St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford

02/06/2026

On Friday 15 May, St Edmund Hall hosted the seventh event in the Suman Conversations in Environmental Sustainability series, featuring an expert panel discussing the question: “Greener Games: What does true sustainability in sports look like?”

Chaired by the Principal of St Edmund Hall and Oxford Professor of Biodiversity, Professor Baroness (Kathy) Willis, the seminar brought together specialists who highlighted the impact of supply chains, carbon footprints, and the responsibility of sports organisations to address climate and waste issues. The speakers also emphasised the role of sport as a platform for influence and change, with examples showing how to balance the adoption of sustainability practices whilst maintaining sport participation and growth.

Watch the seminar below or at: https://youtu.be/2fvAcsBhZ-4?si=Q_khXsCR4b7RjYUx

01/06/2026

New series alert! Summer planting at Teddy Hall. 🤩

Simon Horwood works for Oxford Landscapes and for the past three years has had worked in the beautiful gardens of Teddy Hall alongside the Garden Fellow, Mark Williams. Over the summer, he’ll be sharing a selection of plants of interest found around Teddy Hall. We hope these posts encourage people to pause for a moment, look a little closer, and discover the incredible plant life growing all around us. Here is Simon’s first update!

Images 1-2: Wisteria sinensis — The Queen of Quad
There are some plants around Teddy Hall that quietly sit in the background, and then there are plants like Wisteria sinensis that completely command your attention. The flower racemes can reach nearly a metre in length, cascading down in spectacular fashion, and the fragrance is absolutely intoxicating. It’s one of those plants that stops people in their tracks.

Images 3-4: Melianthus major — The Honey Flower
Situated next to the Chapel, the deep crimson-red tubular blooms rise proudly above the silvery foliage, creating an incredible contrast that makes the whole plant glow with colour. It’s a real showstopper and, in my opinion, one of the most underrated plants in the gardens.

Images 5-6: Meet Eccremocarpus scaber, the Chilean glory flower
This vibrant climber can be found in the churchyard, climbing some of the monolith Yew trees. A true showstopper, this plant is a hidden gem in the gardens, bringing a taste of Chilean charm to our corner of the world.

Image 7: Euphorbia mellifera - The Honey sentinel
Sited next to staircase 4, also known as the honey spurge. Its beauty goes beyond looks—when the flowers bloom, they give off a sweet, honey-like scent, another honey scented plant I hear you say! It’s a must for all you honey lovers, that drifts through the air, attracting pollinators and delighting all who pass by.

See the full account of the Hall’s summer plants at: www.seh.ox.ac.uk/discover/sustainability/summer-planting-at-teddy-hall

30/05/2026

So long bees!

29/05/2026

Shakespearean Tropes. Climate Breakdown. One Unpredictable Hour of Improv.

Teddy Hall student Victoria Wang (2025, MSc Nature, Society and Environmental Governance) and Annabelle Higgins from Hertford College have co-produced ‘A Much Ado About Climate’ taking place on Saturday 6 June at the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. We encourage any Teddy members and friends to go along and support them!

This isn't your standard lecture on climate change. This isn't your traditional play. This is something entirely different: a long-form improvised show where a collision of original characters, born from Shakespeare's most enduring archetypes, must navigate the pressures of a rapidly changing world.

Join Oxford scholars and fellow audience members for a lively discussion on Shakespeare's hidden environmental wisdom. Your insights will not only inform the show, but also become the show!

No prior knowledge required. No participation demanded. All ages welcome.
This is one event part of the Past, Present, Future Weekender happening 5-7 June at the Schwarzman Centre: www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/theme/past-present-future-weekender-sb2l

27/05/2026

Congratulations to the Hall Principal Professor Baroness Willis and Computer Science Fellow Professor Leslie Goldberg on their election to the Royal Society Fellowship!

Election to the Fellowship is one of the highest honours in the scientific world, awarded to individuals who have made impactful contributions to knowledge. New Fellows join the ranks of Stephen Hawking, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Lise Meitner, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Dorothy Hodgkin.

Read more: www.seh.ox.ac.uk/news/willis-and-goldberg-fellows-of-royal-society

21/05/2026

Emma is a Sunday Times bestselling author of books including Inside Broadmoor, Inside Wakefield Prison and Inside Belmarsh. Her insights into the UK's high-security prison system are extraordinary and eye-opening. She has seen first-hand the living conditions and daily lives of prisoners, officers and staff over sustained periods of time.

Hear more about Emma's career in the latest episode of Spirit of the Hall.

Listen at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/spiritofthehall/

19/05/2026

'Erasmus+ is back. But will it bring apprentices with it?'

With the UK back in Erasmus+ and a Eurovision entry doing double duty as policy argument, Professor Maia Chankseliani, Fellow by Special Election in Comparative and International Education, asks whether the return will finally reach apprentices and vocational learners.

Read:

With the UK back in Erasmus+ and a Eurovision entry doing double duty as policy argument, Maia Chankseliani asks whether the return will finally reach apprentices and vocational learners

19/05/2026

We're delighted to see the return of the Lowe Ensemble, a baroque music group comprised of five siblings, alongside Danny Murphy at the theorbo, who will present ‘Echoes of the Spanish Baroque’, a journey through seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Spanish music, and its influence across Europe.

Beginning in the glittering court of Louis XIV in France, then moving through Italy and finally returning to the Iberian Peninsula, this programme explores how Spanish styles and sensibilities resonated throughout Europe. The programme brings together a wide palette of vocal and instrumental works—some newly adapted for the ensemble—illustrating the dialogue between courtly refinement, earthy dances and sacred reflection.

Join us on Saturday 23 May at 2:30pm in the St Edmund Hall Chapel.

Sign up now! https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/echoes-of-the-spanish-baroque-with-the-lowe-ensemble-tickets-1988000652467?aff=oddtdtcreator

18/05/2026

Did anyone spot the bees today in the St Peter-in-the East Churchyard?

18/05/2026

All are welcome to watch this free public clarinet recital with David Hrushovski a third-year student at Teddy Hall, reading Philosophy and French, who will perform Gustav Jenner, Clarinet Sonata in G Major, op. 5.

When/where: Tuesday 19 May, 5pm-6pm in the Old Dining Hall. No need to book!

A bit about David:
David's been playing the clarinet since the age of 12 and has given several recitals at Teddy Hall and other colleges, and was the President of Teddy’s Music Society last year. He also designs the Creative Writing Society publication, Disaster!, and helps organise SEH Picture Takers, the Hall’s photography club.

Find out more: www.seh.ox.ac.uk/events/david_hrushovski