Oxford News
Saïd Business School appoints first Poet Laureate
Dr Athol Williams & Professor Mette Morsing, Saïd Business School
Dr Williams, a Senior Fellow of Management Practice in Strategy at Saïd Business School and an established South African poet, will use the honorary position to integrate poetry more deeply into teaching and learning at the School. While Poet Laureates traditionally compose and advocate for poetry linked to an institution, Dr Williams intends to extend the role to support leadership development, arguing that poetry offers a distinctive way of thinking about ambiguity and human connection.
Dr Athol Williams said: ‘Compassion, judgement, connection, are going to become more critical for leaders. At Oxford Saïd we are developing leaders that the world needs, so we need to be developing leaders with these [very human] capabilities. And I think poetry has a vital role to play in that. Great leaders are ones who can relate to other people in meaningful ways. Poetry is a powerful resource that leaders can draw on.’
Compassion, judgement, connection, are going to become more critical for leaders. At Oxford Saïd we are developing leaders that the world needs, so we need to be developing leaders with these [very human] capabilities. And I think poetry has a vital role to play in that. Great leaders are ones who can relate to other people in meaningful ways. Poetry is a powerful resource that leaders can draw on.
Dr Athol Williams
Professor Mette Morsing, Interim Dean, Saïd Business School, said: ‘Poetry in a business school provides a so far under-appreciated, yet rich, vehicle to sharpen perception, strengthen critical thinking and deepen empathy…. Often treated as mere workplace entertainment, [poetry is] undervalued as a catalyst for organisational transformation and innovation. Athol’s own poetry writings and readings are already legendary and full of impact. We are honoured that [Athol] should undertake this role at Oxford Saïd Business School.’
Research has explored links between poetry and leadership, particularly in relation to critical thinking and the capacity to engage with uncertainty. The interpretive nature of poetry – its use of metaphor, ambiguity and layered meaning – can mirror the complexity of real-world decision-making.
Poetry in a business school provides a so far under-appreciated, yet rich, vehicle to sharpen perception, strengthen critical thinking and deepen empathy.
Professor Mette Morsing
Dr Williams added: ‘We often talk about business, about the complexity of the world, ambiguity in the world. And we want our students to embrace that. But what does embracing mean? Reading poetry is an exercise in untangling complexity. A Tennyson poem doesn’t always jump out at you immediately. You’ve got to think about it. And then, as you think, as you piece it apart, as you apply your mind to it, the power of the poem emerges. For me, that’s an exercise with complexity, in dealing with ambiguity, which we don’t have ways of teaching in other ways. I’m seeing poetry, not only for its beauty and inspiration, but also as a contributor to education.’
Dr Williams has published seven poetry collections and more than one hundred poems in literary journals. Since joining the School in 2023, he has incorporated poetry into lectures and events, including an MBA guest lecture on ‘Poetry and Leadership’, and readings at School events and ceremonies.
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Charlbury-based Richard Coffey launched Bar Trender around six weeks ago to help businesses facing damage, and ultimately closure, from rising costs and economic uncertainty.
In the city, 22 venues have signed up, including pubs in hotspots such as Cowley Road and Jericho.
The venture was seeded while travelling in Australia. There, he noticed Sydney and Melbourne’s bar scenes were built around happy hours, a culture which he said didn’t really exist back in the UK.
After 10 years of hard work, after leaving a London start-up, he pursued the venture with the help of Artificial Intelligence to cut team and budget requirements.
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He said: “I kept finding myself not knowing what was on, where had decent deals, or which pubs had the features I was looking for. The information existed, it just wasn’t anywhere in one place.”
The app, which provides full autonomy to the business, helps to boost their sales by providing visibility and awareness for the consumer.
He says this comes at a time when people are “more conscious than ever about where they spend their money”.
He said: “The idea of being able to see what deals are near you before you decide where to go is genuinely useful right now in a way it perhaps wouldn’t have been five years ago.
“The cost of living crisis has fundamentally changed how people make decisions about going out.
“It’s not that people don’t want to go out, but they’re making more considered choices about where they spend their money.”
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The venture will also support the wider hospitality sector, which is also under “enormous pressure”.
Bar Trender is proud to support Tom Kerridge’s VAT’s The Problem campaign, which is calling for a 10 per cent cut in VAT for hospitality venues.
He said: “Energy costs, wage increases, food and drink inflation and the lingering effects of the pandemic have squeezed margins to the point where venues that were thriving five years ago are now struggling to survive.
“We’re seeing more pub closures than at any point in recent memory and once they are lost, are very rarely replaced.”
A launch event will take place at Plush on Friday, June 16, with free shots and drink vouchers available to anyone who has the app downloaded.
Christopher Farr, owner of the LGBTQ+ night club and bar, said the venue is committed to making clubbing safe, affordable and fun.
He said: “The partnership is the perfect way to communicate our affordable drink deals in a fun and easy to use app.”
Oxfordshire County Council’s SEND reform proposals were discussed by its cabinet on Tuesday, June 16.
They include expanding inclusion in mainstream schools, boosting recruitment of educational psychologists and therapists, and creating inclusion support bases.
Sean Gaul, the council’s cabinet member for children, education and young people’s services, said: “Every child deserves an opportunity to thrive whatever their circumstances and this plan sets out how we will deliver better, more inclusive support for children and young people with SEND.
“We are working closely with partners and with families, children and young people who are at the heart of the SEND system.”
Ofsted has previously recognised recent improvements in Oxfordshire’s SEND services, including better joint commissioning and reduced waiting times.
The plan has been developed in consultation with health partners, schools, and the Oxfordshire Parent Carer Forum, and focuses on early intervention, universal and targeted support, and improved outcomes.
If approved, the council will receive a high needs stability grant, potentially covering up to 90 per cent of its dedicated schools grant deficit.
Mr Gaul said: “It’s a vital step towards improving outcomes while making sure our services are sustainable for the future.”
The reform plan is part of the council’s response to national education reforms, including the ‘Every child achieving and thriving’ Schools White Paper and the ‘putting children and young people first’ SEND consultation.
Councils must submit their SEND reform plans to the Department for Education by 19 June.
The former Top Gear and Grand Tour host delivered the update via social media this evening (Tuesday, June 16) ahead of the release of the final two Clarkson’s Farm episodes.
The fifth series of the highly popular show premiered on June 3 and has already seen Mr Clarkson battling a major health scare and embrace high-tech farming.
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Set at his 1,000-acre Oxfordshire farm Diddly Squat, in addition the latest season has shown the television host planning for the first festive period at his pub The Farmer’s Dog.
However, the next two episodes – which will be released tonight – are set to be very downbeat.
On Instagram, he said he had “sombre news”.
He added: “Ordinarily we try to keep the show bucolic and charming and cheerful.
“But the final two episodes which drop in the middle of the night tonight are none of those things really. They are a difficult watch.
“They’re really, really difficult.”
Reiterating that, the episode titles are ‘Reaping’ and ‘Sickening’ and may show the bovine TB outbreak that occurred at Diddly Squat in 2025.
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It led to the deaths of several animals.
The first series of Clarkson’s Farm premiered in 2021 and was an instant hit with viewers making stars out of its cast which include Mr Clarkson’s partner Lisa Hogan and farm assistant Kaleb Cooper.
It has been renewed for a sixth series.
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