Staff at Embassy

Snow sweeps the UK

The whole of the UK is experiencing an unusual degree of snow at the moment: while we often have snow for a day or two in the winter, it is very rare that it lasts any longer. If you like sledging and snowman-building, you're in luck, but those travelling to Britain in the next few days should be warned that our public transport is experiencing some delays, pavements are somewhat slippery, and you really, really must bring warm clothes!

A Brighton side-street (most main roads remain passable).

Ah well, we'd better enjoy it while we can - soon enough, we'll be back to normal, and missing those pretty landscapes where everything is covered in white.

Peter Madams, Social Activities Organiser at Embassy Oxford, reports from that historic town:

The UK is in the grip of its longest cold snap for almost 30 years, and severe weather warnings are still in place across parts of the UK for both snow and ice. Oxford students have returned this week to find the city covered in snow, and getting around is difficult. The college remains open for classes though, and we hope to give you a warm welcome.

This is Broad Street, one of Oxford's main shopping streets, seen from our school's window. See what we mean about pretty?

Embassy's UK schools remain open wherever possible; students are given a number to call to receive the latest updates on a day-by-day basis. If you are due to arrive in the next few days, be assured that we do not expect this extreme weather to last much longer. However, if you are concerned about your travel arrangements, you should contact your enrolment advisor or agent for further advice.

After class at Embassy Oxford

Peter Madams, Embassy Oxford, writes: It’s not all work, work, work here in Oxford. We try to relax and have some light-hearted activities as well, maybe a little bit of fun too. There are a variety of clubs and societies to attend every week outside of classtime – they exist because a full and rounded education should contain both academic and extra-curricular activities.

Pictured here (holding the book) is Thuan from Vietnam looking very poetic. That’s because he’s at the PPP Club. What, you may ask, is PPP? It’s Pronunciation for Poetry and Prose. This club meets every week and reads and discusses poetry and prose and tries to improve their pronunciation. Last week they we reading poetry from the time of the First World War, because it was Remembrance Day.

Also pictured (below) are the Music Club, trying to get their harmonies right on the song ‘Way Back Into Love’ which features in the film ‘Music and Lyrics’. It’s really good to sing together and relieves some stress before the next class begins. When they learn the tune properly, and there are no duff notes, we’ll record them and put it on YouTube for everyone to watch.

 

Find out more about learning English in Oxford on the Oxford section of the Embassy website.

Ian runs again

Supportive crowds lined the streets of London on an October Sunday morning chanting “Ian, Ian, Ian!!!” The reason for this was that Ian (pictured, wearing a red top) was running a 13.1 miles half marathon and raising money for Embassy’s chosen charity: Building Futures. Any money that he raises is doubled by the company. 

Ian said that afterwards he felt wonderful and had a great day, achieving an impressive time of only 1 hour and 36 minutes. The route was past many of London’s landmarks – Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Marble Arch.

Ian's wife Jo was there amongst the crowds to lend her support. Needless to say, Ian is as fit as a greyhound and is looking forward to doing it all again next year.
 

Hallowe'en in Oxford

Peter Madams, Social Activities Organiser at Embassy Oxford, writes:

Students in Oxford showed off their scary dark side at a Hallowe'en night last week. There was much spookiness and messy games like ‘bobbing the apple’ and that other funny game where you pass a balloon from between your knees (though I don’t know the name of that). It’s always a good ice-breaker. 

As Wikipedia tells us, Hallowe'en is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints, but is today largely a secular celebration. Hallowe'en activities include wearing scary costumes [as in our photo] and attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, ghost tours, bonfires, visiting haunted attractions, pranks, telling scary stories, watching horror films and ‘trick-or-treating’.

The UK has now adopted the American tradition of "trick-or-treating" which probably dates back to the early All Souls' Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives.

Find out more about learning English in Oxford on our main site.

Guitar club!

Peter Madams, Social Activities Organiser at Embassy Oxford, writes:

 

Students with an interest in music have the opportunity to attend our guitar club each week. Multi-talented teachers, Peter Madams and Dr. Jamal Ibrahim, run these classes, along with another session where students can join together to play as a full band .

 

Pictured here brandishing their guitars are (from the left): Sherry, Queenie, Annie, and Leo (above). The idea is to provide extra-curricular activities so that students can enjoy another aspect of college life. Most are beginners, but our hope is that they will improve enough to perform a song or two at a future college party.

 

OK, once again, from the top....1,2,3 and....

Embassy Oxford 'Turns Traffic' in Creative Fundraiser!

The staff and students at Embassy Oxford school gathered recently for a fundraising event in aid of our chosen charity - Building Futures. The theme was to dress only in traffic light colours - red, yellow and green.

The event itself was a photo shoot in the common room of Boswell House, Oxford. Some members of staff collected money for the whole day, others just came for the photo taking. Several students donated money in order to be able to take a picture!

It was a nice event in general; lots of joy in doing something together. The event raised £57, which was doubled by Study Group to make a total of £115. Definitely a success, but the organisers have one plea, "If we do it again we need more yellows!"

Visit the Embassy Oxford school of English homepage

Embassy Oxford Student of the Year 2009

Very big 'Congratulations' go to Camilo Cogua, 27, from Colombia, who has recently been voted Student of the Year 2009 at Embassy Oxford School. The annual award recognizes those students who have not only worked hard in their studies, but have also demonstrated good interaction and participated in the local community.

This year, the standard of entry was extremely high. It was evident from all those students who applied that so much of their time and energies had been invested into fully participating in all aspects of student and social life. For this reason, it was incredibly difficult to nominate a candidate above all the other entries. Unfortunately, however, there could only be one winner!

 

Camilo Cogua’s entry was exceptional and clearly illustrated all his efforts and hard work both in his classes and in the local community: his involvement in courses and events outside the school was unparalleled and he worked hard to use his skills to share his passion and insights with others through projects and video websites. As a prize, we were delighted to present him with a £100 gift voucher for Amazon.com.

We would like to thank and congratulate all of those who participated, and we are delighted with the results your contributions have given.

by Peter Madams, Embassy Oxford

Find out more about studying English in the UK at Embassy Oxford.

Oxford Students Celebrate at Graduation Party

Thursday 18th May 2009 was a night to remember when over one hundred staff and students attended this year's May Ball. The excitement had been growing in the school during the previous weeks, due to the promotional efforts of the Ball Committee. The tickets sold out far in advance and suddenly all that was left to do was to get into a great outfit and comfortable shoes to dance the night away in!

 

It was a beautiful summer evening in Oxford, as we gathered at Hawkwell House Hotel, a lovely venue, with helpful staff and a big garden. The evening kicked off with a wonderful musical performance from students Andres and Leo. They each sang a few solo numbers and then came together for a duet. The crowd sang and clapped along enthusiastically. What a great way to get the party started!

No sooner had the last piece of chocolate cake disappeared than the students headed for the dance floor. Leading the charge was Jackie Eadie, Foundation Programme Manager, who can proudly boast of dancing for three hours straight! "I enjoyed myself tremendously and it was evident that everybody around me was having a great time too", she said. The theme for this year's ball was ‘All Around the World’ and it was perfectly reflected in an enthusiastic, multi-national performance of La Macarena!

School Principal Julia Southby attended the graduation party too. She said, "I thoroughly enjoyed the evening; our students made such an effort and looked wonderful.  It is one of those lovely events where you can truly appreciate the integration of nationalities and cultures - especially watching around 15 different nationalities dancing at the same time!  The evening shows how friendships have grown over the past academic year. It was a truly diverse evening!"

Find out more about studying English in Oxford

Oxford throws a Host Families party

Embassy Oxford recently held a party to give thanks to the families who host students in their homes.

Students at Embassy have options to live in a student residence, to find their own accommodation, or to choose 'Homestay' where they live with a local family who also provide food. The benefit of living with a host family is that you get to practice your English and see another aspect of life during your stay in the UK.

At the party, delicious food and entertainment were provided, along with musical offerings from Peter and Steve on guitar and piano (our very own lounge crooners). The highlight of the event was definitely 'Magic Martin' (pictured) who did his magic show for the children aided by his white rabbit.

 

You can find out more about studying English in Oxford on the Embassy website. Visit our Oxford accommodation page for more detail on both residential and Homestay options.

The May Day Traditions of Oxford

In Oxford, May 1st is ceremonially acknowledged as the beginning of summer time. As the ancient British holiday of Beltane, May Day was historically designated as a holiday to promote and celebrate fertility. It was also a chance to celebrate the end of the cold winter months, as the first day of May was also the official beginning of summer.

An old custom in Oxford is to gather on the High Street at first light on May 1st and listen to choirboys singing from the Magdelene College Tower. For a few moments there is complete silence as the singing begins and the choirboys welcome in the summer. Thereafter the crowds retreat to pubs and cafes to eat breakfast and watch colourful Morris Men (pictured above) and people dressed up as the Green Man doing their dances. It really is a special moment in the Oxford calendar, which has become renowned around the world.

Visit the Embassy website to find out more about studying English in Oxford, England.