OXFORD United were on the receiving end of quality finishing and some unfortunate ricochets as Charlton Athletic breezed through in the Capital One Cup first round tonight. Simon Church put the hosts in front in the 18th minute when a blocked shot
Good evening and welcome to a perfect summer's evening here in south London. Oxford United were last at The Valley 11 years ago in this very competition, winning on penalties. Can they go through again tonight? Stick around to find out. The
Oxfordshire under 17 boys produced an excellent bowling and fielding display to clinch a victory over Bedfordshire in their ECB County Cup match at Dunstable Town. The result means that Oxon are one victory away from a place in the semi-finals.
OXFORD Spires Academy has yet to send a pupil to Oxbridge. In 2010, its predecessor school, Oxford School, had just 32 per cent of pupils going to university. Headteacher Sue Croft, pictured above, said that number was now well over 70 per
AS A-Level results day approaches, sixth-formers across Oxfordshire will be turning their minds to the next stage. New figures released by the Department for Education indicate Oxfordshire performs poorly in terms of the numbers of children going
THE Cherwell School is one of Oxfordshire’s higher education success stories. The number of pupils getting in to Oxbridge is consistently high, with nine receiving places in 2009, 13 in 2010, 18 in 2011, 19 in 2012 – over nine per cent of the year
PREMIERSHIP champions from the most recent ‘Winter’ campaign, the Plough (Wolvercote) are posting serious intent to add the equivalent Summer League crown. This they clearly demonstrated last Thursday with a brutally-overwhelming victory against the
KIDLINGTON Library is celebrating 10 years of keeping villagers entertained and informed at its current home. The Oxford Road branch opened in August 2003 in a purpose built £1.6m building, replacing the existing library on the site. The building
A HOST of problems could arise from plans to build almost 300 new homes in North Hinksey, community leaders say. Exactly 296 new homes are currently being considered by Vale of White Horse District Council across three sites. The largest of
A YOUTH football club is kicking back into action next month after a hiatus of more than eight years. The Bullingdon Youth Football Club provides youngsters from areas including Wood Farm with coaching and experience playing competitive football
BUDDING and established artists are encouraged to get creative this summer ahead of a church festival. The Rev Margreet Armitstead of St Mary and St Nicholas Church in Littlemore is calling for residents to get involved in the Harvest of Talents
A BAND which played its first ever gig at Florence Park Community Centre in 1966 will return for a special homecoming gig on Saturday, August 24. It will be the first time that The Legendary Pete Fryer Band, originally from Florence Park, has gigged
A NEW group for older people in Jericho is looking for more members to help the ‘maturer’ population of the area have some fun. The group was set up two months ago to help people get together for regular interesting, creative and stimulating activities
RESIDENTS and businesses have once again joined forces with Headington Action Group to create great looking floral displays. With the help of national companies like the Co-op and Waitrose, 20 local stores and a contribution from Oxfordshire County
A NEW anti-bullying and stranger awareness course has been launched in South Oxford. It is the first time Oxford Sport and Traditional Martial Arts has run such a course, and was launched in response to feedback from local schools. Coach and
Sir – Last week you reported the closure of the Café Noir in Osler Road — a sad loss to the amenities of Headington. Established and long managed, by Majid Yazdani, his wife Cahty, and her mother Geeta, the café was a place of real cosmopolitan
Sir – Damian Fantato’s article (Feature, July 25) on 40 years of Oxford’s park and rides was an interesting reminder of how and why the service was born. Undoubtedly, it has done a great deal to bring commuters, shoppers and tourists into Oxford
Sir – I have been reading Hugh Jaeger’s letter on seamless buses in Oxford city (Letters, June 27). I agree with what he says and as an older person the distance between bus stops concerns me very much. If we could have through buses before, surely
Sir – The Lancet Oncology (July 10) reported that particulate matter (PM) air pollution contributes to lung cancer. They identified a statistically significant association between levels of particulates (PM10) in excess of 10µg/m3 and lung cancer
Sir – Well done John Tanner in maintaining your great Socialist principles and your proposal of only allowing electric cars into some Oxford streets (Report, July 18). As we all know, electric cars are very expensive and only the wealthy or well-paid
Sir – The county council is considering spending £840,000 to tackle a traffic problem in the London Road (London Road traffic plan unveiled, July 11). Elsewhere in the same issue of your paper, we are told that the same council intends to cut £340,000
Sir – Until very recently, anonymous communications (poison pen letters) were seen as contemptible. I have personally been baffled for some time as to why it is now perfectly acceptable to write anonymous messages across the broadest ever field
Sir – In reply to (Ring road racetrack, Letters, July 25), Susan Linstead is correct when she says that vehicles joining a major road from a slip road, should adjust their speed to that of the traffic already using the major road and not force their
Sir – It was refreshing to read a realistic assessment of renewable energy in the letter from Michael Tyce (Letters, July 25). It was in sharp contrast with the usual Green party line quoted in the article by MEP Keith Taylor (Opinion, July
Sir – The Tory county council is tearing the heart out of local government. Councillor Ian Hudspeth’s answer to everything is to privatise it. We have already lost the home-carers service and the youth workers. The highways are not repaired
Sir – George Osborne’s latest round of cuts brings more bad news for families especially those with parents in low-paid insecure employment. Losing your job will become an even worse trauma from 2015 as you will then have to wait seven days before
Sir – One might reasonably expect morale among those working within the NHS to be at an all-time low, given the reporting of shocking stats and mismanagement that prevails currently. A dreadful scenario that certainly needs to be made public. My
Sir – In 1849, John Ruskin wrote: ‘When we build, let us think that we build for ever’ (The Seven Lamps of Architecture, chapter 6). In the case of the University Museum with which he was so closely associated, that is fine, but for the hideous
Sir – Whatever the merits of Sir Norman Foster as a world-class architect, he has never been ‘the great engineer’ (Letters, Paul Hornby, The Oxford Times, July 18). Perhaps you should correct this faux pas. Peter Thompson C.Eng. MICE, Oxford
Sir – And there was I thinking that we might have a few editions of The Oxford Times without a letter about cyclists, drivers and/or cyclists and drivers. I should have known better (Letters, July 25). Richard Bowen, Oxford
Sir – I’ve felt increasingly frustrated reading recent letters concerning atheism/belief etc. I find these terms overly constrained by traditional belief systems such that theism represents belief in a divine being(s) demanding of reverence and
Sir – John Batey (Letters, July 25) takes the trouble to write a letter arguing that humanists are people who don’t believe in God but believe in all the things that most of us believe in. Was it worth the trouble? Roger Moreton, Oxford
Sir – Mr Weavers (Letters, July 25) preferred to avoid addressing the question of who created God. In the alleged words of Mandy Rice Davies “He would, wouldn’t he”. Religion seems to be based on the notion that regardless of an absence of fact
Sir – In common with most mature adults I have no fear or dread of death. Dying is another matter and one that is best accomplished with aid. Now, in my 80th year and suffering the painful, debilitating effects of pulmonary fibrosis, in addition
Sir – Under a heading (County's MEP is critical of tax breaks for fracking, July 25) you report that Keith Taylor is the Green Party MEP for Oxfordshire. Could I point out that Oxfordshire is not a European Parliamentary Constituency. It was
Sir – Keith Taylor, Green MEP representing Oxfordshire, writes about several problems with fracking, but does not mention another problem associated with this method of fossil fuel extraction. Apparently methane gas is released into the air from
OXFORD came out on top in the battle of the mayors. Lord Mayor of Oxford Dee Sinclair took on Abingdon’s first citizen Samantha Bowring on Friday. The match at Abingdon Bowls Club ended with a 155-91 win for Ms Sinclair and her team. Ms
A RESIDENT whose wife has a severe respiratory disease has been left waiting eight months for a crumbling ramp to be fixed outside his home – because of a council “computer error”. Arthur Allen, who also has a disabled daughter, has contacted Oxford
Oxfordshire Under 10 won a thrilling game at Thame Town by just four runs after Dee Jarvis took the final wicket in a low-scoring match. There was only one partnership from each side as they struggled on a challenging wicket. Oxfordshire added
John Raftery, Pro-Vice chancellor of student experience at Oxford Brookes University, talks about university life: Classes of British university degree such as a First, Third or 2:2 are, sometimes irreverently, referred to as a ‘Geoff ‘(Hurst),
BICESTER: Four burglars smashed through a conservatory door to take jewellery from a home in Queen’s Court at 4.45pm on Saturday. Police said a witness saw four people leave the house and get into a dark BMW in Kings End. Call 101.
OXFORD: A 47-inch television and aftershave were stolen from a Cowley house. The crime happened in Owens Way between Thursday at 3pm and Friday at 1am. Police said a “messy” search was carried out before the burglar left through the front door.
ABINGDON: The £4.2m contract to build a state-of-the-art science centre at a private school has been awarded. Construction company Beard, based in Cumnor Hill, will build the centre for St Helen and St Katharine School in Faringdon Road. The
FOLK music fans are invited to come and squeeze into the intimate White Horse Folk Festival. Held in Grove near Wantage and now in its 16th year, the festival takes over tiny venues, from the village hall to local pubs. It is organised by husband-and-wife
SECTION 2 leaders Marlborough Club tasted defeat for the first time this season in the Greene King ODDA Summer League as they crashed 7-2 at second-placed Rose Hill Community Centre. The home side made a brilliant start as Dave Witherwick, Jason
A BURGLAR who groped two women after breaking into their homes was ‘the stuff of nightmares’, a court heard. Oxford Crown Court was told yesterday that Ashley Blossom, 27, of Lime Crescent, Bicester, was drunk when he ‘fondled’ a teenage girl and
THE trend for brightly iced cup cakes is being turned on its head in a fresh attempt to challenge people’s perceptions about mental health. Caroline Knight, who lives near Besselsleigh, is making and selling ‘miserable’ grey cakes. The 26-year-old
THIS patriotic pixie was flying the flag for her local children’s centre. Caidy Page was one of 100 people who went to a fundraising fun day at Slade and Headington Children’s Centre on Saturday. Face painting and fun games, like a lolly lottery
BICESTER: Police want to talk to this man about two thefts totalling £634 at Bicester’s new Sainsbury’s. Pc James Waterson believes the man was responsible for the first two reported thefts at the store in Pioneer Square. The first incident
A COMPUTER hacker who brought Oxford University’s website to its knees yesterday lost a bid to cut his prison sentence. Lewys Stephen Martin, 21, was jailed for two years in May for cyber crimes including an attack on the university’s website in
UK sales of the Cowley-built Mini took a healthy leap last month, latest official figures have revealed. Statistics produced by the Society of Motor manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show 3,147 cars were sold in July, a rise of eight per cent on
TRIALLISTS Adam Maabdi and Victor Francoz will again feature for Oxford City this evening in their pre-season clash at Chesham United, writes MATTHEW BRUCE. The Frenchmen, who arrived at the club as a result of the efforts of new president Thomas
OXFORDSHIRE face a tough task to win their Western Division match against Herefordshire. Luke Ryan’s men go into today’s third and final day 82 runs behind their opponents after falling well short of the 308 first innings total set by the visitors
Visitors to Oxfordshire Museum can marvel at some unusual skeletons this month, that depict how animals and birds use their bones to move. Museum curator Lorraine Horne is pictured with an ‘undead osprey’ swooping down on a ‘zombie fish’, while
SHAW GIBBS OXFORDSHIRE FOURSOMES LEAGUE Section 2 Feldon Valley 1½ (2), Ellesborough 1½ (2) (Feldon scores first): R Browne & A Bailey halved with B Simms & G Dixon, W McCoombes & T Cox halved with J Allison & C Price, J Ashcroft
A 32-year-old woman slept while burglars took her purse, £40 in cash, and Kindle from her house in Carterton. The burglary happened in Rock Road between 4.30am and 5am on Sunday and police said the thieves got in to the home through the front door
A 20-year-old man was knocked unconscious when he was attacked by two men while out with his girlfriend in Oxford. The victim, who needed treatment at the John Radcliffe Hospital, was punched in the face and kicked in the head in St Aldate’s at
Oxford's Jason Plato survived a dramatic crash unscathed at Snetterton on Sunday but his BTCC title hopes took a dent. Plato started well, finishing second behind MG KX Momentum Racing team-mate Sam Tordoff in the opening race. And Plato built
HOMEBUYERS in Oxfordshire spent £75m on stamp duty in the last financial year. And a report by the TaxPayers’ Alliance has revealed most of the money was raised from people paying a higher rate of the controversial tax. When a house is bought
LET’S thank the bus companies for helping out London-bound customers last Sunday morning when the trains weren’t running. This caused lots more passenger traffic on the coaches but people were stranded at the Thornhill park and ride as coaches
You recently reported on the closure of the Cafe Noir in Osler Road – a sad loss to the amenities of Headington. Established and long managed, by Majid Yazdani, his wife and her mother, the café was a place of real cosmopolitan distinction. It
FURTHER to Mr Barry Gibbs’ letter (Letters, August 2) would Mr John Tanner care to explain why, when the Labour Party was in power, they had a top tax rate of 40 per cent for all but a few months prior to the last general election, when they cynically
THE agreement to part-fund a £25m improvement of Oxfordshire’s broadband infrastructure with £10m of county council cash and £4m from the Government might raise some eyebrows in these times of cuts. For a council so cash-strapped, £10m could plug
Frilford Heath are optimistic of hosting prestigious tournaments in the near future after successfully staging the English Amateur Championship last week. The six-day event, which began with a field of 288 players, was won by Callum Shinkwin on
The top juniors at Frilford Heath fell just short of winning the Skinner Cup as they were pipped by Wentworth. It was the Oxfordshire club’s turn to host the triangular junior tournament, which also includes Woburn. Following a mini-Ryder Cup
Resurfacing work which will see two major roads closed for weeks have started in Chipping Norton. Work started yesterday and the A44 and A361 in Chipping Norton will be closed for three weeks. Signed diversions are in place to take through traffic
A 24-year-old man appeared in court yesterday charged with playing a part in a violent fight in Littlemore, Oxford. Dexter Williams, of Coriander Way in Greater Leys, appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court charged with violent disorder and possession
WEST OF ENGLAND LEAGUE TOM Miles landed a sudden-death drop-goal to send Oxford Cavaliers into the play-off final with a 33-32 home victory over Gloucestershire Warriors. Half back Miles struck in extra-time after Cavaliers had levelled the
OXFORD Cavaliers and Alchester have announced a cross-code partnership. Rugby league club Cavaliers and union outfit Alchester, who are based in Fritwell, neart Bicester, are pooling resources and players as part of a formal tie-up. “Both rugby
ALTHOUGH I respect Peter and Pauline Broughton’s right to an opinion on animal research, I would suggest that they get their facts straight before forming it. They claim that that “no government has yet commissioned an independent evaluation of
COULD someone please tell me the answer to this. From the M40 Wendlebury junction to (I think it could be) the M3 at Winchester, every slip road on and off has been closed at some time. However, when they re-open them, there is no sign of new
AFTER a life-time of meeting with and working with, good people, I find it odd that I have to be labelled a ‘pacifist’, a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament As a very ordinary person – not a goodie-goodie – I have never felt the need to
KINGSTONE PRESS CHAMPIONSHIP ONE OXFORD RL were undone by a ten-minute second-half blitz as they lost 30-16 at Hemel Stags. Hemel led only 6-4 at half-time, but quick scores from Shane Grady, Jermaine Coleman and Mike Forgham gave Oxford too
MY son, David,and I had reason to visit the Youlbury Scout campsite recently to collect my father-in-law, Bertie Douglas Naylor’s, bravery award and medal dated 1906. This was for saving a young girl from drowning that had been exhibited in the Scouting
I was called on Sunday afternoon by my mother-in-law, alerting me to the ‘Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100’ on the TV. An avid viewer of Homes Under the Hammer and daytime cookery shows, I hadn’t figured she was a cycling fan, but it just goes to show
RYAN Williams is hoping the long wait for a first career start can end when Oxford United visit Charlton Athletic tonight. The 19-year-old joined the U’s on loan from Fulham last Friday and was an unused substitute in Saturday’s 4-1 win at Portsmouth
OXFORD United must show the same qualities which were on show at Portsmouth if they are to spring a cup upset tonight, according to Andy Melville. The U’s made a flying start to the season with a 4-1 win at Fratton Park on Saturday and will attempt
WHILST we are still waiting for details, Matthew Arnold School’s governors would appear to warrant praise for their decision not to convert the school over to an academy. The decision will mean it is the only secondary in the city not to go down
The board of the county’s new health and social care watchdog was announced yesterday, following an election. Healthwatch Oxfordshire is the statutory link between patients and health and social care bosses and the members will have the power to
MOST people meet up at a café to share a coffee, have a bite to eat or enjoy a catch up with friends. But now those with a competitive streak or just a love of board games have somewhere new to try out. Those at Thirsty Meeples café in Gloucester
Contract signed for superfast service to 67,000 homes THOUSANDS of homes and businesses will soon have faster broadband as part of a £25m investment boost. Oxfordshire County Council last night revealed that BT had been selected as its commercial
Passengers on a Stagecoach bus had to switch services after a fault which meant the doors stayed open. The number two service from Kidlington to Oxford city centre was delayed shortly after 8am yesterday. Stagecoach blamed a door hinge mechanism
THE only non-academy secondary school in Oxford has ditched its bid to convert. After consulting with parents, staff, pupils and the wider community, the governors of Matthew Arnold School, in Arnold’s Way, Cumnor Hill, have decided against a change
THE A329 at Milton Common is still closed after an accident and subsequent fuel spillage last night. There are delays on the M40 at junction 7 as a result of the closure between Great Milton and Little Milton. It followed an accident at around
ONE of Oxford’s biggest churches has completed the first phase of its major £5m construction project. And on Sunday, the Archbishop of Birmingham came to visit the Oxford Oratory in Woodstock Road. One of just three Roman Catholic oratories
WIND farm policy in North Oxfordshire could be reviewed over concerns that it allows turbines to be located too near homes. Cherwell District Council (CDC) is set to probe its 2011 policy over fears that it could face high costs over planning battles
