STUDENTS braved the cold from the early hours of yesterday morning to get in the queue for their first-choice property for the next academic year.

North Oxford Property Services is due to release its list of student properties to rent this morning and some students grabbed an early place in the queue.

Second-year music student at Oxford University, Rachel Ballard, 20, was first in the line at 5.45am.

She said: “I have found a house I like and I really want it. It’s worth it to live in a nice house for a year so I’m willing to sacrifice one day.

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“There are four of us and we are working shifts, two hours on, two hours off, so it shouldn’t be too bad.”

Student James Wootton, 20, said: “We’re doing swaps every four hours making sure we don’t lose our place as we’ve been here since 1pm and we’ll still be here tomorrow morning.

“I don’t think it’s a good tradition – Oxford has loads of traditions and much better ones than this. We just view it as a necessity to get the house we want close to campus.”

NOPS director Robin Swailes said: “This has been happening for 25 years. About 20-25 stay overnight.”

“We operate on a first-come, first-served basis. They do have an option. We have 500 properties. They aren’t all going to go but there’s a demand for quality student accommodation.”

NOPS staff provided tea, coffee and bacon sandwiches to those battling the elements.

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