Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It tends to perform well academically but as a small college does less well in sporting activities within the University. However, it has won the annual sporting challenge against its larger sister college, Corpus Christi Cambridge, for six consecutive years (as of February 2005).

History

The college was founded in 1517 by Richard Fox, the bishop of Winchester. Although originally intended as a traditional training college for secular clergy, under the influence of Hugh Oldham, it became the foremost humanist enterprise in Oxford, the model for many subsequent foundations. Fox was a humanist and interested in classical literature. He founded a library which was very progressive for the time. The library included books in Latin, Greek and even Hebrew - and was praised by Erasmus on a visit to Oxford as a "biblioteca trilinguis"

The humanistic ideas of the founder are still important to the college today, with a continued emphasis on the teaching of Latin, Ancient Greek, and ancient history.

The college attempts to select the brightest students regardless of their social background. Corpus Christi has around 330 students, which makes it one of the smaller colleges in Oxford.

Notable Former Students

• Al Alvarez
• Isaiah Berlin
• Robert Bridges
• Alfred William Hunt
• John Keble
• David Miliband
• James Oglethorpe
• John Ruskin
• Vikram Seth
• Nicholas Udall
• William Waldegrave
• Richard Hooker
• John Rainolds

Academics/Teachers

Sir Brian Harrison, Editor, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

External link

• Official website

• Corpus Christi College JCR - JCR/students' union page