Schools

03 Jul 09

Visiting school pupils at the Shelley memorial at University College.

Fifty school students have had the chance to see Shelley’s manuscripts and spend time at University College, where the poet studied as undergraduate.

The sixteen and seventeen year olds from across the country, from Barnsley to Bromley, came to Oxford today for a Shelley Study Day, hosted by University College.

They spent the day learning about the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley who was a student at Oxford in the early nineteenth century. Activities were designed to help the students with their English Literature A-levels and give them a taste of what it is like to study English at university.

Schools were allowed to nominate only two pupils each and those selected to take part were able to attend a lecture by Dr Nick Halmi and a session with University College’s archivist –‘How to get kicked out of University College: Shelley’s time at Oxford’. Shelley was expelled from the college after a short time for writing atheist pamphlets.

The school pupils also took advantage of a rare opportunity to see Shelley’s original work, as the Bodleian Library allowed them access to the collection of the poet’s manuscripts, letters and notes.

Anne-Marie Canning, Access Officer at University College, said: 'We were really excited to host the first Annual Shelley Study Day. It is a great chance to celebrate one of our most famous old members and an opportunity for our academics to share their expertise with students from all over the country.'