The search for knowledge is central to British life. In fact, four of the world’s top ten universities can be found here. Every year, huge amounts are invested in science and research in this country… so why is knowledge so important to Great Britain?
Oxford has been a place of learning for hundreds of years and more world leaders have been educated here than any other university. This is the Old Schools Quad, which is part of the famous Bodleian Library, at the heart of this historic establishment.
A quad or quadrangle is a courtyard with buildings on all sides. Oxford University is made up of thirty-eight different colleges. There are twenty thousand students studying here, from nearly a hundred and fifty countries.
Dr Sally Mapstone is Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Education.
Richard: Sally. Tell me about Oxford University.
Sally: Oxford University is one of the world's leading universities. It's highly international, it's very modern and it has a great sense of history.
Richard: And how old is it?
Sally: The university has been here for nine hundred years. Many of the colleges are almost as old as that too, though some of them were established in the twentieth century.
Richard: You've had a lot of famous names here over the years.
Sally: Yes, we've had a lot of famous people at Oxford, from prime ministers, such as Margaret Thatcher, Harold Wilson, David Cameron, US presidents, such as Bill Clinton, writers, such as Oscar Wilde, and even film stars, such as Hugh Grant.
Richard: So why is it, do you think, that the search for knowledge and education is so important to Great Britain?
Sally: Great Britain and universities like Oxford have always had a rich interest in critical enquiry. By that I mean the search for knowledge, the investigation of truth, the asking of questions. Whether it's to do with drama, to do with development, or even to do with disease, we're always asking the big questions to try and change things for the better.
There are universities all across the UK but they're not the only places where you can gain knowledge.
Comments
Hi tareqhizam,
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I've never been to Oxford and probably never will be, though it would be interesting to visit this famous historical place. A friend of mine has been there because she is a Harry Potter fan and she wanted to see the place where Hogwards school was shot (if I'm not confusing anything). I know many other famous universities such as Cambridge, Harward and Sorbonne. In my country there are very good and famous universities too such as Moscow State University named after M. Lomonossov. I think, universities are important because they provide education and consequently a good job and a better future for young people and for the whole country abd they are also centers of research.
I have never been to oxford
actually most of the people would have never been there
it is like a dream to study there
I think universities are important but the number of universities must remain minimum otherwise the quality of study would become deteriorate
Unfortunately, I’ve never been to Oxford University and there’s almost no chance that I’ll become a student there one day. I’ll more likely visit that great place as a tourist.
I’ve heard that such universities as Cambridge in the UK and Harvard and Yale in the US are among the most famous ones in the world. Well, I discovered that fact through watching foreign movies when I was only a teenager. Now, with all the information the internet provides, anyone interested in this subject can find a great deal of materials there.
I definitely consider universities to be extremely important whether in my own country or anywhere else because the more educated people will be around us, the more prosperous and meaningful will be everyone’s life in general.
Hi,
What's the different in meaning between these two sentences:
1- It has existed for nine hundred years.
2-It was existed for nine hundred years.
Hello khaled21222,
The first sentence is correct; the second sentence is not correct.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
I have never been to Orford but I plan to go there this year. I would be delighted to visit those historic establishments.
Unfortunately, I have never been visited UK and I read also heard from many news that Oxford is the world's top ten University. It had a rich interest in critical enquiry. I know some of the famous universities in the world such as Tokyo University in Japan, Heidelberg University and Goethe University in Germany. I had visited Japan & Germany. Well, why universities are so important because we can learn many things. We gain the knowledge and education, social and relationship, horning our personal ability and skills, respect to cultural differences, and many more.
I have never been to Oxford. I have only seen the Oxford University through the pictures and videos. I hope, one day I can study there.
I've only seen Oxford University through pictures in the internet, and I hope to visit this place in my lifetime.
There are few World-famous Universities I know such as Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Johns Hopkins, MIT and University of Tokyo.
Universities are important because these are places for higher learning. Universities aim to provide education of greater degree, hence people gain advanced knowledge and skills that are essential to improve one's life and career. These universities serve as catalysts for progress and development. And for a person who continuously seeks higher knowledge, a university is a great place to start.
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