Welcoming and cosy were my first impressions of Mansfield. As a fresher I settled in quickly; the college is a very supportive and friendly community, from the tutors to the porters (even if Barry keeps count of how many Topshop parcels arrive for me!). Bops are great to chat to students from other years and you can meet alumni and see how much the college has changed at the Women’s Dinner. Whilst familiar and quiet, Mansfield’s very central, a short walk from Broad Street and the Bodleian library and - in the other direction - is the English Faculty, so it’s very handy for me as an English student! I find Mansfield’s fantastic library, with its painted ceiling, the most inspiring place to work. Tutorials have developed my confidence in exploring my own ideas and I’ve enjoyed being fascinated by surprising texts, ranging from Old English through to Modern. Oxford is rich with opportunities to explore English Literature from alternative perspectives - I’ve been to talks by Sir Trevor Nunn and Sir Ian McKellen.

Mansfield is an excellent base for my extracurricular activities. When I was a Cherwell assistant fashion editor, I used the college in a photo shoot and more recently held a college drop-in session as part of volunteering with the charity OxHub.

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