Corpus Christi College has given the go ahead for the creation of 45 new student rooms in a former conference centre on Park End Street.

‘Cantay House’ will be converted into a series of 5 bedroom flat units for both undergraduates and graduate students. The build will be completed by shared kitchen and sitting room areas, landscaped garden areas, covered cycle storage and high levels of security for occupants.

Bursar John Harrison commented, “The design has been arrived at after consultation with SCR and MCR members. The project offers a significant opportunity to improve our accommodation stock by investing in an energy efficient and inherently sustainable build that is expected to incorporate CHP generation and very high levels of sound and energy insulation. Once complete, this project will create the space needed to continue the process of improvement across the remainder of our accommodation.”

The site’s recent history had been controversial. Cantay Investments, the original owners of the Cantay House property, had wanted to convert the building into nine residential flats. However, the change of plans came about over summer when Oxford City Council rejected them amid claims that the company was keeping the number of flats low  to avoid contribution towards a scheme of affordable housing.

Tony Nolan, of Cantay Investments, said, “We didn’t appeal the decision because on balance we didn’t want to hang around and wait. When we designed the scheme we felt we wanted to develop high-quality housing in the city centre. We submitted a viability report suggesting the contribution could not be afforded so we declined to make an offer.”

Cantay Investments had to deal with issues of social housing. Policy dictates that constructions involving 10 or more properties have to ensure that half of the available units are designated as social housing. Corpus Christi as student accommodation is exempt from these regulations and permission was granted.Pete Johnstone, a second year medic, commented, “It is the perfect location for the station and the clubs. I hope they’re not going to give it to the graduates.” Rosie Oxbury, another Corpus student, said, “We don’t need housing for another 45 people. This seems like a way for college to sell off the small student houses.

St Hugh’s students have voted almost unanimously to move their college to  Christ Church Meadow.

A motion proposed at Sunday evening’s JCR meeting by first year Alexander Kirri noted that “The only feature of College which holds it back is its location” and claimed that “The College simply had no choice but to move, considering the current damage inflicted by distance jokes.”

Students at the college, situated a mile beyond the city centre, voted overwhelmingly in favour of the move, with only one student voting against, voicing concerns about the welfare of the cows currently residing in Christ Church Meadow. 

Kirri explained that the cows could live under the raised platform on which the college would be placed. Other students suggested that the cows could be relocated to the college’s original site on St Margaret’s Road.

The other worry students expressed was the distance of the new site from Ali’s kebab van on Woodstock Road. This was resolved by a decision to relocate Ali to a houseboat on the Isis.

French student Kirri told Cherwell, “I must say that I am incredibly pleased that my Christ Church Meadow renovation plans have been passed. The Meadow has blighted the Oxford landscape for nearly 500 years now, so I figured that it was about time that the luscious grounds of St Hugh’s replaced it as a spectacle for all to marvel at.”

The motion was part of St Hugh’s annual “joke motions” meeting, which marks the changeover in JCR committees. Other motions passed included mandating two members of the JCR to participate in a fist fight “until exhaustion or death” and making the outgoing JCR Vice-President don glittery hot pants and wear a rainbow flag as a cape to a soundtrack of various “gay anthems”, including Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way.’

Though various punishments should the challenges not be completed were mooted at the meeting, it is understood that there is no obligation for students to fulfil the terms of the meeting’s motions.

A leading independent school headmaster claims that independent schools are unfairly “demonised.”

In an article in the Telegraph on Saturday 17th November, Dr. Christopher Ray, Chairman of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC), an association of mostly British, but also a number of international independent schools, argued that HMC schools “are the envy of the educational world, even though we are demonised by some at home.”

In a piece that covered some of the most high profile contemporary educational debates, Dr. Ray, who is also High Master of Manchester Grammar School, claimed that demand for independent schools is so intense as, under Tony Blair, state education had become “an abject mess, mess, mess.” As a result of independent schools’ “success”, including the fact that, “one in five of those attending Britain’s top 10 universities come from Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) schools”, it is unsurprising, he argued, that 57% of parents “would send their children to an independent school if they had the financial means to do so.”

Some privately educated students do not agree with Dr Ray on the issue of independent schools being “demonised”. One student, who studied at Manchester Grammar School, claimed, “I wouldn’t say independent schools were demonised at all. But perhaps this is the perception people have, given that the media is fixated on discussing the ratio of people who get in the best of the Russell Group unis.” He continued, “Less attention is paid to the excellent state schools, with more emphasis placed on the underperforming ones.”

Dr. Ray argued that one of the reasons HMC schools do not deserve their current image is due to the “excellent links” they have to state schools and the “opportunities they provide” for those from lesser financial backgrounds. One former Eton student supported such a view, saying, “The system isn’t perfect but most [independent] schools recognise this; providing outreach programs and bursaries to alleviate the image of privilege. As long as they exist they will be classed as agents to the detriment of social mobility, but through bursaries (Eton has about 50% people on them) prospective pupils can be presented opportunities academies would be hard pressed to match.”

An Oxford University spokesperson claimed, “Oxford University does not take the type or category of school that an applicant went to into account, whether state, independent or academy. Selection is based purely on academic ability and potential.”

However, the spokesperson added that Oxford does take contextual information into account in inviting ‘extra’ students to interview. They contined, “A ‘flagging’ system flags things like low school performance, deprived postcode, or being in care. If someone is flagged in several areas they will be invited to interview to allow them the extra opportunity to show their potential there (this only affects quite a small number of applicants). The flags play no part in the final decision to make an offer.’

Although Wednesday morning’s calm weather had allowed the crews to begin racing at midday, twenty minutes later conditions had deteriorated to such an extent that racing was cancelled.

The Somerville Novices Crew A got the bow of their boat wedged between a moored Salters Steamer and a mooring post while turning their boat around on wednesday morning. John Harfield, a rower from St John’s, saw the Somerville Women’s crew in difficulty and stopped to help them.

He told Cherwell “I could see Somerville were in trouble with the bow wedged, I got them to get a marshall to get the safety launch. OURC wanted to get the girls onto the boat and asked if I could get there, so I stepped into the river then climbed up the steamer. From then it was just a case of getting the 8 girls and their cox up onto the steamer so they could be taken by launch back to dry land. They were clearly all cold and in shock so I tried to get them clothes from the bank.”

All the rowers were checked by Epione Medical Services and no one was injured. Rumours that a boat had capsized were found to be false.

Saibh Finlayson, rowing for a Balliol crew, told the Cherwell that they had sat in the “pouring rain” for half an hour waiting to race before the regatta was cancelled. She also reported that “some people were saying the river should never have been green-flagged at all” and that the “current was really strong.”

Alex Chajecki, the Regatta Captain for the 2012 competition, told the Cherwell that “At 12pm the crews were ready to start, and the conditions were fairly calm, so it was deemed entirely safe. Over the next twenty minutes things changed rapidly, with increasing winds and significant increase in stream. The decision was made to hold the next division immediately. We then confirmed with the lock and the Environment Agency that conditions were looking to continue to deteriorate, so the rest of the day was cancelled.”

The Regatta was also cancelled on Thursday, with the environment agency issuing warnings of either ‘Caution strong stream’ or ‘Caution stream increasing’ on most of the locks around Oxford.

Somerville College Boat Club weren’t the only club to experience a collision. Balliol Women’s Captain Kateryna Frolova told Cherwell that, there was a “huge hole in the stern of the boat” from a collision with a Jesus College crew whilst waiting on the river.

Despite the accidents, Ian Maconnachie, the Sabbatical Officer for Rowing, defended the decision to continue with racing. He claimed, “The situation was closely monitored this term as to whether crews were experienced enough to race in Christ Church Regatta. Many of the novice crews had raced in the Nephthys Regatta last weekend and in the Isis Winter League in the weekend before that, without any accidents.”

Maconnachie further commented, “There is obviously a marginally higher level of risk due to less experience, but when marshalled and organised safely, there is no reason for an event like Christ Church Regatta to be unsafe.” Both the Somerville accident and the Balliol collision happened after the races had been suspended.

This is not the first time that the Christ Church Regatta has been suspended. Rob Wadsworth, a rower at Balliol College, commented that indivdual days of the Regatta were “quite often” suspended but also agreed with the safety officials’ decision as ‘if it’s really wet and there’s a strong steam, it’s not safe to row.”

The turnout rate in the election was lower than that of the OUSU election last week, as just 10.9% of Oxford residents voted in the PCC election last week, compared to 16% at the OUSU elections.

Tim Starkey, the Labour candidate, lost in the second round of voting as no candidates achieved 50% of first round votes, told Cherwell, “The abysmal turnout raises serious questions about the way the election has been organised and the role itself. One of Anthony Stansfeld’s first tasks will be to engage with all the communities across Thames Valley, including in urban areas where very few people voted for him, and including the many people who are unsure about what the PCC role means. I wish him well.”

Stansfeld outlined his aims for improving policing in Thames Valley, saying, “I aim to reduce those crimes that are of the most concern to communities, and catch those committing them.”

He claimed that his victory was due to the fact that he was “the most experienced candidate.” He added, “I also have been on the Police Authority, and for the last 18 months had responsibility for Performance for Thames Police. During this period we were the most improved police force in England. I know how to run things and control large budgets.”

Several candidates criticised the low turnout. “Turnout was not satisfactory,” Stansfeld claimed, before adding, “though over 94,000 voted for me, and a large number did not vote against me!” Barry Cooper, the UKIP candidate, claimed turnout was “appalling” and blamed “the government.”

“If the new PCC does his job properly and embraces the populist, democratic elements of the role, a mandate will evolve over time. If he doesn’t, then this will have been a wasted chance for some real democracy to enter at least one facet of how we are governed.”

A number of Oxford students expressed their anger at the raised tuition fees in a march organised predominantly by the NUS in London on Wednesday. The protest marks the two year anniversary since the first protest in November 2010. The event was held on the Wednesday in order to coincide with Prime Minister’s Questions as, according to the NUS, this was “the best day to make an impact on policy makers and the press.”

OUSU supported the demonstration and provided transport to and from London.

According to the NUS website, the aim of the march was to “show the government how angry we are at their betrayals and broken promises.” It claimed to be marching for three key principles: education, employment and empowerment.

The sentiment at the protest has been described by those that attended as a bitter one. OUSU President- Elect Tom Rutland commented, “The mood at the protest today was one of discontent and anger: students are facing unprecedented challenges – triples fees, poor graduate job prospects and unacceptable cuts to higher education.”

Lincoln student Nathan Akehurst concurred, commenting, “It was quite militant, and the cold and wet didn’t help. People were angry, worried and also a great deal more nuanced and politically aware than in 2010.”

Others, however, have been keen to point out that the march was a peaceful and positive affair. Second year St. Anne’s student Joe Collin told Cherwell, “The march itself had a great atmosphere, almost like a carnival because of the drums. People were angry, but it definitely wasn’t intimidating.”

Although there was a significant police presence, the protests were absent of violent stand-offs. Those who attended have remained upbeat about the possible consequences of the march. 

Rutland continued, “What was achieved was putting student issues on the national agenda: lobbying the government has failed and direct action was our last option. For too long students have been betrayed by the government and when conversations fail, we have to march and take action. We were promised the abolition of tuition fees and no cancelling of EMA and what we got was tripled fees and the end of EMA. With the government faltering and all parties preparing an agenda for the next election, it was time for students to make all parties listen up.”

Others have stressed that whilst the impact might not be immediate, this was an important voicing of the views of students. Akehurst commented, “I don’t think the government will listen, but I do think what we can achieve through the demonstration is a stepping stone to a wider, broader and more active student union that can present a real challenge, as we have seen in Canada.” 

Some, however, have expressed disappointment at the way the demonstration was organised by the NUS. After marching through London, the protest was moved to Kennington where a number of speeches were given. One student commented, “It seemed bizarre to move everyone from parliament where we might be able to actually get our message across to a park to listen to people preach to the converted.”

NUS president Liam Burns was heckled as he gave his speech, with several protesters mounting the stage. OUSU President-elect Rutland defended Burns, commenting, “The heckling was carried out by a small group of students who are not representative of the majority. Liam’s done more work with Oxford than previous Presidents and should be commended.”