Oxford News
Harry Potter star Emma Watson ‘happiest and healthiest’ ever
The 35-year-old Harry Potter star is currently studying at Oxford University, in the city where she grew up, having opted to study a Master’s degree in creative writing in September 2023.
It was announced last year that Ms Watson had switched to a DPhil while on her acting break, and she previously had studied at two local schools, the Dragon School and Headington School.
The actress is well known for her iconic role as Hermione Granger in all eight of the Harry Potter films, released from 2001 to 2011.
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Last week, she attended the W magazine and Dior’s pre-Oscar dinner ahead of the Academy Awards.
Elle magazine has reported that she said she is the “happiest and healthiest” she has ever been after stepping back from public life.
She said: “I think what’s interesting about being an actor is there’s a tendency to sort of fracture yourself into multiple personalities.
“I’m not just talking about the roles you play, but having the weight of a public persona, that sort of needs constant feeding and sprucing and glamorising.
“It’s very energy-intensive stuff.
“And shedding the multiple identities has freed up so much space, I think, for me to be a better sister, daughter, friend, granddaughter and then artist.
“And someone who’s trying to do some critical thinking of her own.”
Ms Watson has been on an acting break since her appearance in 2019’s Little Women and has been focusing on her studies in Oxford in recent years.
Last week, it was reported by National Enquirer that the 35-year-old does not have to work another day in her life due to the “mountain of money” that she’s allegedly sitting on.
The garden has been developed at Folly View Primary School and is designed to support pupil wellbeing, creativity, and personal growth by providing a calming and engaging outdoor space.
Funding for the project was secured through a £1,500 grant from the Tesco Community Grants scheme, made possible by votes from shoppers using blue tokens at the Faringdon store.
Muddy Spades, a local gardening business led by Royston Oxendale, also played a key role in bringing the garden to life by donating plants and building bespoke planters for the space.
Richard Evans, chief executive of Cambrian Learning Trust, said: “This wonderful sensory garden is a testament to what can be achieved when a community comes together with a shared purpose.
“At Cambrian Learning Trust, we are proud to see Folly View Primary School bringing its core values of belonging, kindness, and aspiration to life in such a meaningful way.
“This space will not only enhance pupils’ wellbeing but also inspire curiosity, resilience, and a lifelong love of learning.”
The garden will also support the school’s gardening club, offering pupils hands-on opportunities to care for plants and learn about the environment.
The school has thanked Tesco Faringdon, Muddy Spades, the PTA, and everyone involved in turning the garden into a reality.
UNESCO first adopted March 21 as World Poetry Day during its 30th General Conference in Paris, with the aim of supporting linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increasing the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard.
The heritage organisation said: “World Poetry Day is the occasion to honour poets, revive oral traditions of poetry recitals, promote the reading, writing and teaching of poetry, foster the convergence between poetry and other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting, and raise the visibility of poetry in the media.”
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This time on Looking Back, we’ve found a selection of fantastic poetry celebrations in Oxfordshire from the year 2014, now 12 years ago.
Language lovers converged for the day of celebration on bookshops, schools, at recitals and conferences.
Take a look back through this Oxford Mail archive gallery to find pictures from a decade ago of World Poetry Day celebrations in Oxfordshire.
We’ve made a gallery of pictures showing all the Oxfordshire spots which have been used for TV and film sets over the years.
Some of the biggest productions filmed here in Oxfordshire include Spectre in the James Bond franchise, which transformed Blenheim Palace in Woodstock into the Palazzo Cardenza in Rome.
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Many period dramas were also created in the county, like the BBC adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, which was partly filmed at Chastleton House in the Cotswolds.
Cotswolds villages have been repeatedly transformed and used as filming locations for their historical appeal, like the villages of Brill, Broadwell and Castle Combe.
Find all the pictures in this archive gallery of historic Oxfordshire filming locations here.
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