What we know about the Oxford student who tragically drowned while celebrating the end of exams

A full inquest into how an Oxford Uni student drowned has revealed exactly what happened in the lead-up to his death.

19-year-old Wesley Akum-Ojong sadly died on 21st June during a traditional end-of-exams Oxford celebration.

“Trashing” is a University of Oxford ritual. Students at Oxford have to do their exams in full academic dress. When they finish their last one, their friends spray them with things like shaving foam, confetti, prosecco, whipped cream, flour and cake sprinkles. The students then jump off a bridge into the River Thames.

Port Meadow, where Oxford students jump into the river after exams
(Credit: AstacopsisGouldi via Creative Commons)

Wesley Akum-Ojong was a first-year Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) student at Braenose College. He was one of over 200 students who rushed to be “trashed” at Port Meadow, an open space in the north of Oxford.

Someone from his friend group told the inquest on 31st October Wesley “expressed some anxiety about jumping in”. He was smiling and taking photos with his friends on the way to the bridge.

His friends filmed him jumping into the River Thames at 6:52pm. They saw Wesley resurface, so figured he would swim back to shore with the rest of the group. Videos show him struggling in the water.

The coroner Coroner Nicholas Graham says Wesley was wearing heavy clothes. The pathologist Professor Ian Roberts didn’t find any evidence showing Wesley was intoxicated. He didn’t have any long-term health conditions, according to his GP.

Wesley Akum-Ojong

A police officer at the inquest said “nobody seems to have realised” Wesley was finding it hard to swim.

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A second student who had been swimming in the river for over an hour said she “found it hard to understand how someone could’ve missed Wesley being in distress in the water”.

Another witness explained, “It was hard to concentrate as there were so many excited people around.”

A while later, Wesley’s friend realised his phone was still in the same spot on the riverbank. Students called the emergency services at 7:29pm. Firefighters retrieved his body from the riverbed at 8:10pm. A medical team tried to resuscitate him for an hour and 20 minutes. He was taken to  John Radcliffe Hospital at 9:31pm, but pronounced dead twelve minutes later.

Wesley’s mother, Patience Akum-Ojong, questioned why more blood than water was found in Wesley’s lungs.

The inquest officially declared that Wesley’s death was an accident.

Wesley was from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. He went to Watford Grammar School for Boys.

Braenose College in Oxford
(Credit: Ozeye via Creative Commons)

The coroner read out a statement from Wesley’s family. It said, “Wesley was kind, caring and supportive. He was a committed Christian. We are a close family with a very close bond. He was a popular person due to his kind nature. He had made friends in Oxford during his studies.

“He was happy at Brasenose and had the nickname of ‘Future Prime Minister’. He had ambitions of being the UK’s youngest Prime Minister. He is dearly missed by the family.”

Oxford Uni has been trying to stop “trashing” for a few years, because all the confetti ends up in the river and is bad for the wildlife. There is a £150 fine for littering in the area. No other Oxford Uni student has drowned during “trashing” within the last 12 years.