by the women's crew competing on the same part of the river as the men. Though the defeat was clear (and strangely similar for both races, 19 seconds, around 6 boat lengths), Cambridge still leads in the overall tally, with 81-79 wins.

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Turning point for democracy in England and Oxford's involvement

As the world gets ready to celebrate the Magna Carta and the 800 years since it was issued, another equally important, if not more, event is in danger of being over looked.

750 years ago an extraordinary parliament was held, one which was far more progressive and inclusive than the elitist gatherings prior to this. Usually a meeting between the King and his chosen advisers, this parliament included representatives from counties and boroughs, dealing with wider issues such as taxation.

This was, impart, a response to the efforts of Simon De Motfort after a meeting in Oxford when he demanded the King follow a programme of reform. The resulting council which would share power with the King would help to shape our first shoots of democracy.

Want to see the room in which this revolutionary meeting took place? Check out our Oxford University Tour. 

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A Black Day

A day of mourning has been declared for the whole of Oxford today as it emerged today that Oxford University had been beaten once again in the QS world university rankings by its arch nemesis: Cambridge.

As the mist cleared this morning onlookers in Oxford city centre were treated to a scene of utter devastation: Crying undergraduates in sub fusc littered the streets, as dazed and confused academics wandered, lost, through the dreaming spires.  The news that Cambridge has risen from 3rd place to 2nd in the world whilst Oxford lingers at a lonely 5th position was shocking, and proved too much for many people to bear.

To add insult to injury, Imperial College London has risen above Oxford in the rankings to lie in joint 2nd place with Cambridge, causing some naysayers to call for the age old term of "Oxbridge" to be replaced with an updated version of "Impbridge"! Needless to say Oxford University will fight to the death against this upstart newbie taking Oxfords place, with war cries echoing from the innermost chambers of Christ Church to the wide expanses of Port Meadow.

Who can say where this latest blow will leave the delicate minds of Oxfords greatest students, perhaps a mass exodus to deepest darkest London? Even, dare I suggest, to the Other Place? Probably not. Courage through adversity and all that....

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Oxford ninth in International University rankings

The latest ARWU University rankings have place Oxford University 9th in the world, 3 places behind it's biggest rival Cambridge. Oxford students have been quick (as always) to defend their university, pointing out that the ARWU rankings place much greater emphasis on science subjects rather than humanities, with 20% of the overall rankings being generated from the number of Nobel prize winners in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine and Economics.

A glimmer of hope was found in the ranking of "Broad Subject fields" where Oxford ranked above Cambridge in both Social Sciences and Computer Science.

Oxford students have rallied to their university with typical Oxford fighting spirit and, as one student historian put it, "I would still rather be at Durham than a boring nerd at Cambridge!". No love lost between these two once again. Want to find out more about this ancient rivalry? Take our historical walking tour to find out! More information about these tours can be found here.

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Crowdfunding an Oxford Degree

A postgraduate student at Oxford University has found a new solution to the problem of funding an extortionately expensive postgraduate degree. Crowdfunding!

Emily Eastop has proven that you really don't need Wonga but entirely funding her £26 000 masters in cognitive anthropology using the crowdfunding site Hubbub.

While some people have referred to her as a "posh brat", Emily has been quick to point out that if people are willing to fund making a potato salad, why should they not fund her degree? And if it works then why not! So far she has received money from bigwigs in the cognitive science world as well as £1 donations from people who think she's a worthwhile cause.

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A cappella version of "Hips don't lie" gets Shakiras attention

University students in Oxfords famous a cappella group "Out of the Blue" have shot to fame after a video of an a cappella version of Shakiras "Hips dont lie" brought the the popstar herself to tweet the group. 

In one of Oxfords more hip moments the students charity version of the song went viral after Shakira retweeted the video to her 26 million followers along with the caption: "Hey @ootboxford, we LOVE your a capella Shak medley!"

The boys have been donating all proceeds from the single to a childrens hospice in Oxfordshire and have been modest about their new found stardom, despite over 4 million views of the video on youtube, describing the choice as the group going for the "unexpected vibe". 

Full video of the group moving their hips can be viewed here

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List of Oxfrd bad performing students made public, by accident.

In what can only be viewed as a blunder, or some form of medieval humiliation equated to an academic version of the stocks, an email was sent around University College (a college at Oxford - one of the oldest, but let's not open that debate), listing the 50 worst performing students of the pre-christmas exams. This was an administrative blunder, one perfectly understandable in our view.

 But rather than brand names at Oxford, it's academic performance which really influences the social standing of a student. One student notes "I was pretty gutted after my results last term, but didn't realise I would be publicly humiliated. I can't even go into college any more". Perhaps slightly over the top, but not to be outdone, another student quips, "They may as well have gone the whole hog and just released all health records of students whilst they were at it- or maybe just those with STIs".

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