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Balliol College, founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.
Traditionally, the undergraduates are amongst the most politically active in the university, and the college's alumni include several former prime ministers. Balliol attracts more international students than the other undergraduate colleges.
During Benjamin Jowett's Mastership in the 19th century, the College rose from its relative obscurity to occupy the first rank of colleges, and indeed continues to play a prominent role. Herbert Asquith once described Balliol men as possessing "the tranquil consciousness of an effortless superiority".
1 History
The College was founded around 1263 by John de Balliol under the guidance of the Bishop of Durham. After his death in 1269, his widow, Dervorguilla of Galloway, made arrangements to ensure the permanence of the College. She provided capital, and in 1282, formulated the College Statutes, documents that survive to this day.
2 Student Life
The college provides its students with a broad range of facilities
including accomodation, the great hall (refectory), a library, three bars, and separate common rooms for the fellows, the graduates and undergraduates. There are also garden quadrangles and a nearby sportsground and boat-house. The sportsground is mainly used for cricket, tennis, hockeyField hockey is a popular sport for men and women in many countries around the world. It is simply known as hockey in most countries, especially those in which ice hockey is not very prominent. Field hockey has several regular, prestigious international t and soccer. The undergraduates are housed within the main college or in the modern annexes around the sportsground. CroquetThis article is about the game. For the Dutch delicatesse see: Croquet (food). Croquet is a recreational game and, latterly, a competitive sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing aren may be played in the Master's Field in the summer. The graduates are housed mainly within Holywell Manor which has its own bar, gardens, canteen, common room, laundry and computing facilities. Balliol is proud to have a long standing Music Society which organises four free Sunday evening concerts in the College Hall each term.
Balliol also takes pride in its college tortoise, Rosa, named after the notable GermanThe word German can mean: From or related to Germany or its predecessor states see also the German language Germanic tribes Holy Roman Empire ( 843- 1806) German Confederation ( 1815- 1866) North German Confederation ( 1867 1871) German Empire ( 1871- 191 Marxist Rosa LuxemburgRosa Luxemburg ( March 5, 1870 or 1871 January 15, 1919) was a Polish and German Jewish Marxist politician, socialist philosopher, and revolutionary. She was a social democratic theorist of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, and later the Independent. Each June, pet tortoises from various Oxford colleges are brought to Corpus Christi College, OxfordCorpus 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. History The college was where they participate in a very slow race; Balliol's own Rosa has competed and won many times. Taking care of the resident tortoise is one of the many tasks assigned to Balliol students each year. Sadly, Rosa has gone missing.
