At the beginning of term new IB students from 36 countries took part in an orientation weekend packed with activities ranging from introductory lessons and maths tests to squeezing students into a telephone booth as part of a photographic challenge. The three days provided the perfect opportunity for students to get to know each other and to find their way around the college and Oxford.

The evenings were busy. The international quiz was surprisingly competitive and energetic. Artistic, creative, dramatic and musical skills were on show at the Saturday night performance with the judges being suitably impressed with the new intake's potential.

On Sunday afternoon, there were the Orientation Olympics; a hard act to follow after Beijing games but teams competed in an eclectic selection of events from sumo wrestling, plank walking, wellie throwing and tug-of-war.