Headlines

Oxford’s political party societies have a dual reputation. On one side of the coin, many boast long-standing histories and influential alumni, from Clement Attlee to David Cameron. Flip to the tail end, and you find a termly reality of boisterous drinking socials and inconclusive debates that are, in the words of Cherwell’s Stanley Smith, “more fixated with personality than party”. But does this reputation really disrupt the confines of what these political party societies are made for?

Can students still afford to choose?

There’s much about the experience of studying at Oxford that makes it truly unique compared to other universities. There’s the almost millennium-old tradition of...

Vanisha Karna -

I no longer want to be an astronaut

Just last week, OpenAI dropped 372 papers covering various well-known unsolved problems in mathematics and computer science. As someone in the unfortunate position of soon applying for a PhD in maths, it seems to be harder than ever to get one’s foot in the door. How can I, a bright-eyed but inexperienced undergraduate, compete with thousands of machines trawling through the sum of all human knowledge in parallel?

Zoë McGuire -

Politics must not serve as a barrier to education

As this article goes to print, Oxford University is missing two of its offer-holders. In a haunting echo of the trials faced by approximately 78 Palestinian students last academic year, several of whom held places at Oxford, two Sudanese doctors are unable to begin master’s courses at the University this October. This comes after the High Court dismissed their legal challenge to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s ‘emergency brake’ visa policy, which also affects applicants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, and Myanmar.

Ti-Jean Martin -

Unity is the antidote

Freya Robson - 3rd November 2026

At a recent march in Oxford against the far right, one speaker’s words really struck a chord with me: “We need unity irrespective of...

In defence of consent training

Madeline Gillett -

The Vinted paradox: Consuming our way out of overconsumption

Agatha Crowther -

Features

Oxford’s obsession with being busy is pretty performative, right?

Finbar Dinnen -

At Oxford, it seems like we get used to talking about our lives as nothing more than a summary of the things we’ve accomplished lately, or at least are just about to. The longer your list, the better you must be doing, because to be busy is to be making the absolute most of your time here – and who doesn’t want to be doing that?

No Greek life doesn’t mean no rape culture

Ruya Oral -

Perhaps the most effective tool we have at our disposal against casual sexism is casual feminism.

All work and no pay: Why Oxford students aren’t allowed to have jobs

Emma Heagney -

Strangely enough, however, the ‘vac’ is also the only opportunity for an Oxford student to work, not through problem sheets and essays, but in the most fundamental sense of the word.

What the UK can learn from threats to Canadian student journalism

Emma Heagney - 31st October 2026

The perseverance of The Concordian and The Tribune in the face of Bill C-18 demonstrates just how impactful institutional support can be, not least for allowing these student journalists to believe that their work is worth fighting for.

Feeling fresher: How to be casually healthy whilst going out in Oxford

After the glut: A renaissance for the AI age?

From Oxbridge to Silicon Valley: The rise of student entrepreneurship

Profiles

‘Put your blinders on, put your head down, and do the work’: Sharifa Al-Sudairi on her journey to becoming Saudi Arabia’s first female alpine skier

Saba Ahmadzadeh Noughani - 27th October 2026

‘A symptom of our divided society’: Stuart Jeffries on Oxford, philosophy, and the present state of protest

Leo Maudsley-Barton -

‘We were the poor relations’: Naomi Lightman on life as a woman at Oxford in the 1960s

Gavriella Epstein-Lightman -

Culture

Books

How books are burned today

Romilly Ireland - 2nd November 2026

It is a worrying thought...

Culture

The burden of the face: Why are so many singers wearing masks?

We can all name at least one musician who has performed behind a balaclava, helmet, or hood. Whether to preserve anonymity, cultivate mystery, or construct an entirely new artistic identity, masking the face is common among those under the limelight.

Leandro Landolina and Francesca Lamberti -

Art

New Oxford Windrush generation exhibit opens for Black History Month

Amidst recent political tension provoked by the government’s refusal of slavery reparations to the Caribbean, this year Black History Month is celebrated uniquely in Oxford. The inaugural exhibition at...

Madison Garrett -

Culture

“There’s a play in that”: interview with ‘The Gang of Three’ playwright Robert Khan

It’s Budget Day as I sit in the foyer of the Oxford Playhouse. Down in Westminster, Chancellor Healey faces his first major test. But up here, another Chancellor Healey...

Saul Grenfell -