JON SNOW certainly lit up Oxford Brookes University after delivering his final lecture as Chancellor.

The Channel 4 news presenter unveiled a new scheme to light up the university's main campus along with stretches of Headington Road and Gipsy Lane.

About 20 trees in and around the university are being lit to mark the start of the university's £150m campus redevelopment programme, the first priority being to transform its main Gipsy Lane site with a new iconic building and public square facing onto Headington Road.

The first phase sees a major tree lighting scheme and new flags on the Headington Road and within the campus to signal people's arrival at the University.

The lighting will be there for 18 months, but Brookes hopes it could become a permanent feature and be extended to the Headington Hill campus.

The tree lighting scheme on Headington Road uses energy-efficient LED lights, which when turned on during an evening uses approximately the same amount of energy as boiling a kettle.

Jon Snow said: "In my time as Chancellor I have seen Brookes mature into a University that is producing world-class work that has a huge impact on people's lives.

"Oxford is blessed with two great universities and Brookes' plans for its campuses mean that it will at last have a physical environment to match its reputation. This will be a major asset to both Brookes and the city.

"I am excited about the prospect of a modern gateway to Oxford and honoured that one of my final tasks as Chancellor will be to unveil to the first stage of a programme that will transform the way people see Brookes."

Jon Snow is due to step down as Chancellor this year after seven years in post. His successor will be announced later this year. Jon Snow's final lecture was an assessment of the true state of the age we live in entitled:"Threat and Illusion...the best of times or the worst of times?