Oxford is a beautiful city in Oxfordshire, in the south of England.
Access: It’s only 50 minutes by train from central London.
Founded: Oxford was founded around the year 900AD.
Population: 165,000.
County: Oxfordshire.
Places nearby: Blenheim Palace, Stonehenge, Cotswolds, London
Rivers: The river Thames runs through Oxford.
Nickname: Oxford’s nickname is the “city of dreaming spires”.
Universities
Oxford has 2 universities: The University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University.
Oxford also has a number of colleges. Oxford’s oldest colleges are University College(1249), Balliol (1263) and Merton (1264).
The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world.
12 saints, 47 Nobel winners, 26 British Prime Ministers, and 50 Olympic champions have been produced by Oxford University. Some more recognizable students include:
- Lewis Carroll – author of Alice in Wonderland,
- Oscar Wilde – writer and poet,
- C.S.Lewis – author of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’,
- J.R.R.Tolkein – author of ‘The Lord of the Rings’),
- Stephen Hawking – physicist,
- Tim Berners-Lee – inventor of the World Wide Web,
- Bill Clinton – former US President,
- Aung San Suu Kyi – Burmese politician,
- Andrew Lloyd-Webber – composer,
- Hugh Grant – actor.
The City
Oxford is a very cosmopolitan city. There are many bars, cafes, restaurants, clubs, ethnic shops and fast food outlets throughout the city centre. Recent immigration from south Asia, and a large student population, makes Oxford one of the most diverse small cities in Britain. The latest statistics show that 27% of the city population is from ethnic minority groups.
Economy & Industry
Oxford’s economy relies on tourism, education and retail.
Oxford is the sixth most visited city in the UK by international visitors. More than 9 million people visit Oxford every year.
Oxford also has a long history of car-making. The BMW Mini is produced in the city.
Sightseeing
University of Oxford
One of the most famous universities in the world.
The City Centre
The historic buildings make the city centre a popular location for film and TV companies.
Christ Church College/Cathedral
The largest college in Oxford. The college’s ‘Great Hall’ is the location of ‘Hogwarts School’, featured in the Harry Potter films.
Christ Church College was also the inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ story.
Oxford Botanic Garden
The oldest botanic garden in Britain and one of the oldest in the world. The garden was founded in 1621 as a place to grow plants for medical research. Today the gardens have more than 8,000 different plant species.
Did you know?
The name ‘Oxford‘ comes from the old word ‘Oxenforda‘. This meant a ‘ford‘ (a crossing) in the river where the Oxen (cattle) could cross safely.
