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 Facebook, Twitter,Instagram and YouTube @tomrocksmaths for the latest updates.

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.

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.

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

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!

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:

• The College Library (and its tower!) which is housed in the 12th-century church of St Peter-in-the-East
• The Crypt and the churchyard
• The Front Quad
• The Chapel
• The Old Dining Hall
• The College Bar