Oxford student, 19, dies after ‘jumping in river’ to celebrate end-of-year exams
First year had been 'the best period of my life so far', Wesley Akum-Ojong said.
An Oxford university student who died in a river while celebrating the end of his exams has been named locally as Wesley Akum-Ojong.
Wesley, 19, had only just finished the ‘best period’ of his life so far when he reportedly drowned in the River Thames wearing full academic dress.
The Politics, Philosophy and Economics student at Brasenose College died after being pulled from the water near Port Meadow on June 21.
A witness told The Sun they saw students leaping into the water from the Thames Path footbridge by Fiddler’s Island.
‘Unfortunately towards the end, one man wearing academic dress jumped in and drowned before he could make it back to the bank,’ they told the tabloid.
Writing on the college’s blog in April, Wesley said his first year at the university had been like no other.
‘It’s odd to think I only have eight weeks left of being a first year,’ he wrote.
‘So much has changed, and I’ve made so many great memories. It feels both like I arrived just yesterday but also as if I’ve been here for years.
‘There really is no place like Brasenose.’
For Wesley, university wasn’t quite what he expected it to be. It was less about ‘aesthetic study dates straight out of Pinterest’ and more about being at the ‘friendliest college’ in Oxford.
The former Watford Grammar School for Boys student added: ‘Sometimes I forget I go to *the* Oxford University everyone is always talking about. Even after two terms, living and studying here feels surreal.
‘Admittedly, making it here was always part of the plan but that does not mean I had no worries before actually coming.
‘Are the tutors really that mean? What if I don’t fit in? Did I really have to book all my meals the day before?
‘Of course, none of these fears materialised, and arriving in Oxford started (possibly) the best period of my life so far.’
Wesley was a big name on campus, acting as the ‘racial and ethnic minorities rep and maintaining my 100% BOP (Big Organised Parties – college socials) attendance rate’.
Emergency services pulled Wesley out of the river along Port Meadow, about 1.6 miles north of Oxford city centre, before taking him to hospital where he died.
The University of Oxford confirmed last month that a student had died ‘in tragic circumstances’.
‘The College is in touch with the family and has been offering support to the student body,’ a statement said.
Police initially described Wesley’s death as ‘unexplained’ before ruling out third-party involvement.
An inquest into his death will open midday Friday at Oxfordshire Coroner’s Court, according to the county council.
Jean-Pierre Du Pon, of the community group Cameroonian Solidarity UK, added on Facebook: ‘It is with great sorrow and sorrow that we learn of the demise of our young compatriot Wesley Agbor-Ashu Akum Ojong at just 19 years of age, in a hospital in the city of Oxford where he resided and studied.
‘Our fraternal thoughts go to his parents but also to the whole family of the Cameroonian diaspora in the UK.’
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