On Monday, 10 June, Ms Mulligan and Mrs Mansbridge took 14 students to Oxford for a visit with the Bodleian Libraries education team. In the University's printing room, they learnt how books had been printed for centuries, handled printing materials, and experienced the craft and labour involved in creating a printed book. After selecting and arranging letters for print, students were able to use the historic letterpress printing equipment to make a keepsake to print and take home. They also printed an exact replica of the first page of the Tempest from Shakespeare's first folio.

Following their experience in the historic print room, the group then visited Blackwell's bookshop; a tremendous bookshop founded in the 1800s where J. R. R. Tolkein sold his first poem. Our students had a great time searching the extensive shelves for a book to choose as a reward. From books about the British rail system to fantasy and classics, students chose a great array of books, marking their varied literary interests.