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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Cherwell District Council has backed the plans to transform the 14-hectare brownfield site at Islip Fuel Depot, a former RAF fuel depot near Islip village.
The plans include 150 homes, of which half will be affordable, up to a 70-bed care home and up to 65 retirement units, subject to 20 conditions.
These will replace the decommissioned Islip Fuel Depot off Bletchingdon Road, which was taken over by the Esso Petroleum Company in the 1960s before being shut down in 1991.
Under approval conditions, the developer must contribute almost £5m to local services, councils and police, under S106 contributions.
More than £300,000 will go towards local services. This includes improvements to Household Waste Recycling, Kidlington Library and Islip Medical Practice, or an identified primary care project in the local area.
The district council requested more than £1m in contributions towards enhancing community hall facilities, outdoor and indoor sport provision, a community development worker and fund, and public art.
Oxfordshire County Council requested more than £3.6m in financial contributions, including almost £3m towards primary and secondary education.
Thames Valley Police requested more than £30,000 towards additional staff, vehicles, premises, equipment and ANPR cameras.
In the case officer’s report, Katherine Daniels noted that while the proposal would result in the development of a substantial site on the edge of the village with some landscape and visual harm, weight is given to the benefits.
One of those is the council not being currently able to demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing land.
She said: “The delivery of market housing attracts significant positive weight and the affordable housing provision attracts very substantial positive weight given the acute need for affordable homes across the District.
“National policy and guidance recognise the pressing need to provide accommodation for older persons and specialist housing to meet changing demographics. The proposal would make an important contribution towards addressing that need.”
Weight is also given to the redevelopment of the “largely redundant” brownfield site.
She said: “The proposal would secure remediation of contaminated land, environmental improvements and the beneficial reuse of previously developed land in accordance with national and local planning objectives.”
The site was first thought to be within Oxford Green Belt but officers concluded the site constitutes Grey Belt land.
She said: “The proposal would not result in unacceptable impacts in respect of highway safety, heritage assets, ecology, flooding, drainage, contamination, residential amenity or infrastructure provision.
“These matters can be appropriately addressed through planning conditions and planning obligations.”
Radley College is an independent full boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18, set in the countryside between Oxford and Abingdon.
It occupies the historic Radley Hall estate, with grounds partly landscaped by Capability Brown in the eighteenth century, and has grown to more than 850 acres in the 2020s.
The private school has now come under fire after locals spotted sprinklers being used on the grounds last week despite a hosepipe ban.
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Thames Water announced at the end of last month that a temporary ban would start at 12.01am on Thursday, July 23.
This was due to an exceptionally dry spring, three official heatwaves, record‑breaking temperatures and prolonged high demand.
Sprinklers have been in operation at the Oxfordshire site in recent days, but the school has defended this, citing the water use as fulfilling health and safety needs.
A Radley College spokesperson said: “The safety and wellbeing of everyone using our facilities remains our priority.
“During periods of dry weather, pitches can become extremely hard, increasing the risk of injury to players.
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“To minimise this risk, some of our pitches are watered for health and safety reasons using water from our on-site borehole.”
Pupils partake in a variety of sports throughout the year including rugby union, hockey, rowing, football, cricket, lawn tennis and athletics.
A statement from Thames Water backs up the school’s use of water to maintain the pitches.
The water company said: “Whilst elements of the ban do restrict some business water use, schools and sporting fields / playing surfaces are still permitted to irrigate with mains water.
“This is due to health and safety requirements.”
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The hosepipe ban remains in place currently across Oxfordshire with no end date yet set despite some rainfall last week and more expected in the coming days.
A spokesperson for Thames Water recently said: “We’ll continue to monitor water levels and conditions across the region.
“We’ll lift the hosepipe ban as soon as conditions allow.
“Thank you to everyone who has already reduced their water use- your support is helping protect water supplies for communities and the environment.”
Formerly known as St Peter’s College, Radley, the school was founded in 1847 by Anglican clergymen William Sewell and Robert Corbet Singleton.
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It was inspired by the Oxford Movement to create a Christian, collegiate-style school with an emphasis on beauty and privacy.
As of the 2026/27 academic year, Radley charges £21,216 per term for boarders, inclusive of VAT, meaning annual fees in excess of £63,000.
Notable former pupils include Oxford-born reality TV star and entrepreneur Jamie Laing, best known for Made in Chelsea and his confectionery brand Candy Kittens.
Former England cricket captains Andrew Strauss and Ted Dexter, as well as comedian Peter Cook, all attended Radley College as well.
A series of modernisations and refurbishments at the popular sports hub, based off Hithercroft Road in Wallingford, has culminated in the refurbishment of its clubhouse.
Earlier in the year, the sports park’s main toilets were modernised, the AstroTurf pitches resurfaced, and funding secured to redo the clubhouse bar and main hall.
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The ‘vibrant’ new space was inaugurated on Saturday, August 1, with an open event encouraging people to try out the new facilities and see what the sports park has on offer.
Manager Matthew Bowden-Ford said: “We’ve got a nice fresh look for our main bar area and main hall, as we just needed to modernise.
“The space was in need of a bit of a redesign and funding became available from the local council to make it happen.
“With a busy space like this, we’ll always have other hopes and dreams with a refresh of the facilities, so this won’t be the last work we’re doing.
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“But we want to get across that the clubhouse is here for anyone to come and socialise and enjoy, you don’t have to be a member of a club, a sports team or the sports park, and we’re open to all.
“We’re very much a community hub and we’re here for everyone to enjoy.”
Wallingford Sports Park is run by the Wallingford Sports Charitable Trust and hosts eight sports club and many community activities and events throughout the year.
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