Oxford and Cambridge current students discussion thread

[sandybayley]

Starting a new one as we filled it up!

Can't believe DS1 will be home in 2 weeks. Must remember to adjust the Ocado shop for when he's back. I suspect we may end up with a few days of his favourite meals 😊

DS1 has, thankfully, been cleared to return home from his Oxford college for Easter as the Government advice changed yesterday.

@sandybayley - that's news for me. I had resigned myself (as had DS) to DS being stuck in Oxford until the start of next term (although suspected by 29 March the guidance might change). Off to see what the latest guidance is...

... and can't find anything. Oxford website and gov.uk don't seem to have anything new: still saying you must stay at uni unless have one of the reasonable excuses to leave (no blanket exemption for returning to family home).

It's in the small print of the statutory instrument yesterday which focused on travel documents. They can travel once between 8th March and 29th April between their term time address and one other household for the Easter break.

The uni website was updated yesterday, but I think this was published when everyone had gone home.

Wow! That's exciting news. Thank you for sharing. It will be lovely to see DD again.

Here you go.

It's here

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/247/pdfs/uksi202102477_en.pdf

Cheers Sandy. I was googling like mad but couldn't find the actual release.

No worries. It's on Page 5.

Glad to be of assistance. I guess there is something much regulatory change that these things aren't being reported. I did think the 'you must not leave Oxford' instruction was not likely to be widely respected. It's know DS1 was ready to make a break for it.

Thanks, everyone. It's not an easy thing to find, but assume user-friendly webpages will be updated with guidance early next week.

We may run out of thread before they run out of term...

Last week of term for DS2 (O) and second last for DS1 (C). Both feel the term has gone by very quickly as it's not really been like a university term at all, with no social life, no contact with any peers and the days revolving around studying, essay writing and exercise. So so sad really. They start conversations about what they'd hope to do in a summer term at Oxbridge and then catch themselves and hastily add, "If we're allowed to go back of course....".

I'm worried that the government will declare that after school children went back, Covid numbers rose and so they can't possibly allow students to return to university. Six weeks of a taste of uni life (2 weeks of term were spent in isolation) is such a tiny glimpse of independent living and no time at all really to make new connections with peers.

Does anyone know by when O and C might be able to say whether or not students are allowed to go back to college? It's the not knowing that's the hardest I think and at least if we knew they couldn't return, then we could plan ahead for another 7 months with them stuck at home.

Well, they could hope that History and English will be reclassified as having essential practical components, perhaps?

TheUniversity of Oxfordis exploiting a loophole in the government’s lockdown guidance to allow MBA students to receive face-to-face teaching at least a month before other students are allowed back on campus.

Students on Oxford’s prestigious course will be able to attend in-person seminars and workshops at the Saïd business school from Monday after the university claimed the course was “practical”, similar to nursing or medical science courses.

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/mar/07/oxford-university-uses-lockdown-loophole-to-allow-in-person-mba-teaching

www.oxfordstudent.com/2021/03/07/travel-exemption-for-students-to-return-home-over-easter/

Re: returning home for Easter - this was reported in The Oxford Student.

MarchingFrogs, it seems Oxford value business more than arts/humanities - not surprising really - but very unfair.

Next term, DS1 and DS2 seem to have seminar/ small class based courses. Surely the universities could equally claim that in-person teaching is necessary for this too?

It seems to me that there would be a perfectly legitimate argument for saying that the MBA at Oxford has essential practical components. Everyone seems so grinchy these days at the slightest suggestion of anyone else having an exemption which isn't coming their way.

Goodbyestranger, you may well be right that the MBA has greater demands for face to face teaching than for arts and humanities undergrad. degrees.

I think it's probably human nature though when you see your loved ones suffering and want them to have the opportunities that others have that might make them happier.

Hopefully, before too long, everyone will be able to enjoy a more normal life again so that there's no longer a sense of 'those who have and those who have not'. It would be very helpful to have more clarity on things for all students right now.

Oxford update: Easter vacation (updated 9 March)

The UK Government is currently asking people to limit travel to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Students are encouraged to remain in their term-time accommodation where possible. However, an exemption has now been added for students during the Easter vacation.

Under the new advice, students are permitted to travel back and forth between their university accommodation and their home address– but only once.

Whether or not to travel in the UK is a decision for students to take based on their individual circumstances, in line with Government guidance.

The guidance does also allow international students to travel and return home once over Easter. However, the Government continues to advise against travel to countries outside the UK, and given the complexities involved, international students are advised not to travel home for the vacation.

If you do decide to leave, you must followsafer travel guidanceand are strongly advised to get tested for COVID-19.

Your college will provide you with a Lateral Flow Device (LFD) test. You should take the test just before you leave Oxford - either on the day before your departure, or on the day you leave.

It is very important that yourecord your result via the University Testing Service– whether it is negative or positive.

If the result is positive, you must book a confirmatory PCR test via the University Testing Service and self-isolate until you receive a negative result. If the PCR result is positive, you must self-isolate in Oxford for ten days.

Where possible, you should get tested before you travel back to university after your Easter break – throughcommunity testing facilities near your home address.

You will also need to take two LFD tests when you return to Oxford (see health and testing section above.

If you live in college or University graduate accommodation, go to thecolleges and accommodation pagefor information about accommodation charges.

A PDF document is now available outlining thewelfare and wellbeing support over the Easter vacation. For wider welfare support advice, pleaserefer to the welfare pageof this site.

College and University hardship support continues to be available should you need it.

I wonder if cambridge will update their travel advice in a similar manner. I'd check, but their website is down.

I'm going to start a new thread...

I'm filling it up...

...and up

....and up

...and finished.