Our Picture Editor Leah McLaren takes her pick of the week’s best photographs and tells us why she reckons they make the grade

I love this picture, above, of two-year-old Grace Nervold-Nichols. Ed Nix went along to Step by Step dance school, in Headington, where they hold Baby Ballroom classes. Grace is pictured dancing with her granddad Gerry Nicols, throwing her head back and really getting into it

Witney Gazette:

Ed Nix caught Oxford CAMRA chairman Tony Goulding rolling out the barrel in preparation for their beer festival at Oxford Town Hall. The excited expression on his face is brilliant and the blurred background suggests he’s in a rush to get started

 

Witney Gazette:

The circus came to Oxford this week and Ed Nix went to meet them. Ringmaster Robert Price gestures into the lens, introducing the viewer to the Velensuc Troupe and inviting them to join in the fun

 

Witney Gazette:

Richard Cave went to Waterperry Gardens, near Oxford, where they will be holding a Halloween pumpkin hunt from October 25. By using his off-camera flash to light the frame, he’s managed to make Dawn Stott look almost spooky

Witney Gazette:

Four-year-old friends Meredith Hughes and Polly Gardner were certainly enjoying the thrills at the Abingdon Michaelmas Fair. Damien Halliwell has kept it simple by using a long lens and natural light to capture this great shot

Witney Gazette:

Damien Halliwell captured Macey Clair and her friends in the throes of their ukulele project performance at Pegasus School in Blackbird Leys. The slower shutter speed highlights the girls’ movement and the fact they’re obviously having a fabulous time