150 flowers

Planting bulbs to mark our anniversary 

Yesterday Oxford Brookes staff and students met on our Headington Hill site to mark 150 years with 150 flowers. The team of volunteers, armed with spades, set to work planting in the grassed area outside the Richard Hamilton building and quickly passed the 150 bulb target.

The sustainability team organised the event in order to make a lasting contribution to the campus as part of our anniversary celebrations. All three of Brookes' campuses have Green Flag status, last awarded in July this year. This recognises them as being among the best green spaces in the country.   

The Headington Hill site has been part of Brookes since 1993. Listen to Professor Sir Clive Booth, then Vice Chancellor, explain how the acquisition came about. 

The bulbs will come out in the spring, as our anniversary celebrations draw to a close.

Student newspapers

From The Westminsterian, launched at Westminster College in 1891, to the students’ union’s O.B.Scene in the 1990s, we have selected examples from a century of student newspapers for you to browse on our anniversary timeline.

An early issue of The Westminsterian from 1892 features instruments built by students in the college’s dedicated workshop to be used as teaching aids, while the Lent 1939 issue contains several poignant pieces of fiction by students responding to the political situation on the eve of war.

Despite the more sombre tone of these stories, humour remains a common thread through the decades. A 1962 issue of Minimum featuring a quiz ('Are you a good student?') and a gossip column answers comments about the length of the publication with the quip that ‘two sheets is the Minimum at the moment’. The first issue of Vortex, in 1965, leads on a controversial union election and suggests that problems may have stemmed from the surprise of having any candidates at all.

Publications also tackle a huge range of topics. In December 1966 Politec leads on the question of social divisions within the Polytechnic under the provocative headline ‘Is College this twisted?’ and reviews the recently opened Oxford Museum of Modern Art. Two years later an issue of Newspack printed in orange ink reports on plans to redecorate the common room and discusses the question of student apathy.

Political issues come to the forefront in Poke in a 1971 issue, including the case against joining the Common Market, arm sales to South Africa, and the inflationary effect of decimalisation. In 1972 Breed presents expansion plans for the Headington campus with a report on a public meeting about the development. 

The Last Edition, in a 1974 issue, includes a competition to win a second-hand bicycle alongside concerns about the drop-out rate in the hotel management department and an exclusive interview with Spike Milligan. In 1984 The TLE calls for students to support a staff strike over pay, asking that they stay away or join the picket line. The employment prospects of graduates are also discussed, alongside a humorous take on how to adjust to ‘retirement’ from student life.

The TLE continues to be published after the Polytechnic becomes Oxford Brookes University, but in 1999 it is replaced by O.B.Scene, the first issue of which marks a new academic year with advice for students on personal safety and health alongside restaurant and cultural reviews.

Explore more of our history on our interactive timeline.

40 Years, 40 Objects

Exhibition at the Museum of Oxford

      Photograph © Museum of Oxford

Two weeks ago a special opening was held at the Museum of Oxford for the new ‘40 Years, 40 Objects’ exhibition. The event was an opportunity for all the people who donated objects to this community-curated display to have a peek preview of all forty exhibits.

Amongst the guests was Sebastian Blake, Sustainability Assistant at Brookes, who donated a model of the BROOKESbus to represent Brookes’ commitment to sustainable travel and to providing community services.

      Photograph © Museum of Oxford

Also on display is ‘Time to Talk: Digital Storytelling in the Ley’, which shares the stories of Greater Leys and Blackbird Leys residents. The project was developed by Jeni Burnell of Brookes’ Centre for Development and Emergency Practice.

The exhibition marks the 40^th anniversary of the Museum of Oxford. It opened in 1975, bringing together a diverse collection reflecting the rich history of the city and people of Oxford. Since 2012 the Museum’s refurbished Explore Oxford galleries have presented this history in a new, engaging way, with added space for temporary exhibitions and events.

The current exhibition makes the most of this space, offering a unique take on Oxford’s recent history with items ranging from a model of the Cadena café to remains of the Cuttleslowe Walls. The display also includes a statue of the Hindu god Ganesha on loan from the British Museum, sitting alongside others donated by the Oxford Hindu community.

      Photograph © Museum of Oxford

As the Museum of Oxford celebrates 40 years with 40 objects, Brookes has been celebrating its 150^th anniversary with a book of 150 stories, which can also be seen – and flicked through – as part of the exhibition.


40 Years, 40 Objects is open Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm, until 20 February 2016 at the Museum of Oxford. Admission is free. 

October talks: teaching, gender and forensics

Two new series of free public talks begin this month on campus and at the Museum of Oxford.

Our 2015-16 anniversary lecture series starts today with a talk on live-project learning and how it can help build better communities. Maria Faraone, a qualified architect with international experience of urban development, will share her teaching methods and demonstrate the value of involving students in actual commissions to develop their skills and benefit the urban environment.

This will be followed on 21 October by a discussion on gender equality. In ‘Women on boards: closing the gender gap’, Helena Morrissey, founder of the 30% club, and Lord Davies of Abersoch, author of the Davies Review, will reflect on progress towards targets for women’s representation on company boards. In conversation with Professor Simonetta Manfredi, they will discuss what remains to be done to close the gender gap.

Both lectures take place at 6pm in the John Henry Brookes Lecture Theatre on our Headington campus and places can be booked online.

Further talks in the series will explore topics as diverse as the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Gaza, faith, China, special effects, the OIA ombudsman service, nursing, comedy, poetry, patient safety, Fairtrade food, terrorism, risk, leadership, planning, the eye, ageing, dementia, class in literature, the history of emotions, and biodiversity.

For further information on all events, visit our online listing or download an events guide.

The popular Brookes Outside Broadcasts from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences are also back, with three lectures at the Museum of Oxford.

First up is Dr Katherine Watson from the Department of History, Philosophy and Religion on Monday 12 October at 1.30pm. ‘Before CSI: crime, medicine and science in history’ will trace the history of forensics from the early modern period to the present, through insanity, poisoning, infanticide and criminal identification, showing the impact of legal systems, medical practitioners and the rise of the ‘expert’ in Britain, Europe and North America. 

This will be followed next year by Anne-Marie Kilday on the life and crimes of Jack the Ripper (4 February) and John Gold on the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic Games (17 March), also at the Museum of Oxford.

All these events are free and open to everyone.