Crime & Safety
Oxford professor’s world record marathon in academic dress
Alexander Betts, who completed the 26.2-mile race in full academic dress, has so far raised £3,458 for Helen & Douglas House.
To qualify for the record, he wore a mortarboard, gown, black trousers, bow tie, long-sleeve shirt, and socks. Fortunately, he was allowed to wear trainers.
He wanted to use his platform as a professor and as pro-vice chancellor at the university to “support an incredible charity and raise awareness of the work they do” and show Oxford professors “don’t have to take themselves seriously all of the time.”
Since crossing the line in two hours and 55 minutes last month (April), he has been stopped by people across Oxfordshire wanting to talk about the run — from school gates and Parkrun to his role at the university.
“The reaction has been so positive,” he said. “In Oxford, we’ve historically had the ‘town and gown’ divide and this is a way of showing that academics are engaged in the community.”
In order to juggle his work and family commitments, he would go running, with a mortarboard on, with a friend at around 6.15am on most mornings to make it back in-time for breakfast.
While running along river towpaths, he would overhear people mutter “why on earth is he wearing that?”
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The race itself was not without challenges, with warm conditions made tougher by the full academic outfit as beady-eyed adjudicators watched his every move around the course.
His adjudicators weren’t the only ones keeping an eye on him during the challenge. He said: “My students were quite amused and sent me clips they had taken during the marathon and that they had seen of me on social media.”
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Despite the conditions, he said he began to realise midway through the race that he was on track to beat the record, as long as his mortarboard stayed in place.
He said: “I was enjoying interacting with the crowd so I wasn’t really thinking about my time much for the first half of the race, but it was a relief to have done what I set out to do.”
He said Sir Roger Bannister’s “much more significant” four-minute mile world record “has always been a source of inspiration”.
He added: “The university organised Bannister Miles a week after my marathon, and it was especially touching to be congratulated on my own world record by members of the Bannister family.”
Beyond the record, he hopes the attention will continue to highlight the importance of hospice care.
“Hospices rely heavily on public support,” he said. “I hope this has helped raise awareness of the incredible work they do.”
Olly Glover, MP for Didcot and Wantage, was in attendance at the ground-breaking event last week as were councillors Chris Walters and Andy Crawford.
Construction will take about 18 months and so the hub should be launched early in 2028.
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According to the Kingsgrove, Wantage, website when complete the hub will include a multi-purpose hall, co-working spaces, a café, meeting rooms and outdoor gardens.
It will be run by a dedicated company, the Kingsgrove Community Hub, and the construction work is being delivered by local builder Edgar Taylor.
During the construction period the public square and adjacent parking spaces will be closed for the contractors and there are plans in place to minimise disruption including noise and dust.
Oxford Montessori School, an independent school in Elsfield near Oxford, will now be known as Oxford Millwood School.
As part of the celebrations, it is inviting families and members of the community to celebrate with them at a rural-themed open day.
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The name change pays homage to the heritage and geography of the school site by recognising the mills in the local area, as well as its woodland setting.
The school said some of its buildings feature ‘Hogwarts-esque’ architecture.
Hogwarts is the name of the fictional school in JK Rowling’s popular Harry Potter series.
Katie Townsend, headteacher at Oxford Millwood School, said: “This is an historic occasion for our school which has played an instrumental role in nurturing generations of children over the past three decades.
“The name change not only better reflects the rural environment that our pupils learn in, but also our ambitious academic curriculum which they follow all the way up to GCSE.
“Our unique woodland setting means that we are able to teach subjects in an engaging way by integrating nature and the outdoors into many different subjects, while enabling our pupils to flourish at their own pace.
“The open day is a great opportunity for parents and children not only to take in our setting, but to also speak to teachers about the benefits of our small class sizes, individual learning pathways, and our approach to harnessing confidence and wellbeing.”
During the open day, which is taking place on Thursday, May 21 between 10am and 2pm, families can explore the grounds of the school, as well as take part in activities that reflect school life, including forestry activities.
There will also be a special performance of maypole dancing, and details about the school’s involvement in the Duke of Edinburgh programme.
Those wishing to attend are asked to book ahead by visiting www.oxfordmillwoodschool.co.uk
The all-ability school – which is part of Blenheim Schools – includes specialist SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) expertise and is proud to provide personalised education for pupils aged four to 16.
George, a Year 11 pupil at Oxford Millwood School, added: “Before I came to this school I hardly ever spoke, but here I am made to feel like my teacher wants to get to know me and help me to learn.
“Also, because of the smaller groups my voice is heard in class where I can ask questions and share my ideas.
“I really like the new name of the school, and I hope the open day helps other children to find out more about the great buildings and outdoor spaces that we have here.”
A large police presence is close to Oxford amid an ongoing 999 incident
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