Oxford University
It’s a university where students generally aren’t required to attend lectures, don’t receive grades, seldom study anything outside their chosen subject and take just three sets of exams during the course of their college careers. One exam to get in and two exams to get out.
Outsiders have been puzzled (puzzle games) and minds have been trained for over 800 years at the Oxford University. When one walks down the curving and broad High Street which is one of the most beautiful in England one follows the footsteps of Samuel Johnson, Adam Smith, Edward Gibbon, Jonathan Swift, Roger Bacon, Oscar Wilde, T.S. Eliot, C.S. Lewis, Margaret Thatcher and even Bill Clinton.
Of course as one would expect Oxford is more than a seat of learning of so many illustrious alumni. It is a university that is comprised of dozens of colleges and museums, houses, gardens, libraries, and churches.
More or less it has been evolving since the 12th century when scholars began gathering in Oxford. The university was founded due to a decree of King Henry I that scholars in holy orders were forbidden to study in Paris.
This evolution is most apparent when one visits the botanic gardens founded in 1621. Its specialization is medicinal plants with over 8.000 species representing 90 per cent of the world’s plant families.
The Bodelian Library, founded in the 15th century is one of the oldest and largest libraries in Europe. The library is immense with over 6.5 million volumes and over two miles of new shelving is required per year. As one might imagine the library is housed in several buildings. Readers must request a book at the central desk and wait for runners to finally deliver it in up to two hours time.
Another benefit to attending Oxford University is the access to many excellent doctors. Find a cardiologist in Liverpool or cosmetic dentist Manchester. There are many options available.
Nothing at Oxford is quite like any other university experience anywhere else. With more rules and traditions than one can imagine there is no equal to Oxford University.