The Iris Project

As half term begins, we're busy installing new and exciting displays ready for next term! Our amazing mural artist Luke McDonnell arrives this morning to transform this wall with Greek myths and constellations, as part of our project celebrating the Radcliffe Observatory - watch this space!!

Find out what we've been up to in our October newsletter here! tinyurl.com/4rp88fnv

Follow a mystery artefact trail through winding tunnels to reach our celebration of Oread, with books, drinks, chat, activities and more! Can you solve the mystery from the artefacts? A trail and event for all ages at our Rumble Museum and Iris Classics Centre. Details here: tinyurl.com/d48cwkrb

Yesterday afternoon, we held our Victorian Festival at Cheney School which saw the arrival of the first ever Ferris Wheel into the centre of the school! There was also penny farthings, blacksmithing, magic and more... Big thank you to all who took part!

Victorian gothic is starting to creep into the corridors, corners and classrooms of Cheney School, as we prepare for our Victorian Festival on Thursday... From Bram Stoker to Conan Doyle, come and explore some of our activity stalls! tinyurl.com/ynpwt73c

We had a fascinating talk from Professor Bruno Currie @ox.ac.uk this afternoon on the legend of Dido in Virgil. Our A Level Latinists much enjoyed exploring the many intertextual layers in the Aeneid and thinking about the poem's possible meanings.

We welcomed Luke Ranieri to the Classics Centre today to speak to some of our Latinists about the joys and advantages of spoken Latin and Greek. He conducted most of the workshop in Greek and Latin, and even got us all to sing ‘if you’re happy and you know it’ in ancient Greek at the end - ἰού!

We ran a session on monsters in ancient myths this week, and explored how they manifest fears and worries. Then we made our own monsters and shut them in jars!

We are holding a special classics & creative writing cafe at our classics centre for Oread, a new novel which blends sci-fi, ancient Roman religion and utopian/dystopian fiction! It is the sequel to Hamadryad, but can be read as a standalone novel. All welcome - details here: tinyurl.com/ymjzd9n9

Not long now until our our Victorian Festival on 22nd October! There will be a vintage Ferris wheel, blacksmithing at a forge, Penny Farthings, magic shows, a Printing Press, Suffragettes, and more at this free event for all ages. Find out more and book here: tinyurl.com/ynpwt73c

We're excited to have been awarded a National Lottery Grant for our new Sculptures Trail, in collaboration with sculptor Simon Bingle and former BBC Environment Analyst Roger Harrabin! Find out more here: tinyurl.com/yuppkux8

On Tuesday, our Museum Project group visited @hsmoxford.bsky.social to find out more about the role of observatories, and to explore some of the astronomical equipment which belonged to the Radcliffe Observatory! The visit forms part of a year long project supported by @royalsociety.org.

We're happy to announce a new novel, Oread! Two hundred years have passed since the UK government instituted a bold new programme to pair every citizen with a tree. Find out what happens in this sequel to Hamadryad, which can also be read as a standalone novel. tinyurl.com/4n59yy66

The wonderful Lu from Oxford Furniture Makers has finished our latest set of display cabinets at Cheney School! These ones have glass on both sides, and blinds with heat sensors to protect the artefacts! We can't wait to start filling them with our collections.

We're excited to announce our Victorian Festival on 22nd October! There will be blacksmithing at a forge, Penny Farthings, magic shows, a Printing Press, Suffragettes, and more at this free event for all ages. Find out more and book here: tinyurl.com/ynpwt73c

Cheney School's musical connections were on display at @museumofoxford.bsky.social fantastic launch of their Sounds of the City Exhibition. It features musical artefacts from Ride whose members attended Cheney, and showcased a new music magazine, @beat_box_oxford, co-led by two of our Y13s!

We're delighted to announce a talk on the Dido Legend in Virgil's Aeneid by Professor Bruno Currie - more details here: tinyurl.com/mryt2mtp

This is coming up on Saturday! Drop by for postcard-making inspired by Ovid and Oxford! Free and for all ages. apolloandartemisblog.wordpress.com/2026/08/20/o...

Our next Classics & Creative Writing Cafe is this Saturday, and we'll be using the Sirens from the Odyssey as our prompt! No prior knowledge needed. All welcome - find out more here: tinyurl.com/ymjzd9n9

A new term and a new board in the Classics Centre, featuring Greek vase types!

Our next Classics & Creative Writing Cafe is this Saturday, and we'll be using Circe from the Odyssey as our prompt! No prior knowledge needed. All welcome - find out more here: tinyurl.com/ymjzd9n9

We'll be running our Ovid-inspired postcard and storymaking drop-in session again on Saturday 12th September! Free and open to all ages. Find out more here! tinyurl.com/jc28zhjj

A big thank you to everyone who took part in our Astronomy-themed Classics Summer School this week! 50 students learned Latin and Ancient Greek across the three mornings, including a re-enactment of Vesuvius erupting, performing a Greek play, writing on wax tablets, and exploring Roman artefacts!

Our Classics Summer School is almost here! We are full for Latin but have a couple of spaces for ancient Greek... tinyurl.com/ymfkw3sc

On Monday, our mosaic moths were installed! Made by Y7s and 8s and local mosaicist Clare Goodall, each moth represents a moth we have found on site at Cheney School: Black Arches, Large Yellow Underwing, Box-tree, Barred Marble, Heart and Dart, Bud Moth, Orange Pine, Pine Hawk

Thanks to everyone who came to our activity tables at @bodleian.ox.ac.uk today to find out about how Ovid and Oxford inspired The Birder and to make postcards and stories of your own! We loved talking to so many people and we'll be back on Friday!

We're running a story/postcard-making activity tomorrow and Friday at the Weston Library themed on Ovid-inspired novel The Birder as part of the Wonder of Birds Exhibition between 12 and 3 on each day! More info here: visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/summer...

The Oxford mail picked up on our Y12 reviews, summarising with selected quotes here! www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/2640814...

Year Twelves from Cheney School take on Nolan's Odyssey! tinyurl.com/3ynjrevn

A new review of Flower Gatherers, a novel inspired by the Minoans, has just come out! You can take a read here: minoanmystic.org/2026/07/22/a...

Our classics & creative writing cafe is open this morning 10 - 12. You can use a writing prompt from the Iliad and one of our artefacts to inspire you to write, or just come along to sit, chat, listen and read! tinyurl.com/ymjzd9n9

Our next Classics & Creative Cafe is Saturday 4th July, 10 - 12. All welcome to drop in to write, read, chat and relax! More info here: apolloandartemisblog.wordpress.com/2024/12/31/n...

We're a week out from our Nature Late Fest on Thursday 2nd July! Explore the beauty of nature and how we can protect our world. Opening talk by Environmental Analyst Roger Harrabin, stalls, activities, exhibitions, and more for all ages. Find out more here: tinyurl.com/ystrhrrp

As a bit of post-exam fun, and because I watch far too many zombie films, I did a new Classics Centre board. I'm sure there are much better classics-and-zombies ideas out there, so I'm open to all suggestions of additions!

Did you know spiders tune their webs? Our Nature Season kicked off this week with a fascinating talk on spiders by Dr Beth Mortimer @ox.ac.uk, and a visit to the wildflower meadows at Harcourt Arboretum where Y9s identified a range of flowers and grasses!

Next Classics & Creative Writing Cafe this Saturday on the Iliad! Find out more here: apolloandartemisblog.wordpress.com/2024/12/31/n...

A reminder of our forthcoming Nature Late Fest on 2nd July! Explore the beauty of nature and how we can protect our world. Opening talk by Environmental Analyst Roger Harrabin, stalls, activities, exhibitions, and more for all ages. Followed by a Bat Night! Find out more here: tinyurl.com/ystrhrrp

Places are filling up for our eleventh annual Classics Summer School for ages 7 to 11! Themed on star myths and ancient astronomy, learn Latin or Greek alongside games and activities. Find out more here: tinyurl.com/34e4phac

Our May newsletter is now out! Take a read online to find out all about our many projects, talks and workshops connected to the Warneford 200 Exhibition, which we are currently hosting, an exciting new donation, our Nature Late festival and projects, and more! tinyurl.com/2cvz4d6e

Announcing our eleventh annual Classics Summer School for ages 7 to 11! Themed on star myths and ancient astronomy, learn Latin or Greek alongside games and activities. Find out more here: tinyurl.com/yh644pry

Announcing this year's Nature Late Fest! Opening talk by Roger Harrabin, stalls, activities, exhibitions, and more. Followed by a Bat Night! Find out more here: tinyurl.com/ystrhrrp

We are very excited to have received this donation of part of Roman head, originally thought to be from a republican sarcophagus, then preserved in a church in Santa Cornelia in Rome. More information coming soon!

We have been awarded @royalsociety.org Places of Science grant for our Radcliffe Observatory Project! The project will engage young people in its ancient antecedents, and look ahead by measuring thermal landscapes and exploring designs to climate-proof school buildings. tinyurl.com/tfy4tvu9

Reminder that our Writing Nook and Mini Classics Library are open today from 10 - 12. Feel welcome to drop by! tinyurl.com/35fsb257

New Stoicism-themed blackboard in our Classics Centre this term! Not sure students will like the "get up early" advice from Marcus Aurelius...

I forgot to add the dates - 17th to 19th August, mornings only! It's always lots of fun and great experience for university students wanting to go into teaching as a career - drop us an email for further info.

Competition! Do you recognise this English woodland? It is the wood which inspired new novel Hamadryad, and we are offering free copies to anyone who is able to identify where these photos were taken - there are a couple of clues! Details at tinyurl.com/4mdvtctp

Our new weekly writing nook starts this Saturday! Come along to sit and write, think or read, in a beautiful space. We also have a classics library for people to explore. Find out more here: tinyurl.com/35fsb257

A quick reminder that Dr Holly Hunt @ox.ac.uk classics will be visiting to our Classics Centre next week to talk on attitudes to Athenian democracy in Aristophanes' Frogs! More info at tinyurl.com/ym49xcap

As well as our monthly Classics & Creative Writing Cafe, we are starting a weekly "writing nook" for people to sit and write, think, and read in a beautiful space. We also have a classics library for people to explore. Details here: tinyurl.com/35fsb257