The National Union of Teachers organised a huge rally of almost 1,000 parents, teachers and children through Oxford to the steps of County Hall in July 1977 to protest against education cuts.

Here we look back at archive photos taken in the city in 1976 and 1977.

Officials of Oxfordshire County Council were due to meet the Education Secretary, Shirley Williams, to try to settle a teacher dispute.

Oxford Mail:

Teachers wanted the council's education cuts to be revoked and created a petition which had 21,000 signatures.

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At the end of the march, the general secretary of the NUT, Mr Fred Jarvis, praised the Oxford organisers of its protest campaign - the petitioning alone had been done in four days.

Oxford Mail:

Nearly 400 members of the NUT took part in an eight-day strike.

Also in 1977, young women competed to become Miss Oxford.

A holiday for two in Benidorm with £100 spending money was the prize.

Pictured are some of the 70 entrants invited to the preliminary judging for the contest sponsored by the Oxford Mail and Hartwells of Oxford, and held at the Mail offices in Osney Mead.

Twelve of the hopefuls were selected to go forward to the final to be held at Hartwells, before an invited audience at the Gala Evening.

Oxford Mail:

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Following the judging, the entrants were busy choosing evening wear and swimsuits provided free for them by Debenhams to wear for the final - and a chance to win not only the holiday but £50 of cosmetics and a £25 hair dressing voucher, with cash and gifts for the second and third place.