Shropshire Star

Charles marks achievements of women students on visit to Oxford University

Somerville College has Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy L Sayers, Dorothy Hodgkin and Shirley Williams among its alumni.

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The Prince of Wales

The Prince of Wales has celebrated the contribution of female students to life at Oxford University with a visit to one of its celebrated colleges.

Charles toured Somerville College established 140 years as a place for women to study during the late Victorian era when society and academia were against women undergraduates.

His visit also marked 100 years of Oxford degrees for women and the prince met research students from the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development.

Former prime minister Margaret Thatcher studied at the college as did her Indian counterpart Indira Gandhi, the acclaimed writer Dorothy L Sayers, Nobel Laureate Dorothy Hodgkin and the politician Shirley Williams.

In 1994, the college began admitting men as well as women and today its student population stands at 435 undergraduates and 243 postgraduate students from all over the world.

During the visit Charles chatted to research students from the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development and about their projects.

The Prince of Wales arrives for a visit to the Oxford India Centre (Jacob King/PA)
The Prince of Wales arrives for a visit to the Oxford India Centre (Jacob King/PA)

He was told about the use of satellites to identify areas suitable for sustainable forestry and learnt how another researcher was studying water risks to help cities manage water supplies.

When the prince was introduced to the only man in the group he joked: “They do allow men in!”

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