THE OLDEST STUDENT AT OXFORD is studying an interesting subject:

In a class of her own

Gertrud Seidmann finished her first degree in 1943. Today she is working towards another - at the age of 86. Laura Barton asks her about alcohol, archaeology and the appeal of academia

Friday June 23, 2006
The Guardian

Age has always been something of a matter of pride for Oxford University - it is, after all, the oldest university in the English-speaking world. But a tussle for the title of "Oxford's oldest student" began recently, when an article in the Daily Telegraph declared 78-year-old former High Court judge Sir Oliver Popplewell, currently an undergraduate at Harris Manchester College studying politics, philosophy and economics, to be the wearer of the crown. Erroneously, according to Professor Michael Vickers, of Jesus College. "I am the supervisor of Miss Gertrud Seidmann of Wolfson College," he wrote to correct the newspaper, "who is studying for a [higher degree] at the age of 86."

Indeed, since October 2004, Seidmann has been at Wolfson College pursuing an M Litt on the life and achievements of Greville Chester, a 19th-century clergyman "who became an assiduous traveller to Egypt and the near east, and an expert on archaeological artefacts which he collected for museums". ...

Among many other things, Rev. Chester acquired both Cairo Geniza fragments and Aramaic Elephantine papyri during his career. I hope I get the chance to read Miss Seidmann's M.Litt. dissertation.