St Anne's College, Oxford

Updated on Jan 14, 2024

Edit

Comment

Established 1879 Phone +44 1865 274800 Sister college Murray Edwards College Parent organization University of Oxford		Named for Saint Anne Founded 1879 Undergraduates 444

Location Woodstock Road and Banbury Road Latin name Collegium Sanctae Annae Previous names The Society of Oxford Home-Students (1879–1942)The St Anne's Society (1942–1952) Principal Dr. Robert Chard (acting) Address 56 Woodstock Rd, Oxford OX2 6HS, UK Motto Consulto et audacter; (Purposefully and boldly) Notable alumni Helen Fielding, Ruth Deech - Baroness, Tina Brown, Zoë Heller, Diana Wynne Jones Similar University of Oxford, Girton College - Cambridge, Selwyn College - Cambridge, Université Sainte‑Anne, St Catharine's College

Life at st anne s college oxford alternative prospectus

St Anne's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Formerly a women's college, it has been coeducational since 1979. Founded in 1879 as The Society of Oxford Home-Students, it received its college status in 1952, and today it is one of the larger colleges in Oxford, with around 450 undergraduate and 200 graduate students in a roughly equal mix of men and women. The college is known for its progressive outlook, its academic strength in both the humanities and the sciences, its mix of architecture, and its library – the largest college library in Oxford.

The college was established and expanded by the gradual acquisition of Victorian houses between the Woodstock and Banbury roads, with its location now in North Oxford and adjacent to the neighbourhoods of Jericho, Park Town, and Oxford University Parks.

In October 2016 it was announced that former Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Helen King had been elected to the position of Principal upon her retirement from the police. She will take up her appointment in April 2017, succeeding Tim Gardam. The 2013–14 annual review valued the college's endowment at £37 million.

Studying at st anne s college oxford alternative prospectus

History

What is now St Anne's College began life as part of the Association for the Education of Women, the first institution in Oxford to allow for the education of women (see: Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford), then later the Society of Oxford Home-Students. In 1942, it became the St Anne's Society, and received a university charter to be founded as a women-only college in 1952. While it remains a common myth that it is built on land donated by St John's College, the site was acquired slowly by the purchase of existing houses and residences for the use of students.

The Ship

The annual magazine for alumni of the college is known as The Ship. When it was still known as the Society for Home Students, the college had its first common room in Ship Street, located in central Oxford.

Grounds

Its grounds are bounded by Woodstock Road and Banbury Road to the west and east respectively, and Bevington Road to the north. They extend as far south as 48 Woodstock Road on the west, and 27 Banbury Road on the east side. The College formerly owned a number of houses throughout Oxford used for undergraduate accommodation, some formerly boarding houses of the Society of Oxford Home-Students; these have been largely sold off to fund the building of the Ruth Deech Building, completed in 2005. These grounds house all of the college's administrative and academic buildings, undergraduate accommodation, as well as the hall, which is among the largest in Oxford.

Undergraduate accommodation

St Anne's can accommodate undergraduates for three years of study. Undergraduates at St Anne's are housed in 14 Victorian houses owned by the college and six purpose-built accommodation blocks. The Victorian houses include 1 – 10 Bevington Road, 58/60 Woodstock Road, and 39/41 Banbury Road. These houses also contain the college bar, teaching rooms, college gym, and a laundrette.

Hartland House

The Hartland House, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, was the first purpose-built college building, finished in 1937 with an additional wing built in 1973. It now houses the Library, the junior and senior common rooms, and administrative offices.

Ruth Deech Building

The Ruth Deech Building, completed in 2005, is the most recent college building. It houses extensive conference facilities (the Tsuzuki lecture theatre, seminar rooms, and dining facilities) on the lower ground floor, in addition to the new College Lodge on the upper ground floor, and 113 en-suite student rooms.

New library and academic centre

The new library and academic centre, scheduled for completion in 2016, is on the site of the former Founders' Gatehouse, which was built in 1966 and was the college lodge until 2005.

Rayne and Wolfson Buildings

The Rayne and Wolfson Buildings were built in 1964 are Grade II Listed Buildings; they are virtually identical in design, and house administrative offices on the ground floor as well as student rooms.

Claire Palley Building

The Claire Palley Building, completed in 1992 and named after former Principal Claire Palley, was the first accommodation block to have en-suite rooms. It also houses the Mary Ogilvie Lecture Theatre.

Trenaman House

Trenaman House, built in 1995, holds student rooms as well as communal college facilities on the ground floor and, since 2008, the St Anne's Coffee Shop (STACS). It was named after Nancy Trenaman, the sixth Principal of the college (1966–1984).

Dining Hall

The Dining Hall, built in 1959, is amongst the largest in Oxford with a capacity of 300. Three meals are served daily in hall apart from on weekends when only brunch is served. It is also used for college collections (internal college exams) and, on occasion, college 'bops' (costume parties).

Other facilities

The Eleanor Plumer House (known until 2008 as simply 35 Banbury Road) houses the Middle Common Room, and attached facilities including a study area/computer room and kitchen, in addition to accommodation for graduate students. Four additional Victorian houses (27 and 37 Banbury, 48 and 50 Woodstock) hold teaching rooms, seminar rooms, music practice rooms, and college offices.

Robert Saunders House

The Robert Saunders House, built in 1996, provides 80 rooms for post-graduate students in Summertown, an area in the north of Oxford. It was named after a former bursar of the college, who did much to strengthen its finances.

Traditions

The college has relatively few traditions and is rare amongst Oxford colleges in not having a chapel (along with St Catherine's College and Kellogg College). Formal hall is held fortnightly. Gowns are not usually worn, except for official university occasions such as matriculation and certain college feasts. The college mascot is a beaver.

College grace

The college grace was composed by former classics tutor and founding fellow, Margaret Hubbard. It in involves the principal reciting the Latin words: quas decet, (deo) gratias agamus. Amen. The deo (to God) is inserted depending on whether the grace is religious or secular in nature.

Sport and societies

The college has teams for all major sports, and competes in inter-collegiate "cuppers" tournaments. Fixtures are either played in the neighbouring University Parks, or in the college playing fields on Woodstock Road. St Anne's College Boat Club (SABC) has seen much success over the years in both men's and women's divisions, with many members representing teams at university level. The college boathouse, situated on the River Isis in Christ Church Meadow is shared with St Hugh's and Wadham colleges. The college is particularly known for its strong joint rugby team with St John's College, having won Cuppers in 2014. The college cricket team is nicknamed "The Beavers". St Anne's has a number of college football teams, known collectively as The Mint Green Army, which represents the college in all divisions. There is a distinctive rivalry with Wadham College.

There is a lot of music-making in the college, with opportunities for singers and instrumental players to be involved in ensembles. In keeping with its secular outlook, there is no sacred choral singing in St Anne's, but there is an informal a cappella group that rehearses weekly, known as Stacappella. The group performs versions of popular and folk songs arranged by music students, and is currently directed by Joseph Bungabunga-Fell. The college's Director of Music is Dr John Traill, who runs a regular professional recital series and a string orchestra in the college.

The college's geology society, STAGS (St Anne's Geology Society), is a hub of social gatherings for the college's Earth Sciences students. The college's classics society organises a joint symposium with Brasenose College every term, as well as a biennial trip to Lamledra, Cornwall.

Notable alumni

In alphabetical order:

Sir Danny Alexander – Liberal Democrat MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey (2005–2015), formerly Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Mary Archer, Lady Archer – scientist specialising in solar power conversion

Karen Armstrong, FRSL – author on comparative religion

Jackie Ashley – broadcaster, journalist, and contributor to The Guardian and New Statesman

Wendy Beckett – BBC art historian

Dame Gillian Beer – literary critic and former President of Clare Hall, Cambridge (1994–2001)

Nicola Blackwood – Conservative MP for Oxford West and Abingdon (2010–).

Mark Bostridge – writer and critic, biographer of Vera Brittain and Florence Nightingale

Tina Brown, CBE – writer, and magazine editor, currently of The Daily Beast and formerly Vanity Fair (1984–1992) and The New Yorker (1992–1998)

Frances Cairncross, CBE – journalist, economist, and Rector of Exeter College, Oxford (2004–2014)

Rosemary Cramp – archaeologist specialising in Anglo-Saxon literature and culture

Edwina Currie – former Conservative MP (1983–1997)

Liam D'Arcy-Brown, Sinologist and travel writer

Ruth Deech, Baroness Deech, DBE – lawyer, bioethicist, and former Principal of St Anne's (1991–2004)

Paul Donovan – economist and author

Dame Mary Douglas, DBE, FBA – anthropologist

Anne Dreydel, OBE – co-founder of the Oxford English Centre, now St Clare's International School

Rose Dugdale – former debutante, notable IRA member and art thief

Moira Dunbar – Arctic ice researcher

Andrew Edmonds – contestant on the reality TV show Big Brother 11.

U. A. Fanthorpe, CBE, FRSL – poet

Penelope Farmer – children's writer

Helen Fielding – novelist known for the Bridget Jones series

Hadley Freeman – writer and columnist for The Guardian and Vogue

Urszula Gacek – former Polish politician, since 2011 Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland to The Council of Europe

Sanjay Ghose – noted Indian activist.

Jean Golding – epidemiologist

Miriam Gross – literary editor and co-founder of Standpoint magazine

Mary Harron – Canadian director and screenwriter, best known for American Psycho

Zoë Heller – journalist and novelist, known for Notes on a Scandal

Brad Hooker – philosopher specialising in ethics, Professor of Philosophy at Reading University

Ben Hudson – stage name Mr Hudson, British R&B/pop artist.

Devaki Jain – Indian economist, writer, and feminist activist

Diana Wynne Jones – fantasy novelist, known for the Chrestomanci series and Howl's Moving Castle

Martha Kearney – broadcaster and journalist, currently of BBC Radio 4's The World at One

Sandra Landy – world champion bridge player and computer scientist

Penelope Lively, CBE, FRSL – novelist and Booker Prize winner for Moon Tiger

Guy Lynn – investigative reporter for the BBC

Kevin Macdonald – director, The Last King of Scotland and State of Play

Max More – philosopher and futurist, founder of the Extropy Institute

Rebecca Morelle – journalist, currently global science correspondent for BBC News

Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh – South African author, musician and activist

Lindsay Northover, Baroness Northover – Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords (2000–), former Government Whip.

Una O'Brien, Permanent Secretary Department of Health

Adam Parsons – television and radio presenter

Ged Quinn – artist

Janina Ramirez – art historian, lecturer and TV presenter.

Justice Ruma Pal – judge of the Supreme Court of India (2000–2006)

Norah Lillian Penston – principal of Bedford College, University of London, 1951–64

Melanie Phillips – journalist and author, winner of the Orwell Prize

Libby Purves, OBE – radio presenter and journalist, drama critic for The Times (2010–)

Sir Simon Rattle, CBE, FRSA – prominent conductor, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic (2002–2016), London Symphony Orchestra (2017–)

John Robins – stand-up comedian and radio presenter

Jancis Robinson, OBE, MW – wine critic and author

James Rutledge – musician and producer

Dame Cicely Saunders, OM, DBE – Anglican nurse, physician, writer, and pioneer of the hospice movement

Frances Stonor Saunders – journalist, historian, television, film-maker, and former associate editor of the New Statesman

Samantha Shannon – author of The Bone Season dystopian fiction series

Susan Sontag – prominent American author, literary theorist, and political activist

Susan J. Smith – Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge and Honorary Professor of Social and Economic Geography at the Department of Geography, University of Cambridge

Russell Taylor, MBE – writer, journalist and composer

Jane Thynne – novelist, journalist and broadcaster

Polly Toynbee – journalist, writer, and columnist for The Guardian (1998–)

Jenny Uglow, OBE – critic and noted biographer, currently editorial director of Chatto & Windus.

Jill Paton Walsh, CBE, FRSL – novelist and children's writer

Victoria Whitworth – Anglo-Scots novelist, archaeologist and art historian

Ivy Williams – first woman to be called to the English bar

Mara Yamauchi – noted long-distance track and marathon runner.

Notable academics

Peter Ady – former Fellow (1947–2004), eminent development economist, adviser to the Burmese Government and Ministry of Overseas Development.

Roger Crisp – current Professor of Moral Philosophy, Uehiro Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy, Chairman of Management Committee of Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics.

Peter Donnelly, FRS – current Fellow (1996–), Australian mathematician and statistician, and current director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford University.

Bent Flyvbjerg – current Fellow, noted economic geographer, urban planner, and current director of the BT Centre for Major Programme Management at the Saïd Business School.

Jonathan Katz – stipendiary lecturer, and current University Public Orator

Patrick McGuinness – current Professor of French and Comparative Literature, Fellow and Tutor in French, author, and poet

Georg Gottlob, FRS – current Fellow (2006–), noted Austrian computer scientist specialising in database theory, logic, and Artificial Intelligence.

A. C. Grayling, FRSA, FRSL – current Supernumerary Fellow, philosopher, author, human rights and civil liberties advocate.

Tony Judt, FBA – former Fellow (1980–1987), author, historian, and public intellectual, later the director of the Erich Maria Remarque Institute at NYU and contributor to the New York Review of Books.

John Lloyd – current Supernumerary Fellow, journalist, contributor to the Financial Times, and co-founder of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University.

Nick Middleton – current Supernumerary Fellow, physical geographer specialising in desertification, and consultant to the IUCN, UNEP, EU, and WWF.

Iris Murdoch, DBE – former Fellow (1948–1999), philosopher, and novelist, known for Under the Net and The Sea, The Sea.

Graham Nelson – current Supernumerary Fellow (2007–), mathematician, poet, and noted interactive fiction game designer.

Roger Reed – current Supernumerary Fellow, professor of engineering and material science.

Stephen Alexander Smith – former Fellow (1991–1998), legal scholar and writer.

Gabriele Taylor – current Senior Research Fellow, philosopher in ethics.

List of Principals

1984–1991: Claire Palley

1991–2004: Ruth Deech

2004–2016: Tim Gardam

2016–2017: Robert Chard (acting)

2017–present: Helen King

References

St Anne's College, Oxford Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA