Hello, my name is Archie. I am a reading History and English (HENG) at Corpus, and I am in my first year.
It has been a year full of excitement and Corpus is very much responsible for that. I find that Corpus has a nice balance to its rhythm. College life is relaxed but can be lively. The tutors are kind yet exacting. And our community is warm and always engaging. The unity amongst the undergraduates is a consequence of its size, as a friendly face can always be found around a corridor or cloister.
This has all revealed to me that if you want to apply to Oxford but are worried that may not belong here: you do.
Whereas Corpus is homely, what I love most about my degree is its ability to make the familiar slightly unfamiliar. The course asks you to not only think about the nature of History and English, but the assumed boundaries between them. You will approach cultures through its imaginative writings, and in return think about how such writings are influenced by those cultures. It might make you ask if we should even bother with such approaches at all!
Although you will spend lots of your time studying the two subjects independently from one another, you will always approach both subjects with a fresh perspective. There is lots of freedom that comes with the course too. From witch-hunting to the New Woman, Monty Python to the Mongols, there is a vast breadth of papers for you to study what you love.
For me, HENG is ones of those loves, but so is theatre, sport and media. I have been able to pursue and continue to love all of them at Corpus. It is as much work as it is play!
Please feel free to contact me if you have a question. I would be more than happy to chat.
Resources
Resources categorised by subject and by Key Stage, as well as materials for applying to Oxford and finding out more about Corpus, can be found here.