Here at TOG it’s time to celebrate those college mothers right here in Oxford! Yes, that’s right, upon arrival at Oxford you are adopted by your very own college family - generally students in their second or third years, who are there to look out for you and answer any questions you might have during your first year! Let me tell you about my beautiful mother/daughter bond which developed at Oxford: My college husband and I were delighted to have a lovely fresher bestowed upon us during our first year vac. We spent time writing a welcoming letter, attempting to show that though Oxford may seem a little bizarre from the outside, it it’s an incredible place to study and full of fun! We were so excited when our college daughter got in touch to ask us questions about starting. Only a year ago we knew nothing and now we were all clued up! Then Freshers’ Week arrived and it was time for us to meet. My college daughter’s first glimpse of her new mother was perhaps not what you might expect; I was standing on a chair in the college bar dancing and singing away to a cheese tune blaring out from the juke box! I cringed as a spotted her but would you believe it, she came right over and joined in! At that moment I just knew we were to have a wonderful mother/daughter bond... We became best of friends, whether it be partying together, drinking endless cups of tea, hosting dinners and later going on holiday together. Whilst over time I got up know lots of other students in Anna’s year, our family bond made our friendship a truly special one which I know will last forever 💙 Happy Mother’s Day to all those college mothers out there - whether you ended up being besties with your college children or simply offered a little smile or wave across the quad in those first few weeks of term, you were there for your child at the scary moment of transition when they entered Oxford!