Oxford News
New health scheme for those using weight loss medication
The scheme is being rolled out across three Oxford leisure centres for people taking GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Semaglutide.
Leisure Solutions Community Trust (LSCT), which operates five leisure centres on behalf of Oxford City Council, introduced the support programme.
It is designed to offer specialist fitness guidance tailored to people using weight loss medication.
Sarah Berne, health and wellbeing manager for Serco Leisure, which operates the centres in partnership with LSCT, said: “With increasing numbers of people using weight loss medications, the programme aims to help customers lose weight safely while protecting muscle mass.
“While GLP-1 medications can support weight loss, exercise remains essential, and this programme ensures customers have access to qualified instructors who can help them maintain strength, confidence and overall health.”
The scheme is available at Barton Leisure Centre, Leys Pools and Leisure Centre, and Ferry Leisure Centre.
Customers can book sessions through the Oxford City Leisure website.
Oxford City Councillor Chewe Munkonge said: “This new service offered by LSCT will help people using weight loss medication to stay active and reach their health goals. I am pleased that this service is available to provide extra support for those who need it.”
Each centre will have a fitness instructor specifically trained to support users of GLP-1 medication.
The programme focuses on building strength and supporting healthy weight loss.
Oxford News
Faringdon school gets new sensory garden thanks to Tesco
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.
Oxford News
Pictures to celebrate World Poetry Day 2026 in Oxfordshire
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.
Oxford News
All the Oxfordshire locations used as TV and film sets
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.
Blenheim Palace featured as a key movie set for the James Bond film, Spectre, when it was dressed up as the Palazzo Cardenza in Rome, 2015 (Image: Andrew Walmsley)
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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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