Wednesday, April 30, 2025
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Review: ‘Initiate: An Oxford Anthology of New Writing’

Ella Sands
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Review: ‘Initiate: An Oxford Anthology of New Writing’

I’ve always had a secret desire to take a course in creative writing, so when I saw a copy of Initiate – the first anthology of work by graduates of Oxford’s Master of Studies in Creative Writing – behind the counter at Blackwell’s, I couldn’t resist picking it up. I vaguely recalled the media hype when the course was launched in 2005: the debates over how it would stand up to traditional ‘academic’ subjects, whether creative writing courses tended to produce a particular, homogenous style of writing, and if writing was something that could actually be taught. The showcase anthology seemed to have received few reviews, so I decided to judge it for myself to see how good these ‘initiates’ really were, and what I was missing out on.n

The quality varies as you might expect from a book that comprises work from a wide range of contributors, testing out a multitude of different forms and voices. I found some of the poems uninspiring: Alice Willington’s Dusk verges far too close to cliché, while David Shook’s images of ‘silverfish [mating] beneath the seminary pillows like sequins fucking’ seems a bit too self-consciously intended to shock. Some of the prose didn’t quite work for me either, such as A Malady of the Heart by Savyn Javeri-Jillani which contains lovely moments but has too much going on for it to flow together as a story.

Still, I couldn’t help but be impressed by Stephanie Chong’s The Essence of Sandalwood, a moving portrayal of the perspective breast cancer puts on the normality of ballet lessons and a career in law. Chong writes like she knows this world well – sure enough, her biography reveals that she gave up being a solicitor to take the Master of Studies. Sarah Darby similarly writes about what she knows, using her experience working in the NHS to create a tender tale of two boys joking about their crushes while waiting for heart surgery. And it’s not just the variety of contributors’ CVs that stands out, the cultural diversity of the cohort is also reflected in their writing. Manish Chauhan’s The Bloomers is a sensitive, unconventional take on arranged marriage, with some wonderful details: ‘They say that if your rotli are round, it means you’ll find a good husband’.

As for the poems, Roy Wooley’s 3am Garden is deliciously surreal, describing an ex-girlfriend who keeps a dragon ‘in an apple-crate with a brick on top’. There are some great titles, such as Questions to Identify a Pale Tongue, and arresting imagery: ‘I like music that wants to press / my cheek against its shoulder’. But the anthology isn’t limited to poetry and prose: I enjoyed Paula Bardowell Stanic’s drama, and a bizarre screenplay by Colm O’Shea. There’s work by more established writers in there as well, including One of those Days, a satirical screenplay by Mark Burton that I immediately had to look up on YouTube. Guessing who is and isn’t a creative writing graduate is part of the fun, and not always an easy task.

One thing is clear: graduates of Oxford’s Master of Studies don’t write like hackneyed clones, as criticisms of creative writing courses might imply. Whether I liked their work or not, they all demonstrated unmistakably individual voices and a willingness to experiment. Judging from the success of recent graduates, this seems to be paying off, although it is, of course, too early to tell whether Oxford will acquire a reputation for creative writing to rival that of East Anglia. 

So maybe I should start compiling a portfolio for my own application – I’m definitely tempted. But then again, a brief glance at the biographies at the back of Initiate or a consideration of the diverse career paths of famous authors such as Dick King Smith, makes me wonder whether a bit of life experience first would be more useful.

Mastering creative writing

Tom Cutterham And Ella Sands
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Mastering creative writing

Think of all the writing you do at university: thousands upon thousands of words a term. How much of it would you call ‘creative’? Perhaps a metaphor that got a little out of hand or a particularly speculative bit of exposition and, if you do spend time writing stories, poems, plays and the like, chances are it’s in the time snatched from ‘real work’.

Creative writing doesn’t feel like something that fits easily into an academic environment. But for some committed writers, it’s a discipline as demanding as any degree. Dr Clare Morgan was instrumental in establishing Oxford’s Master of Studies in Creative Writing, and now with a new anthology on sale in Blackwell’s and success stories across the board, she’s seen it take its place in the University’s academic landscape.

Dr Morgan’s own career has straddled the worlds of creative and academic writing. She graduated the prestigious East Anglia writing programme before getting a doctorate in English Literature at Oxford, going on to work as a tutor at Christ Church and Brasenose. While she felt like she was part of a ‘historic community’ of writers in Oxford when she was here as a student, a creative writing scene has really emerged in the last few years especially since the instalment of the MSt programme.

Importantly, the course reaches well outside the traditional Oxford bubble, drawing applications and students from around the world and from a wide variety of backgrounds. The age-range is also a mark of diversity; when it comes to the need for life experience, Dr Morgan tells us it’s more a matter of ‘maturity as a writer.’ Some MSt students are fresh from their undergraduate degrees, others in their forties or beyond.

When I ask if the aim of the course is to produce people who can live by writing, Dr Morgan’s answer is carefully balanced. On one hand, it does provide training geared to help graduates publish and market their work, and find satisfying writing careers. But, she says, ‘we’re also realists’. It’s terribly rare to make a living on writing alone, and most who complete the course (or any other creative writing course) face the reality that they probably won’t be among the lucky few. 

A key to achieving this goal, Dr Morgan suggests, is diversity – both form and voice. The MSt teaches not just the short story, novel, and poetry forms we might expect, but also dramatic writing of all kinds. It’s not about producing ‘just another unmemorable novel’. While some creative writing programmes may lead to a homogenisation of writing, a prose style that is recognisably taught, Dr Morgan believes that the Oxford MSt encourages experimentation and individuality. Variety matters, and that’s reflected not just in the course intake but its output as well (see our review of the anthology, Initiate).

Of course, the question arises as to whether you can really teach creative writing – perhaps it’s more a matter of nurturing. Writers on the programme already have talent: the idea is to groom it. A main feature of the Oxford MSt, Dr Morgan told us, is attention to the theory and practice of critical analysis. The idea is to develop ‘the artist as critic’, which not only helps writers understand their own work better, but enables them to consider where their work may fit in with the wider traditions and movements of literature. There’s a rigour here: real work after all. It’s not literary studies, but there is a level of analysis that goes beyond being an ordinary reader, and might just produce some extraordinary writers.

Review: The Pigeon Detectives Live

Penny Sarchet
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Review: The Pigeon Detectives Live

The Oxford 02 Academy on a Sunday night in the Easter Vacation: local school kids, middle-aged rockers, entertainment-starved grad students and finalists. This was the disparate crowd that greeted The Pigeon Detectives on the eve of the release of their third album Up, Guards And At ‘Em!

Faced with the difficult task of debuting new tracks to an audience casting wary glances at each other, the only answer for The Pigeon Detectives was, of course, full-throttle Northern bombast. Not exactly complex, the band’s themes are pretty simple boy-meets-girl stuff; girl is going out with somebody else, boy doesn’t actually like girl that much, boy and girl have an embarrassing age difference. But it is this simplicity that really underlies the band’s strengths, particularly as a live act. Unlike contemporaneous Yorkshire bands, The Pigeon Detectives aren’t very Brooklyn-trendy (The Arctic Monkeys) and haven’t recruited any childhood heroes (The Cribs). Seven years since forming, The Pigeon Detectives are still purveyors of high-energy, bolshie attitude songs about boy-girl angst, but they do this to perfection. They, therefore, took to the stage in Oxford armed with infectious riffs, chant-along choruses and confrontational lyrics. And when the bouncing drums of Romantic Type kicked in, it was impossible to resist.

The set wisely began with some old favourites from 2007’s Wait For Me and its speedy successor Emergency (2008), before introducing any new material. Then third album opener She Wants Me got off to a false start with frontman Matt Bowman holding up his hands, taking full responsibility: “If I mess up the lyrics again you can come up here and beat me up!” I’m not sure anyone would manage though: scissor-kicking off the base drum, lassoing the mic cowboy-style and sprinting across the stage, all the while powerfully spitting out biting insults, this is a man in possession of superhuman energy and force.

When the song managed to get underway – though there was a glimmer of some exciting developments in the band’s sound where there’s clearly been some polishing going on – the choruses are still built for singing along and the guitars are still loud and the protagonist is still pissed off with his girlfriend. However, they’ve added a couple of layers to their sound and they’re now confident enough to exercise control – let it out here, reel it in there, break it down next. No longer limited to just two settings (stop and go), their new material broods, builds and then soars. The new songs are not just catchy, they’re also triumphant.

An hour of foot stomping, arm waving and beer throwing – and that’s just the band – later, you’re overjoyed The Pigeon Detectives are back on the live circuit. There’s no pretention and no posing, no deep pondering of the nature of humanity, just full-hearted and highly danceable agreement that this whole romance malarkey can be a bit complicated. Keyboards and more virtuoso guitar solos are welcome additions and with their slight maturing, The Pigeon Detectives have a new trump card: ballads. New songs What Can I Say and Turn Out The Lights are loud and accusatory, but they’re also gloriously wistful. “You can stay if that’s what you’d like”, ponders Bowman, “just turn out the lights when you’re leaving”, before a soaring guitar solo sweeps in and raises the risk of mass audience air-guitaring to highly dangerous levels.

All this bodes well for the Reading and Leeds Festivals this summer where the Pigeon Detectives will finally be breaking away from the NME tent and onto the Main Stage. They’ve come a long way from being The Kaiser Chief’s identikit support band. You would have to be a fool to continue to confuse them with one-trick ponies brandishing novelty percussion, and you’ll miss out on some pure energy, confidently charismatic indie rock if you do.

Mad About The Boys

Aleks Klosok
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Mad About The Boys

One of the biggest criticisms of English football, especially in recent years, has been that there are not enough exciting, quality young English players out there. Well ten Lower League players are currently going against that perception. Despite hailing from different leagues in England, they are all united by their potential to be great England stars in the future, with a select few seen as among the best this country has seen for generations. With a host of top flight clubs casting a watchful eye over the talent in the Lower Leagues with many earning rave reviews in the media, it is no wonder that some people are going mad about the boys.

 

Connor Wickham (Ipswich Town)

Undoubtedly one of the hottest properties in the Npower Championship. Wickham has garnered interest from several top flight clubs in England and was named the Football League Player of the Year at the recent Npower Football League Awards. Since making his first team debut in April 2009 at the age of just sixteen years and eleven days, Wickham has cemented his place in the first team, playing thirty eight games so far this season and scoring seven goals. Despite signing an extension on his contract which will keep him at the club until the summer of 2014, with bids of £10,000,000 – £15,000,000 rumoured to be lined up for the player, the Tractor Boys will have to fight tooth and nail to keep hold of their prized asset.

 

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Southampton)

Another product of the excellent academy which has brought through the likes of Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale in recent years, Oxlade-Chamberlain, despite being a largely unknown youth team player, has become a vitally important player for The Saints this season in their push for promotion from Npower Football League One. He is a winger who has pace to burn as many defenders have come to find this season however his most valuable attribute is that of his reliable crossing and final ball, which striker Rickie Lambert has been able to thrive off this season. Like Walcott he is remarkably levelheaded for his age and has shown himself to be unfazed by the obstacles placed in front of him.

 

Alex Smithies (Huddersfield Town)

Anyone in need of a goalkeeper? Mr Wenger? Dubbed one of the best and brightest footballing talents in the country by none other than Sky Sports, Smithies has risen to prominence in recent years with some truly eye-catching displays between the sticks for The Terriers. At the age of twenty-one years old, he is already on the brink of making one hundred appearances for the club. His sense of anticipation is generally very good and this is matched by his distribution of the ball to the outfield players. Having made his England-U21 debut last year against Portugal and Lithuania respectively, expect him to provide stiff competition for current England Number One, Watford’s Scott Loach.

 

Anthony Pilkington (Huddersfield Town)

Smithies teammate has been, up until he suffered a horror leg injury almost a month ago against Rochdale, a highly influential outfield player for Lee Clark’s team this season and was named in the Professional Footballers’ Association 2011 Npower Football League One Team of the Year. Having spent a few years drifting in the Lower Leagues he came back with a bang with Stockport County, guiding them to promotion from Npower Football League Two in the 2007-2008 season. Since his transfer to The Galpharm Stadium in 2009 he has made ninety appearances scoring nineteen goals in the process. Boasting a cracking left foot he has scored some great goals this season, most notably against Sheffield Wednesday.

 

James Henry (Millwall)

Having been loaned out to a number of Football League clubs during a fairly uneventful time at Reading, Henry has finally able to establish himself at a Millwall where he has made an immediate impact with this club this season. An out and out right winger, he has really stood out with his pace, threat and occasional trickery proving somewhat of a difficulty for Npower Championship defenders. Like Oxlade-Chamberlain, his delivery is constantly improving and his crosses have been gratefully met by the head of in-form striker Steve Morrison. His defensive side of the game still needs working on however his natural width gives him plenty of space to attack.

 

Ashley Barnes (Brighton & Hove Albion)

With a reputation as a no-nonsense target man, willing to work hard and unsettle opposition defenders, Barnes has made a difference to Brighton and Hove Albion’s attack – providing them with pace and power – with his goals helping to fire them to both promotion and the Npower Football League One title. He qualifies to play for Austria courtesy of his grandmother and has already been called up to their U-20 team. A few more years in the Npower Championship to further enhance his goal scoring prowess will certainly do him no harm and we could potentially see him following in the footsteps of Everton’s Jermaine Beckford.

 

Nathaniel Clyne (Crystal Palace)

Like Southampton, The Eagles have a constant knack of producing talented young players, with Clyne one of a number of youngsters, including Wilfried Zaha and Sean Scannell, currently flirting with the first team under manager Dougie Freedman. With pace, strength and great confidence in his own ability, Clyne has all the attributes to be a great attacking full-back. Always looking to play up the pitch, rarely passing the ball backwards or sideways, he always looks to feed strikers with killer balls and provides a lot of movement. With so much potential at such a young age and with still more room for improvement, expect to see plenty of competition for this very promising youngster’s signature.

 

Lewis McGugan (Nottingham Forest)

Every club needs a set-piece specialist and the teenager is that man for his hometown club. With an impressive portfolio of strikes to his name, McGugan has become an integral part of the Forest team playing alongside Captain Paul McKenna in the heart of the midfield. He has good close control of the ball as well as a good work ethic which every midfielder needs. With help from the defensive minded Mckenna, McGugan is able to provide creativity and support to Forest’s wide men and strikers. With former academy stars Jermaine Jenas, Andy Reid and Michael Dawson having already made the transition to the top flight, it will be interesting to see if McGugan will be tempted to follow in their footsteps sooner rather than later.

 

Adam Lallana (Southampton)

Capable of playing in many different positions, Lallana fulfils the criteria needed for a ‘utility man’. Commonly deployed as an attacking midfielder playing off the strikers, he has pace, strength and good movement which allows him to drift in the final third of the pitch, often making it difficult for defenders to track his runs. Success has always been in his blood stemming from his time with the Southampton Academy where he won the FA Youth Cup. Playing in an attacking team full of creativity has allowed Lallana to thrive in Npower Football League One and he’ll be a key player for The Saints in their play-off push as the season draws to an end.

 

Dale Jennings (Tranmere Rovers)

Named the Npower Football League One Apprentice of the Year, beating Oxlade-Chamberlain in the process, wonderkid Jennings has shot to prominence with The Super Whites – despite only breaking into the first team this season. Boasting an impressive first touch and having scored some spectacular goals this season, it is little wonder that he is being tracked by several top flight clubs. Given the interest in him along with Les Parry’s team being cash-strapped as it is, the club may well be forced to sell their brightest talent over the summer months. Nonetheless, they may seek to reach a deal whereby they will be able retain their teenage striker on loan for the whole of next season. 

 

Other names that could be on this list include midfielders Scott Sinclair (Swansea City) and Johhny Howson (Leeds United) from the Npower Championship, midfielder Elliott Bennett (Brighton & Hove Albion) from Npower Football League One as well as defender Joe Skarz (Bury) from Npower Football League Two. Whilst Lower League clubs stand to gain from a monetary perspective – often finding it hard to refuse such attractive offers – helping to either pay off club debts or bring fresh new faces into the squad, the fear is that some players, by moving early in their careers, may lose out on valuable first-team opportunities which may consequently place a break on their development. Arguably though, a player’s greatest fear is simply either not being able to justify the hefty fee paid for him, or failing to make the grade at the very highest level and thus falling back into the Lower Leagues. Let’s hope for their sake, that they don’t become another lost generation.

Clegg under fire over unpaid internships

Rachel Massey
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Clegg under fire over unpaid internships

Nick Clegg has unveiled the government’s new scheme on social mobility and child poverty, entitled ‘Opening Doors, Breaking Barriers.’ The proposals call upon companies to award work experience internships on merit alone, rather than allowing privileged students to secure internships informally, through family connections.

The government is leading the way by ending informal internships in Whitehall from 2012. Ministers will also set up an independent Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission.

The plans were met with criticism by Labour MP Harriet Harman, who accused Clegg of hypocrisy by using family connections to find work himself and betraying young people by abolishing EMA and increasing university tuition fees.

Unpaid internships also came under fire. Whilst Clegg urged companies to provide interns with sufficient financial support, there will be no legal obligation for businesses to do so under current plans.

Jonathan Black, Director of Oxford University Careers Service, described unpaid internships as ‘socially divisive’ and wrong from both a business and a moral perspective.

“We are insistent that students are either paid a stipend for their work, or that the costs of accommodation and travel are covered. In lots of industries, such as media, it is the norm not to be paid for internships, which is nothing short of exploitation.

“Industries like the City are in fact a model in this respect (and it’s very rare for the City to be a model for anything!) They advertise clearly, interview across the spectrum and pay. They realise that interns do highly valuable work.”

Black observed, however, that “[Clegg’s] remarks on networking were naïve, as he himself demonstrated, having used personal connections in the past to secure a position. Networking is vital, and it operates at every level of society. You might start with few contacts but you build your way up.”

Lincoln Hill, Chair of Oxford University Labour Club, said of the government proposals, “I am pleased that the issue of unpaid internships has been getting national attention. OULC strongly endorses the principle of paying interns the minimum wage and has petitioned Ed Miliband to end unpaid places in the Labour Party… the overwhelming bulk of evidence shows that investment in human capital is one of the principal factors in long-term social mobility and economic growth.”

OUSU Vice President Alex Bulfin agreed, “Discouraging companies from attracting cheap labour through unpaid internships is a good thing… but if the government genuinely feels that this is the answer to improving social mobility then they are betraying just how detached from society politics has become.

“Social mobility is bound to a range of diverse and complex factors, from socio-economic and community pressures through to education and early years development. Ending a few unpaid Whitehall internships is going to make practically no impact on social mobility.”

University fee rises reviewed by UK government

Alice Kinder
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University fee rises reviewed by UK government

Further debate on tuition fee changes has begun this week, as the role of the Office for Fair Access in approving the plans of universities commences.

The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) announced today that every one of the 123 universities and university colleges in England intend to charge £6,000 or more per year to full-time undergraduates from 2012.

In December, MPs voted to raise tuition fees to £9,000 a year only in ‘exceptional cases.’

Yet the average proposed tuition fee currently stands at £8,679.20, with almost three quarters of institutions choosing to charge the maximum £9,000 for at least some of their courses.

The deadline for universities to set their proposals was reached on Tuesday. It is now the responsibility of OFFA to consider and approve their access agreements, designed to widen intake amid fears that raising fees will have a negative impact on social mobility.

The National Union of Students has commented in a statement that the government has to give the access regulator extended powers.

NUS President Aaron Porter said, ‘Ministers have claimed that OFFA has the power to regulate fees, when in reality this process is nothing more than one of rubber stamping vice chancellors’ attempts to charge as much as they can get away with. With no one to stop them, universities are rushing to charge the maximum £9,000.’

“Government ministers must take responsibility for the costly chaos they have created and take the entire scheme back to the drawing board before it causes irreparable damage to universities.’

Liam Burns, who is due to take over from Porter in July, has described the new system as ‘complete chaos’.

It has been argued that Oxford’s decision to charge £9,000 was necessary in order to preserve its prestigous reputation.

Yet this is undermined by the fact that Oxford Brookes University – which is not in the top 40 universities according to the Guardian’s league table – also plans to charge the same fees. The University of East London, ranked second bottom, has stated that it intends to charge a flat rate of £9,000.

However, one undergraduate said, ‘Raising tuition fees to £9,000 is a necessary step to keep Oxford a first rate university; however the extent to which access is increased will be the marker for how fair the system is, and from what I’ve heard so far, Oxford will have some of the largest schemes to improve access.’

Ed Miliband, the leader of the Labour party, has said that at least 10% of university places for undergraduates would have to be cut to fund the coalition’s tuition fee reforms. This equates to 36,000 full-time places each year.

However, Business Secretary Vince Cable warned that institutions regarded by ministers as overpriced could have places withdrawn.

On the OFFA website, it is said that ‘for agreements submitted by yesterday’s deadline, we will issue all approvals at the same time. We aim to do this by Monday 11 July. We do not plan to provide any further comment on submissions before this date.’

Oxford stands proud

Isra Jeelani Wani
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Oxford stands proud

May and June will see Oxford play host to various celebrations as part of Oxford’s LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer) Pride festival.  In the wake of recent highly publicised gay bullying in the USA, and the high suicide rate among LGBTQ teenagers, this year’s theme is ‘Let’s get brave together.’

The highlight of Oxford Pride will be the ninth annual parade through the city centre on 11th June, culminating in a community fair in Oxpens Field, where fairground rides, community stalls and free entertainment. Last year, this event drew an estimated 5,000 people.

Tegan McLeod, a second-year student of English Literature at St Peter’s College, said she strongly supports the initiative. She commented, “Oxford Pride week is not only a marvellous celebration of diversity but is an essential movement of visibility.

“Being loud and proud throughout Pride sends a message that persecution on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity will not be tolerated.”

The week-long festival is organised by the Oxford Pride Group, a non-profit organisation that works with local individuals and establishments to organise events that celebrate LGBTQ culture and promote awareness of LGBTQ issues.

Cheryl Briggs, Chair of the group, spoke specifically about the ‘Let’s Get Brave Together’ theme, which “attempts to provide positive role models within the LGBTQ community.  These can be famous people like our patrons, Sir Ian McKellen and Paul Gambaccini,… Or they can be the multitude of ordinary LGBTQ people who live happy, successful and fulfilled lives in Oxford.”

Mr. Gambaccini, an established radio and television presenter, has also been a Visiting Professor at Oxford.  A proud patron of the Oxford Pride group, he said, “You cannot imagine the happiness I feel knowing that Oxford Pride has become a reality.  

“When I was a student in the early 1970s, such an initiative was unthinkable. We were the last generation of gay and lesbian students who were not considered to exist… I am not pretending for a second that everything is sunshine and roses for LGBT students today, but please know that Oxford Pride proves that things are much better than they have ever been and that, with your support and courage, they will be even better for those who follow you.”

Former Oxford student dies in Libya

Isra Jeelani Wani
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Former Oxford student dies in Libya

Oxford alumnus Tim Hetherington, was killed in Misrata, Libya this week. The award-winning photojournalist died on Wednesday, while covering the current conflict for Vanity Fair magazine.

During his time in Oxford, Hetherington worked as a staff photographer at The Big Issue.  He said of his university experience in a 2010 interview, “It gave me analytic skills required of an image-maker… I learned to be self-directed, to just get on with it. That’s important for making films, where you have to turn the screw yourself.”

Lady Margaret Hall, where Hetherington read Classics and English 1986-1989, paid tribute to him, saying, “Tim will be remembered by his tutors and friends at LMH for his energy, enthusiasm and curiosity about the world around him, and for his warm and gregarious personality.”

Born in Liverpool, Hetherington was the winner of four World Press Photo prizes.  He co-directed the war documentary Restrepo, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival last year and was nominated for an Oscar this year.

Murder in the Cloisters! A lighter take on access.

Declan Clowry
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Murder in the Cloisters! A lighter take on access.

An undergraduate is lying motionless and face down on Pembroke College’s second quad, utterly insensible to the prods, shakes and occasional jeers of the small crowd of onlookers that has gathered around him to gawk in the afternoon sun. No! This is not the aftermath of a pre-term lashathon, or the result of a morning spent practicing for the Royal Wedding drinking game; this is ‘Murder in the Cloisters’, a pioneering outreach programme in which sixty14-15 year olds, picked because their parents did not attend university, spend three days at the University trying to solve the murder of Pembroke’s JCR President, the man lying dead under the lengthening shadow of the college chapel.

This may all seem a bit gimmicky, but graduate assistant and Dphil chemist Henry Fisher explains that the murder mystery story provides a framework in which the children can sample a wide range of subjects as they examine the evidence, ‘It’s a cover for the academic sessions that actually go into it. It makes it more entertaining to be in a chemistry lab pretending to solve a crime, or learning a new language so you can decipher a secret message.’

The children also get a chance to learn about some of the social aspects of University life, as the suspects – actually the Oxford Imps in varying degrees of disguise – are questioned about their activities by ‘Inspector Brown’ and observed scoffing a formal dinner, during which a second character is poisoned (presumably on purpose, although Pembroke’s hall food does have a certain reputation…). 

From what I’ve seen, the idea works rather well. There were certainly a lot of laughs from the group, and the young people I talked to were quite evidently enjoying themselves immensely – they even seemed to be taking the thing quite seriously, bar a few shouts of ‘I saw him twitching!’ and ‘Give him a kick!’. The Imps themselves do a sterling job, with a barrage of ridiculous accents and energetic lamentations they make the whole thing come alive, whilst still managing subtly to insert (age appropriate) details about student life and studying. Andrew McCormack was particularly entertaining as a creepy academic with a little too much attachment to the deceased JCR President.

The University-run scheme is funded by Aim Higher South East and by the Oxford Young Ambassadors programme, both set up with the intention of motivating students from non-academic or other under-represented backgrounds to go into higher education. Such innovative tactics for attracting students from these sorts of backgrounds are all the more important in light of David Cameron’s recent damning comments on the underachievements of the University of Oxford’s access scheme, and the government’s stated desire for universities such as Oxford that will charge the maximum tuition fee to ‘earn’ the right to demand £9000 a year by improving their intake from state schools and the underprivileged.

Indeed, as part of the Oxford Young Ambassador programme (which follows students for up to three years as they approach the end of their secondary education), a group including some of the children here at the ‘murder scene’ are being coached in public speaking with the intention of delivering a speech or presentation to the Prime Minister later in the year describing their experience of Oxford’s access programme.

The only area for concern is that, whilst the stated goal of Aimhigher is to encourage students to seek higher education in general, this experience is, of course, very Oxford-centric. During the interrogation of the suspects there were references to bops, rowing regattas, JCR and Union politics and other aspects of university life rarely experienced outside of Oxford or Cambridge. The inclusion of a formal dinner amongst the social activities of the characters adds further to this unavoidable narrowing of the university life portrayed (not to mention the surroundings and accommodation in which the students find themselves).

Although it is to be hoped that many of those attending the residential programme will go on to achieve places at Oxford or other institutions of similar reputation, for many of them it is likely to lead to disappointment, or at least surprise, when they find that their universities do not conform to the standards they have been led to expect. However, if, as seems to be the case, children who would not have applied to further study are inspired by the experience of solving this ‘Murder in the Cloisters’ to do so, it has achieved its aim, taking a small step towards solving the real crime that is social segregation within the education system.

Cherwell – independent since 1920

Editor
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Cherwell – independent since 1920

What is Cherwell?

Cherwell is the independent student newspaper of Oxford University. Founded in 1920 by students Cecil Binney and George Edinger, it is published every Friday during term, with around 3,000 copies distributed around the Oxford colleges, the Oxford Union, department buildings, and local cafes.

In addition to our award-winning news, opinion, and culture content, Cherwell provides an essential guide to what’s on in Oxford. The paper, which was the only independent newspaper published during the 1926 General Strike, remains a crucial guide to life as an Oxford University student.

The staff of Cherwell, named after one of the city’s two rivers, changes every term. Cherwell.org was launched in 1996 to give the newspaper a web presence, receiving a Guardian Student Media award in 2011.

Independent since 1920

Cherwell is one of only a few student publications that is completely independent – that is, totally unaffiliated with the student union. This status, along with the paper’s quality and history, guarantees student trust in the newspaper.

Cherwell is wholly owned by a Oxford Student Publications Ltd. (OSPL), an entirely student-run company devoted to the promotion of student journalism. OSPL also publishes the magazines ISIS, Bang!, and an independent freshers’ guide Keep Off The Grass.

The weekly publication of Cherwell during term time, and the continued vitality of the paper during university vacations, is testament to the hard work and dedication of the Cherwell staff and the OSPL team which make it possible. As the paper approaches its centenary, the paper’s strengths continue to grow in an ever-changing landscape.

You can read more about the history of the paper here.

Roles

The paper is led by two editors and five deputy editors, who collectively form the Senior Editorial team. The editors are responsible for the design and overall mission of the paper during their term; alongside the deputy editors, they also subedit and put together the paper.

All content for the paper is commissioned by a team of around 30 section editors, who, working in pairs, commission content for the various sections of the newspaper. Section editors are supported by deputy section editors, who serve as regular contributors to their sections.

OSPL staff are responsible for the business side of the newspaper. This involves managing the technical requirements of the newspaper, working with advertisers, and protecting and promoting the Cherwell brand.

All staff working for Cherwell are active university students, who dedicate their spare time to the newspaper. You can find the staff this term here.

Recent Editors

Michaelmas 2018: Greg Ritchie and Oscar Baker
Trinity 2018: Matthew Roller and Fred Dimbleby
Hilary 2018: Ethan Croft and Susie Goldsbrough
Michaelmas 2017: Akshay Bilolikar and Jack Hunter
Trinity 2017: Daniel Curtis and Tony Diver
Hilary 2017: Ellen Peirson-Hagger and Marianna Spring
Michaelmas 2016: Daniel Kodsi and Daniel Sutton
Trinity 2016: Harry Gosling and Tristan Upton
Hilary 2016: Henry Shalders and Tom Hall
Michaelmas 2015: Oliver Johnson and Tom Barrie
Trinity 2015: Tom Carter and Georgia Latham
Hilary 2015: Robert Walmsley and Luke Barratt
Michaelmas 2014: Samuele Volpe and Ella Richards
Trinity 2014: Max Long and Joe Iles
Hilary 2014: Rowan Borchers and April Peaks
Michaelmas 2013: Nick Hilton and Anna Leszkiewicz
Trinity 2013: Tom Beardsworth and William Pimlott
Hilary 2013: Imogen Beecroft and Anthony Collins
Michaelmas 2012: Barbara Speed and Grace Goddard
Trinity 2012: Rachel Savage and Vicky Lim
Hilary 2012: Helen Pye and Sophie Jamieson
Michaelmas 2011: Agnes Arnold-Forster and Bethan McKernan
Trinity 2011: James Gibson and Camilla Turner
Hilary 2011: India Lenon and Alistair Smouth
Michaelmas 2010: Sam Hawkins and Georgia Lindsay
Trinity 2010: Theo Merz and Harry Phillips
Hilary 2010: Victoria Morrison, Marta Szczerba and Antonia Tam
Michaelmas 2009: Theo Brainin and Harry Thompson
Trinity 2009: Gini Sharvill and Derek Tan
Hilary 2009: Michael Bennett and Sian Cox-Brooker
Michaelmas 2008: Chris Baranuik
Trinity 2008: Henry Clarke Price
Hilary Term 2008: Laura Pitel and Tom Seymour
Michaelmas Term 2007: Sophie Manning and Peter Wright
Trinity Term 2007: Willa Brown and James Rogers
Hilary Term 2007: Ian Duncan and Catherine Rutter
Michaelmas Term 2006: Paul Hinds and Alex Stewart
Trinity Term 2006: Emily Gosden and Kate Tolley
Hilary Term 2006: Andrew Dagnell and Jonathan Theodore
Michaelmas Term 2005: Luke Alexander and George Davies
Trinity Term 2005: Venetia Ansell and Daniel Bennett
Hilary Term 2005: Ben Coffer and Jack Fanning
Michaelmas Term 2004: Robert Crowe
Trinity Term 2004: Elaina Evans and Aled George
Hilary Term 2004: Rowena Mason
Michaelmas Term 2003: Hannah Charlick and Torsten Henricson-Bell
Trinity Term 2003: Waleed Ghani
Hilary Term 2003: Josh Goodman
Michaelmas Term 2002: Nicholas Randall and James Kettle
Trinity Term 2002: Niall Stewart (resigned) and Andrew Sutton
Hilary Term 2002: Marcus Edwards and Meera Sabaratnam
Michaelmas Term 2001: Jon Boone
Trinity Term 2001: Andrew Morris and William Shuckbrugh
Hilary Term 2001: Charlie Talbot
Michaelmas 2000: David McNeill and Jenny Finch
Trinity Term 2000: Andrew Alexander
Hilary Term 2000: Richard Colebourn and Michelle Teo
Michaelmas Term 1999: Matt Brindley and Chris Tryhorn
Trinity Term 1999: Tim Robey
Hilary Term 1999: Rachel Williams
Michaelmas Term 1998: Hadley Freeman
Trinity Term 1998: Louise Knowles and Alex von Tunzelmann
Hilary Term 1998: Ross Hawkins
Michaelmas Term 1997: Rishi Dastidar
Trinity Term 1997: Lindsey Harrad
Hilary Term 1997: Becky Lloyd
Michaelmas Term 1996: Chris Philp and Justin Huggler
Trinity Term 1996: Jat Gill and David Black
Hilary Term 1996: Lucie Whitehouse and Jeffrey Gettleman
Michaelmas Term 1995: Emma Brockes, Nick Mountfield and Conal Walsh
Trinity Term 1995: Dermot Canterbury and Paul J Taylor
Hilary Term 1995: Lucy Manning, Dov Waxman and James Tozer
Michaelmas Term 1994: Nadia Hall, Ilsa Godlovitch and James Erskine
Trinity Term 1994: Michael Peel and Ben Cohen
Hilary Term 1994: Nick Gibbons, Tom Penn, Chris Taylor
Michaelmas Term 1993: Oliver August, Niels Bryan Low, James Carter

If you’d like to be added to this list, please get in touch with the editors.

Recent OSPL Chairmen

18 – 19: Daanial Chaudhry
17 – 18: India Barrett
16 – 17: Daniel Kodsi, Mack Grenfell, Louis Walker
15 – 16: Steven Spisto
14 – 15: Mack Grenfell
13 – 14: Jonny Adams
12 – 13: Max Bossino
11 – 12: Rohan Sakhrani
10 – 11: Robert Morris, Mark Brakel
9 – 10: Victoria Morrison, Phoebe Arnold
8 – 9: Jacob Rawel, Christopher Stylianou, Pippa Lamb
7 – 8: Ran Wei

Other alumni

Edward Heath
Evelyn Waugh
Graham Greene
John Betjeman
Harold Acton
L. P. Hartley
Cecil Day-Lewis
W. H. Auden
Arthur David Beaty (Editor)
Rupert Murdoch (OSPL)
Michael Heseltine (OSPL)
Rony Robinson (Editor)
Roger Laughton (Editor)
Tim Heald
David English (Editor)
Peter Preston (Editor)
Nicholas Lloyd (Editor)
Susan Cooper (Editor)
Patrick Marnham (Editor)
Martin Linton (Editor)
Sarah Boyd-Carpenter (Editor)
Jeffrey Archer (Sports columnist)
Simon Jenkins (Oxford Union correspondent)
Peter Sissons (Sports editor, 1963)
Howard Davies
Peter Mandelson
Alex Cox (cartoonist)
Sarah Hargreaves (Editor)
H. S. Bhabra (Arts Editor;)
Martin Sixsmith (Editor)
Michael Crick (Editor)
Evan Davis
Christina Lamb
Nick Cohen (“John Evelyn”)
Emma Brockes (Editor
Chris Taylor (Editor)
Owen Matthews (“John Evelyn”)
John Brooke-Little (Editor)
Hadley Freeman (Editor)

Editorial complaints

Cherwell subscribes to the codes and practices of the Independent Press Standards Organisation. Though our editors strive for accuracy, occasionally mistakes do happen. The editors welcome your comments and endeavour to print corrections where appropriate.

We take editorial complaints seriously, and will endeavour to respond to any within 30 days. Please address all complaints to the editors.

Company Information

Oxford Student Publications Ltd is a company registered in England in the United Kingdom, number 679920.

Registered Office: 7 St Aldates, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 1BS.

VAT No. 195 558 514

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