Global Study Group

Oxford

Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). It is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world. It is known as the "city of dreaming spires", a term coined by Matthew Arnold in reference to the harmonious architecture of the university buildings. The River Thames runs through Oxford, where for a distance of some 10 miles it is known as the Isis. The Oxford suburb of Cowley has a long history of carmaking and now produces the BMW MINI.

University of Oxford
Ashmolean Museum, Britain's oldest museum
Pitt Rivers Museum
Museum of Natural History, home of (the remains of) the Oxford Dodo
Museum of the History of Science, in Britain's oldest purpose-built museum building
Bate Collection of Musical Instruments, St Aldate's

Others
Museum of Oxford
Museum of Modern Art
Science Oxford
Oxfordshire Visual Arts Development Agency (Ovada)

Schools
See: Category:Schools in Oxford Oxford is home to wide range of schools many of which receive pupils from around the world. Three are University choral foundations, established to educate the boy choristers of the chapel choirs, and have kept the tradition of single sex education. Examination results in Oxford schools are consistently below the national average and regional average however results in the city are improving with 44% of pupils gaining 5 grades A*-C in 2006.

Oxford City Council
Despite stereotypes of Oxford being a conservative city, there are no elected Conservatives on the city council, although two Liberal Democrat councillors have crossed the floor to join the Conservatives since the last set of elections in 2006. Since the 2004 local elections, the council has been in minority administration, first by councillors from the Labour Party, with the Liberal Democrats being the official opposition, and since 2006 with these roles reversed, although four councillors have since left the Liberal Democrats, two each joining Labour and the Conservatives. With eight city councillors and five county councillors, Oxford is one of the UK cities with highest Green Party representation. The Independent Working Class Association also has councillors, mainly elected to serve wards with many housing estates in the south east of the city, such as Blackbird Leys and Wood Farm. See Oxford Council election 2004 for further information. Since 2002, elections have been held for Oxford City Council in even years, with each councillor serving a term of four years. Each electoral ward within Oxford is represented by two councillors, thus all wards elect one councillor at each election. Prior to 2002, the City Council was elected by thirds.