Blenheim Palace

After a morning of tutorials, students found themselves in altogether more grandiose surroundings, as we took a trip to  Blenheim Palace. This historic country house is home to the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, as well as being the birthplace of Winston Churchill.

The palace boasts a maze, huge landscaped grounds -complete with a a mini-train to tour them- and many, many swans.

A guided tour of the Palace was available, which included the room where Winston Churchill was born, and numerous beautifully decorated rooms. These were filled with priceless antique furniture and had impressive paintings from masters such as van Dyck adorning the walls.

After Blenheim students had Morroccan meze at a restaurant on the popular student shopping and dining area of Cowley road.

This was followed by a "Balloon Debate" back at the accommodation. During this students argued why things such as Harry Potter, Leg Hair and Nutella should remain in a falling balloon which must lose weight to prevent going down. Kyra, Gia, Ylva and Lizzie were the finalists, and all came up with very convincing and entertaining defences for their topics! In the end Kyra and Lizzie were crowned joint winners for their arguments in favour of keeping goths and the male nipple on the balloon!