The Dragon School is one of England's best known prep schools. Big names that once attended include…read moreTim Henman, Hugh Laurie and John Mortimer. It's mixed, so boys and girls from 8-13 share classes and are prepared for entry tests into various high-performing schools across the country. The pupils are recognisable by their distinctive uniform of checked dresses and long socks for the girls and smart suits for the boys. There is a mixture of boarders and day pupils. The school dates back to 1877 when it was known as Oxford Preparatory School. The story goes that an early headmaster was called George and his enormous popularity resulted in the pupils naming the school 'The Dragon School' as a patriotic reference to connections between George and the dragon. The school property consists of 15 acres spreading along the River Cherwell. Whilst many of the buildings are nothing special from the outside, the sports grounds are impressive and extensive, and children can often be seen playing in sports matches in the later afternoon and at weekends. At its famous Christmas fair to raise money for Oxford charities, the prizes are a cut above the food hampers and bottles of Champagne: here, the prizes at the auction include tickets to film premieres and 18-course dinners at the country's top restaurants. This is partly possible because of parents with connections, and recent auctions have raised over £100,000! Just imagine how much sweets in their tuck shop must cost!

We were on a guided walking tour of Oxford. The city of Oxford is demonated by Oxford University…read morewhich is actually comprised of 41 separate colleges and it dates back to around 1096. Some of the buildings are open to the public - some are not. We were there on a Sunday and most were not. I was happy to be on a guided walking tour with a tour guide who was knowledgeable about the university. I would highly encourage a guided tour if you have the time. This is a beautiful campus/city and there is a wealth of history attached to both the city and the university. This was definitely worth the trip from London where we were staying.

Quality/Quantity - Wanted to take a break from all that tourist stuff, so we decided to visit…read moreOxford University. Did not realize that they had so many "schools" here. We tried to find the main campus, but struggled. Was it because we came on a Saturday? Or because we came after all the students already started summer break a few weeks ago. My wife was happy to come during the break; I prefer visiting during the school year to see the liveliness. Overall, we had a good time visiting as many of their schools, libraries, campuses, churches, etc. as possible. Was not surprised that this place was so touristy; schools make so much additional $$ giving paid tours and/or charging admissions to enter. Also, we were fortunate enough to have visited when the museum sponsored a free event for the kids, see pictures. Lastly, I took a nice local beer break in one of their libraries. So cool to be able to have a beer in a library, might be a first for me. Back in my college days, we had to go to the student union pub. Atmosphere - Beautiful, cool, and historic. Schools spread out over a few mile radius, so be prepared to walk if you want to visit. We grabbed a hop on hop off map as a guide of places to visit, see picture. Service - Good. Price - Depends on which schools tour and admission costs. A few, very few, campuses were free. Owner Comment - Great town to visit, nice break from London. I suggest visiting during the school year.

This little retreat for schoolkids, out in the hilly Cotswolds, West of Oxford, had many famous…read morepatrons back in the day. Hillend Of Troy, for one. Hillend Keller. Hillend Hunt. Hillend Mirren. And of course, Hillendary Clinton, who will hopefully be our next President, and our first female President - about f***ing time. I actually think we should only have female Presidents from now on. Who's with me? No, I meant, who's with me, as in, with me tonight at my place for some good sweet lovin', Chef from South Park style? I thought so. See you there. It's review #1993 because that was one of the years I visited here as a little kid. The irony (which isn't at all ironic, so call me Alanis) is that after all these years, my Dad has bought a large Pub way out in the countryside, and to drive from Oxford to the Pub, you have to drive right past Hill End. For years I was wondering where the hell this place was that I went so many times as a kid... and now it's all up in my face and shizz. So basically it's a farm, a barn, a countryside cabin of sorts, in the middle of nowhere, but not far from Oxford. It's close to some large, scary electrical pylons. It's the setting where I first invented "All Night Radio" which tormented all of my classmates during sleepovers. I got felt up by a girl here, and we hadn't even hit the teenage years yet. Little did she know I wasn't even a virgin. And then there's the electric fence. I didn't know it was electrified, and received a very creepy full-body electric shock from it. It didn't injure me or knock me to the ground, but still to this day, I'm afraid of electricity. It loses a star for me getting electrocuted, and for often not having power or heat. Brrr. Schools from all over the area would send their kids here for overnights and field trips and such. Maybe it was cheap, or something. Free, maybe. I didn't really love it but at the same time the memories are great, looking back. Especially in the late 90s, not long before I ran away to America, when my high school was sending a final group of kids to Tanzania for the last time, before ending the exchange link forever. I was only 13, and you had to be 16 or so to go on it. So I wrote a long essay and begged them to take me, explaining that I only signed up for that High School to go on that exchange trip (haha). Then they took me and all the other applicants out to Hill End for a weekend, and then to Weymouth for a weekend too, and despite my "All Night Radio" antics, I was selected to go... and that month changed my life completely. I'm looking forward to going back to Tanzania one day, even though I'm more than twice as old as I was when I was last there. Anyway, I'm rambling. All of my stories aside, this is a wonderful farm/barn for kids in the area. It's even more wonderful today, I've heard, because they've jazzed it up and it looks better and has more to do. It will always hold fond memories for me. And if Jessie Errey and Jack Pinnington are out there anywhere, I love you guys. Elly Patullo, Gaby Barker-Boland, Anna Shelton, Nickie, Hayley Dalton... all of you too. Zaki El-Salahi as well. Seadna... yeah. Kind of. And hi to my teachers Sheila Norris, Denise Margetts and the indomitable, wonderful, memorable Guy "Gay" Blair, whose nickname was given to him in Tanzania. Thank you all for the memories of Hill End. Be well and be safe and be in touch. As for my gf, well, boys actually pay her to be under her "Heel End." Which is pretty awesome.