Oxford, Lands End

You may be feeling more scholarly now you've arrived at Oxford University. Did you know it's the second-oldest surviving university in the world?

Although we don't know the exact date of foundation, records exist as far back as 1096, meaning that Bologna University in Italy officially beats Oxford to the title of 'oldest' by a mere eight years. Not to be outdone, Oxford scholars insist that there are documents proving that teaching began in Oxford as early as 825, but these have never seen the light of day. 

If further proof were needed that academics like a squabble - either amongst themselves or in famous town and gown disputes - Cambridge was founded after a bust-up between some scholars and the locals in 1209, forcing them to move north-east. Oxford still doesn't let Cambridge forget that they were there first.

Unlike modern university campuses, Oxford is a series of 38 independent colleges, each self-governing, and with their own rules and activities. Although seen as prime examples of male privilege, the late Victorian period saw the foundation of two all-female colleges, and by the middle of the First World War, women were completing medical training at Oxford on an equal footing with their male counterparts. Famous - and infamous - alumni include Sir Walter Raleigh (who left without completing his degree) and most British Prime Ministers of the last hundred years or so.

Time to put down your books and get your running shoes back on - you can do it!