St Anne’s is ten mins walk from the city centre and as a result gets a fair bit of stick for being ‘miles’ away. Linked to the rise of education for Oxford women in 1878, the college was originally a female affair. It became an affiliated college in 1952 and let the boys come play in 1979. Because of its past, St Anne's maintains a near-perfect 50:50 balance of men and women both in the student body and the teaching staff. The 1930s main building is made of warm Cotswold stone with a battlement top while most of the others were constructed with the more slapdash aesthetics of the 50s and 60s and the newest building appeared in 2005. The modern style doesn’t sit well with the prestige of some other colleges and architectural snobs occasionally turn up noses - no historic quads, sundials or famous stone steps here. The students are a no-nonsense bunch and there's not much petty student politicking although they are a firecely competitive bunch. St Anne's lot prefer to put their energies into charity Rag events, the wealth of drama and music societies or a sociable bevy now and then. St Anne’s trumpets equality from the rooftops and has recently appointed its first male principal. The college also claims to be particularly open to applications from minorities and its students are reputed to be ‘normal’. Which is comforting.
| Sex ratio (M:F): 52:48 |
Founded: 1952 |
| Full-time u’grads: 418 |
Part-time: n/a |
| Postgrads: 253 |
Mature: n/a |
State:private school: 50:50
|
International: 12% |
| Academic ranking: 13 |
Disabled: n/a |
Ents: Bar with pub quizzes, darts and bar Olympics on offer. Bands in JCR and whopping bops. Active drama society (the St Anne’s Players) and comedy soc. Large lecture theatre with screen and collapsible stage. Yearly arts festival with drama, comedy, music, photos and all things creative.
Other: Spacious library (110,000 books, growing by 2,000 every year) has 16 networked computers and Ethernet access in most rooms. Computer room has 24 hour access for latenight essay meltdowns. Scheme for students to buy computers off the College and pay in instalments. ‘Double Standards’ and ‘Agent Orange’ are the JCR mags – Bogsheet is for gossip-mongers.
Sports: Strong on women’s football. Sports facilities are shared with St John’s, 800m away.
Accommodation: Everyone, bar a few postgrads, lives in but there are grumbles a-rumblin’ over the rent – the JCR is struggling for reductions. Rooms are fairly standard, inclusive of all meals (meaning catering options are limited despite kitchens on each staircase) and with either a wash basin or en-suite facilities for the lucky ones. Price per week ranges from £147 to £153 for the bathroom jobbies. New building Eleanor Palmer House has a common room and I.T room and standard study bedrooms reserved exclusively for postgrads. Some parking.
- LGBT, Ethnic Minorities and Women’s Officers
- Doctor, nurse, student counsellor
- Reasonable wheelchair access
- Travel grants, book allowances and scholarships to study in Japan available.
FAMOUS ALUMNI
Maria Aitken (actress); Edwina Currie (ex-MP, romance novelist and John Major’s bit of stuff); Penelope Lively, Iris Murdoch, Zoe Heller, Jenny Uglow (writers); Libby Purves (journalist); Sir Simon Rattle (conductor); Baroness Young (politician).