1999 Wadham VHS now on YouTube!

Keeper of the Archives, Jeffrey Hackney, recently had photos and analogue media items from our archives digitised, including this VHS tape. This was made possible by a grant from the William and Edith Oldham Charitable Trust, courtesy of our recently sadly deceased alumnus, Paul Oldham.

We've now released the digitised version of the VHS on YouTube for all to enjoy and experience this part of Wadham's history.

Which part of history is it from, exactly? It appears to be from the late 90s, probably released in 1999. The film features the Merifield site, "built in 1997", so it cannot be older than that. A number printed on the bottom of the VHS itself reads, "260599", which plausibly represents 26th May 1999.

The film is titled, 'Wadham' with the secondary title, 'Student Life in Wadham College'. The blurb from the original VHS case reads:

"'Wadham' is introduced by Melvyn Bragg, Honorary Fellow and Graduate of the college. We see students at work and in 'tutorial', see their accommodation and the sports and leisure facilities they enjoy. Wadham is shown to be a relaxed and friendly college with a real sense of community - and with an excellent academic record."

Melvyn Bragg again picks out Wadham's welcoming atmosphere and academic excellence in the closing scene - strengths that Wadham retains to this day.