With the lockdown in the UK generally easing over this month of May and as the hugely successful vaccine roll-out continues here, more and more students have now returned to Oxford and Cambridge. Activity is picking up, sports grounds are busier, more people are out and about, city centre shopping is–of course–picking up, but the usual hubbub around the university is missing.
Next month, pubs, clubs, and restaurants are scheduled to be back to normal–so even as we continue to worry about developments in South Asia, look out for a burst of summer parties and June balls! We have to recognise that it’s been such a tough year for our Noon Scholars–and the famed Oxbridge Experience, which is what our founder Vicky Noon so valued and wanted to offer to young Pakistanis, will have been limited. Still, our Noon Scholars are reporting busy times, especially within university societies, and their tutors are full of praise for high marks despite everything.
The Trust is looking forward to selecting next year’s Scholars and is beginning to sift feedback from its major Alumni Survey. We can celebrate almost a 40 percent return–but that still means 120 more Scholars to locate, and the board will be discussing its plans for a reunion next year - 30 years after its foundation. If you have not yet responded please find our survey here – and do share it with any other Noon Scholar you may be in touch with.
With All Good Wishes,
Dr Paul Flather
Chair, VNEF
Fellow, Mansfield College, Oxford