The events of 2020 are unprecedented in living memory and the impact on daily life at Oxford University of the COVID-19 pandemic is profound. This crowd-sourcing project, run by the English Faculty and IT Services in collaboration with the Museum of Oxford, wishes to capture the diverse daily lives of staff and students and how University life has changed as a result of the pandemic.

Lockdown2020 is looking for contributions from any member of staff or student at the University of Oxford.  Tell us about the lockdown by sharing (one or more of the following):

  • A description of your typical day/or plan for your day
  • Pictures from your 'new normal' life (anything that represents your daily life in lockdown, or what is happening in your neighbourhood)
  • A message to the future - a short time capsule message for future staff, students, and historians of the University describing the current times (audio, video, or text)

[Update for Student Submissions: All student entries invited to enter into a £100 National Book Tokens prize draw in 10th week]

[N.B. Please do not upload any material you do not hold the rights for, or any images or recordings of individuals without their consent.]

Click here to share any or all of the above

Click here to browse our current submissions

All contributions will go into a digital archive of memories for current and future generations to explore and study. The collection will be available online, so please only share what you are happy for everyone to see and ahve rights/consent for. Material will be shared under the Creative Commons licence CC-BY-NC. 

If you find you are having difficulties coping with the lockdown please see  the University's Guidance and Latest News, the NHS's 10 Tips on Wellbeing, and Public Health England's Guide to Wellbeing and Health. 

This project is funded by the Higher Education Innovation Fund and ESRC Impact Acceleration Account through the University of Oxford’s COVID-19: Economic, Social, Cultural, & Environmental Impacts - Urgent Response Fund.

Latest Contributions

  • Easter in lockdown

    I found it disconcerting, at first, how my sense of time seemed to warp under lockdown. Despite the worrying headlines, being together with my whole family at home made it feel oddly like Christmas. Squaring this psychologically with my preparations for finals was difficult. None of the usual rituals that would have marked the passing of Trinity Term - and the end of my degree - were possible to recreate in any real way. It was hard enough keeping track of the days of the week. Walking daily in the area around my home did turn into a kind of routine, though. I also found myself appreciating more than before the subtle changes in the countryside as we moved into summer.

  • Finals in Lockdown

    The experience of doing final examinations during the lockdown has been surreal, to say the least. Waiting for the slow-acting faculties to provide us information on our new exam structures and then adjusting to new formats and regulations for exams and a new environment for revision was difficult but thanks to the help of my Oxford friends in similar positions and a few extremely dedicated tutors at Pembroke we managed to overcome a lot of the challenges posed. It’s been difficult to balance the host of personal and home life issues that have been created as a result of the coronavirus and being in lockdown with family for 3 months, but thanks to the regular revision classes organised and by maintaining a daily evening call to check in with my tutorial partner I was able to keep persevering on. The sheer amount of events and content produced by the Pembroke JCR and other societies such as the Oxford LGBTQ+ Society was impressive and really touching to see - despite the loss of what was meant to be a memorable final experience in Oxford enjoying the best it has to offer, it was comforting to still feel like part of a community till the very end of our degrees.

  • Lockdown fires

    I have moved back to my family home in Darwen, Lancashire, for lockdown. This has allowed me to spend time in wide open spaces from my doorstep, with my family and our dog (the only member of the household afforded public displays of affection). Before the start of lockdown, I bought some dumbbells and a skipping rope, and the twice-a-week circuit training, as well as runs on the moor, with my brother has turned me into a robot that doesn't notice time passing. How has my routine changed? For one thing, I am still getting used to the weekly cleaning rota in our household. My uni bedroom got hoovered once every 3 months...

  • Baking in lockdown

    Baking has really helped me to feel calm during these horrible times. I found an oat chocolate chip cookie recipe I love, and the methodical approach it outlines helps my mind focus on what’s right in front of me.
Browse all
Next