Oxford University has offered places to more state school youngsters than private school pupils - seven months after being accused of elitism by Chancellor Gordon Brown. Mr Brown said last year that the University's "old school tie interview system" was
Parents who need advice to cope with pre-school youngsters can get help with two special schemes later this month. Sure Start is offering the programmes at Rose Hill First School. Dates and more information are available by calling 01865 459023.
Students put up a building to exhibit work done on university courses. The project, by Oxford Brookes School of Architecture, is to bring student ideas and architecture into projects involving other students and the community. The wooden building had
Former pupils and teachers are being invited to return to the classroom to mark the closure of their junior school. The closure next month of Wantage Church of England Junior School marks the end of an era for the town. The Newbury Street site saw generations
Youngsters are looking forward to the open road, following the presentation of a new minibus to their school. The colourful bus was handed over to staff at Fitzwaryn School, marking the end of 18-months' fundraising by supporters. The special school caters
Abingdon went out of their last cup competition at the hands of a Gloucester side who have lost only twice this season in Division 1 West. The first half belonged to the visitors who pinned Gloucester in their own half for long spells. Robbie McNeill
Bicester paid the price for a series of missed chances as they went down at home to Fairford in Saturday's Premier Division fixture of the Cherry Red Records Hellenic League. Shoulder to shoulder: Bicester's Stuart Fox and Lee Clark of Fairford The home
Two goals in three minutes either side of half-time were enough to see Didcot through to the semi-finals of the Complete Music Challenge Cup. There was little between the teams in the first half. Didcot's Simon Kelly was inches away from a Matt Bianchini's
A major refurbishment of a town's sports and arts centre is on the cards. South Oxfordshire District Council is funding a new fitness suite and plans to give a major facelift to the reception area and changing rooms at the centre in Thame. The refurbishments
Abingdon Town held promotion hopefuls Flackwell Heath to a hard-fought draw in Ryman Division 3 on Saturday, but will be rueing throwing away an early 2-0 lead. Darren Watts anticipated hesitation in the home defence and volleyed Town ahead after just
Back by popular demand, television comedy stars Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders start a three-date stint at the Apollo Theatre tonight. Famous as the original members of The Comic Strip, the pair went on to work together on Girls on Top, Happy Families
The future of ice-cream vans in Oxford looks safe after the city council said it would not be charging sellers for the right to go on their rounds. Ice-cream sellers who use vans are classed as "roundsmen", in the same category as milkmen, which means
Nick Fry, former managing director of Ford-owned luxury sports car maker Aston Martin, is to spearhead Banbury-based motorsport group Prodrive's expansion into the vehicle engineering consultancy business. Mr Fry, who is moving from his present job as
Police have encouraged villagers to help themselves to fight local crime. As part of its on-going Crackdown on Crime campaign, Wantage Police advised householders in Grove how to combat theft and burglary. During an afternoon of activity last Thursday
A drug user who stole a £2,000 laptop computer has been ordered to receive treatment as an alternative to prison, writes Emma Henry. Jason Medlicott, 26, stole the computer from Sarah Cook's room in a house in Museum Road, Oxford, owned by Lincoln College
Former chairman of Oxfordshire County Council Michael Fogarty has died, aged 84. Professor Fogarty was born in Malaya, Burma, in October 1916 and died on January 20, in his sleep. The story of his life with his wife, Phyllis, is told in his autobiography
A mother-of-three who falsely claimed more than £27,000 in benefits has been jailed for a year. Julie Devlin was caught after her husband reported her to the police when their marriage hit difficulties. At Oxford Crown Court, the 29-year-old mum pleaded
Former Harrods head baker Frenchman Jerome Dubois, above, is bringing an international flavour to his new venture in Oxfordshire. Jerome Dubois The Brittany-born master baker is keeping all the best traditional breads at the Cottage Bakery in Upper High
Oxford Cheetahs speedway boss Steve Purchase has hit out at promoters who are failing to abide by the rules of the British Speedway Promoters Association. His attack follows the move of Cheetahs asset Jan Steachmann to Premier League side Stoke. Purchase
The principal of an Oxford stage school has successfully helped lobby Government to change legislation which have could forced it to close, writes Rebecca Smith. Maya Sprigg, principal of Stagecoach in Oxford and Aylesbury, has helped improve and update
Young tycoons from 40 schools all over Oxfordshire were putting their business skills into practice with a vengeance at the weekend. Entrepreneur: Mark Pollard, 16 They were part of the Young Enterprise Oxfordshire organisation which has Newsquest Oxfordshire
Despite atrocious conditions, these two sides produced some good football. Headingtonwent in 2-0 up at half-time through Green and Varley, but Easington came out fighting in the second half and pulled a goal back from substitute Nicky Hubbard in the 64th
Clanfield secured all three points at Romanway but steadier finishing would have seen them comfortable victors. Neil Barrett missed a simple one-on-one with the home keeper, and Chris Hunt was also denied in a similar position. The only goal of the game
Kidlington came from 2-1 down to hit four second-half goals, eventually running out comfortable winners in this Division 1 West clash. Lee Keyes put Academy ahead in the 24th minute, and the visitors doubled their lead on 32 minutes before Frazer Gills
An Ian Concannon hat-trick, two each from Bradley Ward and substitute Pete Bryan, and a sublime chip from Barry Primmer saw Wallingford demolish Buckingham in round three of the Berks & Bucks Senior Trophy on Saturday. Buckingham keeper Chris Chandler
Hot-shot Mark West's 82nd-minute strike was enough to earn Thame a hard-won point on a heavy pitch at Nyewood Lane. However, with closest rivals Bedford beating Northwood 6-1, Thame lead at the top of Ryman League Division 1 is now down to three points
A curious omission from the Mill at Sonning's programme for its new production of Relatively Speaking is the information - surely not without interest to theatregoers - that Lucy Fleming, one of the four members of its cast, is reviving a role originally
This Division 1 East game only went ahead after much hard work from Quarry members and the Oxford City Council, who marked out the pitch at the last minute. Basingstoke took the lead in the 15th minute through Brian Cook, but Carlisle netted to make it
Letcombe and Old Woodstock shared the points in a six-goal thriller. Stone's opener for Woodstock was cancelled out by Liam Breen's first goal for Letcombe in four seasons, but the home side regained the lead when Steve Burry deflected a cross into his
Entrepreneurs, students and academics from Oxford's two universities are being invited to compete for prize funding of up to 1m in a business plan competition. The most promising technology-based ideas submitted to Launchit2000 by students or academics
Television channel Six TV the Oxford Channel has relaunched with a pink and black blitz of advertising on local buses. Managing director Rosemary Richards said the new look, on and off-air, would be complete by Valentine's Day. She said: "Over the next
Hi-tech company Bookham Technology has announced a multi-million dollar agreement to supply optical components to Japanese computer giant Fujitsu. Bookham, based at Milton Park, near Abingdon, will supply Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe with up to 10,000
Five accidents in two hours along one stretch of country road is an appalling record, say villagers campaigning for safety improvements. Residents of a hamlet just south of Watlington on the B480 watched in amazement as five cars came unstuck at the top
A man who launched an unprovoked attack on a taxi driver's car and hurled racist abuse at him was sentenced to 15 months in prison, writes Emma Henry. Guy Clark, 27, pleaded guilty to one charge each of racially aggravated threatening behaviour and racially
A law student who masterminded an illicit export drive of the drug ecstasy must find 6,000 or face a further six months in jail. Dylan Lowry, 26, of Dove House Close, Oxford, is currently serving an eight-year sentence for dealing in ecstasy. With girlfriend
Emergency services in Oxfordshire were put under pressure over the weekend as motorists struggled against icy conditions. Thames Valley Police received more than 650 calls between midnight and 9am Saturday, which is higher than usual for that period.
Young tycoons from 40 schools all over Oxfordshire were putting their business skills into practice with a vengeance at the weekend. They were part of the Young Enterprise Oxfordshire organisation which has Newsquest Oxfordshire, publishers of the Oxford
