Thursday 1st January 2026

News

£17,000 on grass, redacted files, and 250,000 parcels: Cherwell’s 2025 FOI review

As the Cherwell Investigations team, we take our job very seriously. A big part of what we do is Freedom of Information (FOI) requests – which allow us to...

Vice-Chancellor’s pay package rises to £666,000, among highest paid in Russell Group

The University of Oxford’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Irene Tracey, received a total pay package of...

Oxford Town Hall flies Palestine flag for Ramallah Mayor visit

Oxford City Council flew the flag of Palestine from the Town Hall last week...

Worcester College Provost made Labour peer in the House of Lords

Worcester College Provost David Isaac has been appointed to the House of Lords as...

Jacob Rees-Mogg, Madeline Argy, and Philip Wang to speak at Oxford Union

Cherwell can exclusively reveal three new speakers for the Oxford Union this term. Addressing the Union this month will be politician Jacob Rees-Mogg, internet personality Madeline Argy, and comedian Phil Wang.

Ethics concerns over Oxford University Press journal study based on Uyghur DNA

Oxford University Press (OUP), a department of the University of Oxford, is facing scrutiny after a study published by one of its journals was flagged for using DNA collected from the Uyghur population in Xinjiang. Two further studies by Chinese researchers, published by the same journal under OUP, are also suspected of violating ethics standards. 

Pink Week 2024

Since 2016, Oxford Pink Week has taken place every year during the last week of January. A student-run initiative supporting breast cancer charities, it raised over £25,000 in 2023 and is expected to do so again this year.  

New Kazakh language program to be offered at the University of Oxford

On 26 January, the University of Oxford signed an agreement with the Kazakh Ministry of Science and Higher Education with plans to launch a...

Ticket reselling attracts controversy as college balls sell out in seconds

As ball season approaches, the popularity of several commemoration balls has skyrocketed since previous years, leaving hundreds of would-be attendees scrambling for tickets and causing controversy over ticket reselling on online platforms like Oxtickets.

Plans approved for new student accommodation on Magdalen Street

The Oxford City Planning Committee has approved a proposal to partially convert the iconic Oxenford House building on Magdalen Street, directly above the burger chain Five Guys, into a student accommodation block.

New exhibition reinterpreting colonial records from Bodleian archive opens in Weston Library

A new exhibition has opened in Weston Library’s Blackwell Hall as part of a collaboration between the Bodleian Libraries and British opera singer Peter...

Eggs of butterfly thought to be almost extinct found in Oxfordshire

On 16 January, staff and volunteers from the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) discovered approximately two hundred brown hairstreak butterfly eggs. The...

Oxfordshire County Council to decide on expansion of Zero Emission Zone

A decision on the expansion of the Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ) is expected in the Spring at a meeting of the county council’s cabinet....

Oxford Literary Festival returns as it launches 2024 programme

The Oxford Literary Festival is returning this year with events aimed at attracting younger festival goers and addressing the global issue of food insecurity....

UCAS data reveals Oxbridge to have fewest applicants among UK Russell Group

The publication of UCAS’s 2023 end-of-cycle data showed that Oxford and Cambridge are the least popular among the UK’s 24 Russell Group universities.  Cambridge had...

University Chancellor Lord Patten announces retirement

University of Oxford Chancellor Lord Christopher Patten has publicly announced his wish to retire at the end of the 2023-24 academic year, ending his...

It’s not whether you rusticate, it’s where: Suspension of studies at Oxford

Oxford has one of the lowest drop-out rates in the country, with around 0.9% of admissions not completing a degree, much lower than the UK average of 5.3%. Absent from the University’s “facts and figures” section is the number of students each year who suspend their study – or “rusticate” as it’s more commonly known.

SU Town Hall: meet the presidential candidates

Elections for Student Union president open Monday to Thursday of 4th Week. Candidates include SU veterans and outsiders with a radically different vision for...

Oxford Council approves plan to expand cycle paths

In response to traffic and safety concerns, Oxford City and County Councils have passed a scheme to improve cycling infrastructure in Oxford and the...

Oxford Union has no confidence in the United Nations

On Thursday night, the Oxford Union voted in favour of the motion “This House Has No Confidence in the United Nations.” The final count had 148 members voting for the motion and 90 members voting against. 

ATIK Oxford won’t be closing despite rumours

Following speculations by many students regarding the future of nightclub ATIK’s operations, Cherwell contacted the parent company, Rekom UK, for comment. A spokesperson for...

Oxford begins human vaccine trials for deadly Nipah virus

The first in-human clinical trial of a vaccine against the deadly Nipah virus has been launched by Oxford.

New mental health hospital planned for Warneford Park

Plans to build a new mental health hospital in Warneford Park, at the site of the existing hospital, are progressing after partners signed documentation agreeing on redevelopment plans.

Oxford research finds financial sector unprepared for climate lawsuits

Research by the Oxford Sustainable Law Programme (SLP) found that investors and regulators have seriously overlooked the risk of potential climate lawsuits.

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