Students stage sit-in

STUDENTS AT Oxford University are due to stage a silent demonstration today in protest at the departure of Sir Stephen Tumim from their college.

Undergraduates at St Edmund Hall have already passed a vote of no confidence in dons at the college after Sir Stephen, the former chief inspector of prisons, quit as principal last week.

Around 100 students are planning an hour-long sit-in on the front quad at the 13th- century college to call for a greater say in the way St Edmund Hall is run.

The Junior Common Room president, John Houghton, who represents undergraduates, sits on the college's governing body, but has to leave if dons debate "reserved" matters.

Students are angry at what they see as the secrecy surrounding Sir Stephen's departure, which followed "differences of opinion" within the college. St Edmund Hall's vice-principal has denied any rift between the former judge and academic staff.