Nate Kessler, age 16, of Concord, N.H., for his question:
WHEN WAS OXFORD UNIVERSITY ESTABLISHED?
The University of Oxford is the oldest institution of higher learning in England. Located in Oxford, Oxfordshire, about 50 miles northwest of London, the school is also one of the world's oldest.
There are no genuine records of the existence of the school at Oxford before 1167, but there are records of lecturers from other European countries at Oxford as early as 1117.
During 1157 or 1158, foreign students were expelled from the University of Paris when relations between England and France broke off. Many students returned to England at that time and went to Oxford with their masters.
The early school at Oxford was a guild, an organization of tradesmen who intended to control teaching by limiting the number of teachers.
There is no plan of university organization before 1214. Probably, the masters elected a head officer and gave him the title of "chancellor." The students organized into groups, much like modern college fraternities.
The monastic orders of Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites and Augustinians, which arrived at Oxford in the mid 13th Century, gained influence and students began to live in the houses maintained by these religious orders. At about the same time, private benefactors established secular colleges. Soon, many students left halls and religious houses in favor of the colleges.
The new learning of the Renaissance during the 16th Century was warmly received at Oxford. There was a shift away from the medieval scholastic method of teaching.
There are now 31 colleges and five private halls at Oxford. The earliest of these are university College, founded in 1249, Balliol College, founded about 1263, and Merton College, founded in 1264.
The organization of Merton College became a model for all other colleges both at Oxford and Cambridge. The other colleges included Exeter, Queen's, Magdalen (pronounced Mawd lin), Corpus Christi, Christ Church, Trinity, New College and All Souls (for graduates only).
Women have been permitted to attend lecturers since 1879.
Since 1920, women have been admitted to full membership and allowed to earn degrees.
When the student registers, he is assigned a tutor who guides and advises him throughout his collegiate career. The tutor outlines the things the student is expected to know, the examinations he must pass and the reading he must do.
University instruction is almost entirely by lecture. There are no recitations or quizzes such as American colleges have. Attendance is not compulsory for lecturers. It is the student's duty, guided by his tutor, to attend those that are related to his studies.
The university, and not the colleges, conducts all of the examinations and grants the degrees.