Access Hall Areas

Access Hall Areas (formerly known as St Edmund Hall’s Research Expo) is a biennial event at the College on the May Bank Holiday weekend. St Edmund Hall opens up to the wider Oxford community for this free event, with the purpose of showcasing the College’s ‘Hall spirit’ and the diverse day-to-day life of the members of Teddy Hall.

Guests were invited to hear about some of the ground-breaking research taking place across the College community in the latest series of Teddy Talks; experience a showcase of artistic, musical and dramatic talent with events taking place across the weekend; gain access to areas of St Edmund Hall not normally open to the public – explore the beautiful buildings of our Queen’s Lane site while learning about the history of the College.

Watch a video about the Access Hall Areas weekend

Hear the Chapel Choir and explore our Brain Games

Watch the Teddy Talks

Each Teddy Talk was given by one of our academics or postgraduate students on an aspect of their research. Lasting around ten minutes each, these accessible talks were  aimed at a non-specialist audience.

Please note that the talks were aimed at an adult audience.

Armi Bayot gives a Teddy Talk at Access Hall Areas

Armi Bayot

Peace Processes and Political Inclusion: How Do We Account for the Uninvited?

Watch Armi's Teddy Talk

Tom Crawford gives a Teddy Talk at Access Hall Areas

Dr Tom Crawford

Using Maths to clean-up our Oceans

Watch Tom's Teddy Talk

Nick Davidson gives a Teddy Talk at Access Hall Areas

Prof. Nick Davidson

Insiders, outsiders and streets full of water.

Watch Nick's Teddy Talk

Ronnie Guthrie gives a Teddy Talk at Access Hall Areas

Ronnie Guthrie

Earth’s History: Rocks, Life and Mystery

Watch Ronnie's Teddy Talk

Cameron Hepburn gives a Teddy Talk at Access Hall Areas

Prof. Cameron Hepburn

An Energy System built on Human Intellect

Watch Cameron's Teddy Talk

Brooke Johnson gives a Teddy Talk at Access Hall Areas

Brooke Johnson

Building Bridges: How Geology links our everyday lives to the ancient past

Watch Brooke's Teddy Talk

Alex Lloyd gives a Teddy Talk at Access Hall Areas

Dr Alex Lloyd

Defying Hitler: The White Rose Resistance

Watch Alex's Teddy Talk

Rob Petre gives a Teddy Talk at Access Hall Areas

Rob Petre

13/17: A History of the Hall in 13 records (but 17 images)

Watch Rob's Teddy Talk

Jeanne Ryan gives a Teddy Talk at Access Hall Areas

Jeanne Ryan

How do we assess reading comprehension in multicultural societies?

Watch Jeanne's Teddy Talk

Alexandra Vukovich gives a Teddy Talk at Access Hall Areas

Dr Alexandra Vukovich

The Land of Darkness and the Global Middle Ages

Watch Alexandra's Teddy Talk

John Waite gives a Teddy Talk at Access Hall Areas

John Waite

Fusion Reactors: cages built for a sun

Watch John's Teddy Talk

Linda Yueh gives a Teddy Talk at Access Hall Areas

Dr Linda Yueh

The Great Economists: How their ideas can help us today

Watch Linda's Teddy Talk

Dr Tom Crawford giving a talk at Access Hall Areas
Dr Tom Crawford presenting at Access Hall Areas

On Saturday 4 May Dr Tom Crawford ran an interactive talk on Maths v. Sport, suitable for ages 10+ 

How did England beat Colombia on penalties? What is the fastest a human being will ever run a marathon? And where is the best place to attempt a world record? Maths has all of the answers and I’ll be telling you how to use it to be better at sport (results may vary).

Tom Crawford is a maths tutor at St Edmund Hall with a mission to share his love of maths with the world. His award-winning website tomrocksmaths.com features videos, podcasts, articles and puzzles designed to make maths more entertaining, exciting and enthralling for all. Whether he’s performing live as the Naked Mathematician with Equations Stripped, telling you the fun facts about numbers that you didn’t realise you’ve secretly always wanted to know with his Funbers series on the BBC, or getting another maths tattoo (6 and counting), it’s safe to say Tom is always finding new ways to misbehave with numbers! Follow him on FacebookTwitter,Instagram and YouTube @tomrocksmaths for the latest updates.

Linda Davies at Access Hall Areas
Linda Davies, alumna of St Edmund Hall

Seven Secrets: How to Write. An interactive workshop for children/adults

Creative Writing Workshops with Linda Davies – St Edmund Hall alumna and former Writer in Residence.

Linda gave two interactive workshops on Saturday 4 May – one for children and a second for adults, to discuss the most important lessons she has learned over her writing career. She also read from two of her books, one of which is set in St Edmund Hall!

Linda is a bestselling and prize-winning author of fourteen books across a broad spectrum of genres. An alumna of St Edmund Hall, she read Politics, Philosophy and Economics, and worked as an investment banker for seven years before escaping to write. She is a winner of the Philip Geddes memorial prize for journalism and has written for the National Theatre and all of the broadsheet newspapers, but it is for her fiction that she is best known.

Her first novel Nest of Vipers has been published in over 30 countries, sold over two million copies and has been optioned five times. Her novel for children, Longbow Girl, won the Mal Peet Children’s Book of the Year award in 2016 and is in pre-production to turn into a TV series. She has also written a non-fiction memoir, Hostage, which is the story of her kidnap and detention in Iran.

Robin De Meyere performs at Access Hall Areas
Robin De Meyer performs at Access Hall Areas

Oxford University Pole Sports Society (OUPSS), which was set up by postgraduate student Robin de Meyere (2017, DPhil in Materials), showcased the mechanics and technicalities of pole fitness at this year’s Access Hall Areas.

OUPSS had performers on rotation demonstrating a few moves whilst explaining the more scientific aspects and the bio-mechanics behind the discipline. OUPSS is an official (and new in 2018) registered University society which aims to promote pole sport throughout Oxford University. Pole and the aerial arts (silks, hoop, trapeze, etc) are exciting new sport ventures which are now on the verge of accreditation by Sports England, and are growing in popularity across the fitness world.

OUPSS offer weekly classes, socials and performance opportunities – but also compete nationally at the annual IUPDC competitions to represent Oxford at the wider level. We welcome all levels of polers and aerialists as most people first attempt the disciplines at university-level.

Choir rehearsal during Access Hall Areas
St Edmund Hall choir rehearsal during Access Hall Areas

A range of musical performances took place in the Chapel and the Crypt curated by our Director of Music, Christopher Bucknall

  • “Come and Sing!” open choir sessions
  • Harpsichord demonstrations by Chris Bucknall, Director of Music
  • Organ recital by Viraj Alimchandani, undergraduate Organ Scholar
  • Solo classical guitar performance from undergraduate Gregory Ball
  • Viola and Rebec recital by postgraduate Andrea Fortier
  • Solo Guitar and Voice performance by undergraduate Raven Undersun
Brain Games at Access Hall Areas
Brain Games at Access Hall Areas

There was a variety of interactive stalls for visitors of all ages to get involved with over the weekend 

  • Guests could try their hand at printing with a medieval printing press.
  • On Sunday 5 May we welcomed Oxford Hands On Science, a student-led science outreach society who run experiments aimed at children and families, covering a wide range of subjects and abilities.
  • Examine fossils under a microscope and learn how they form.
  • Get involved with “Brain Games” and learn how our brains work!
The Crypt beneath St Peter-in-the-East, at St Edmund Hall
The Crypt, beneath St Peter-in-the-East

Visitors were given the opportunity to gain access to areas of St Edmund Hall not normally open to the public.

Tours were led by students and staff, offering a look at some of our historic buildings and points of interest, including: