Eckersley Oxford blog issue #2

So the Eckersley Oxford blog has made it to a second issue! 


Eckersley Oxford Sport Relief

Eckersley Oxford students outside Dover House

The weekend of the 23rd-25th of March was the national Sport Relief weekend where professional sports teams and the general public did various different challenges to help raise £52,070,587 for projects around the world. To help raise funds for Sport Relief the students and staff of Eckersley Oxford took part in a charity walk/run from the school to our residence Dover House in North Oxford (approximately 2 kilometers). The staff and students at the school managed to raise £147 for the various projects that Sport Relief operate.

Phrase of the week
Have you ever ignored the elephant in the room? Have you ever heard any body use this idiom? Do you know how to use it?

This terms relates to any scenario where people are ignoring a big issue and not talking about it at all. The elephant in the room is the big issue being ignored. It could be anything from a row between a married couple that they don't want to bring up or a huge mistake by an organisation that they don't want to confront. 
The origins of this term date back to the 1950s when it was used in the American press to discuss various 'taboo' political subjects and accused the government of "ignoring the elephant that was sitting in the room" See if you can use the phrase of the week today!


Oxford Literacy Festival
Taking place at the prestigious and iconic Christ Church college, the Sunday Times Oxford Literacy Festival has been taking over the city of Oxford over the past week and will drawing to a close this weekend. With various events from guest speakers including Walter Isaacson, biographer of Steve Jobs, and the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. The festival closes on Sunday 1st April following 9 days of various different speeches and events across the city.




That is all for this week, please get in touch with any feedback for the Eckersley Blog, what would you like to see us discuss?

The Eckersley Oxford Blog

Eckersley Oxford blog issue #1

The Eckersley Oxford blog is now up and running, bringing you the latest information from the school, latest news from Oxford and the latest developments from the world of EFL. If there is anything extra you would like us to add please contact the school or leave a comment on any post.

New Website
Eckersley Oxford is in the process of launching a new website which will provide a much more user friendly way to find out information about the school. The new website includes a cost calculator, up to date picture gallery and a much more interactive user friendly interface. The website will be 'going live' very quickly very shortly. Please click the image below for a 'sneak peak' of our new website.

Preview of the NEW Eckersley Oxford website

Phrase of the week
"He was a bit of a loose cannon so I didn't want to invite him to the party." But what does that mean? Have you heard the idiom "loose cannon"

 
The above video is taken from the 1999 film "Mystery Men" featuring Ben Stiller and is one way that somebody can use the term 'loose cannon'


The phrase dates back to 17th Century - 19th Century days of the British nautical expeditions and is a great phrase as you can visualise the cannon rolling around on the deck of a ship, causing panic amongst the crew members. Therefore 'a loose cannon' is generally used to describe a potentially volatile person or occasionally a thing/scenario.

Olympic news watch
With just 129 days to go until the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London the whole of the UK is getting ready for the biggest showcase in the world. The Olympic games organisers have released details about the Olympic torch relay, where members of the public, including a 100 year old lady, will transport the torch around the UK through all of the countries major cities including Oxford!! The torch will arrive in Oxford on the afternoon of Monday 9th July with a celebration within one of the city's park and will then depart the following a visit to the Iffley stadium, where Roger Bannister completed the first ever sub four minute mile run on 6th May 1954. 
Please see the recommended link below for more information on the Olympic torch relay.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/mar/19/london-2012-olympic-torch-relay1?newsfeed=true

That's all for this week, please check back next week for the latest from Eckersley Oxford.