Student life
St Antony’s College has a lively community of international graduate students. We are a modern and welcoming place where tradition is worn lightly. We want to give you the best environment to enjoy your time here, both in your studies and in yuor personal lives.
Social life
At St Antony’s, you will have the chance to make friends for life from across the world. Our Dining Hall and Late Bar have long had reputations for being places where conversations about life, the universe, and research happen.
The college has a variety of clubs and societies you can get involved with, including sport, film and more. The College GCR (Graduate Common Room) also organise a range of events throughout the academic year. These include formal dinners, BOPs (parties, usually themed, for the whole student body), language immersion nights, lecture series, welfare teas. You can also join the GCR Committee if you’d like to take a lead on the social life in college yourself!
The college hosts a summer party for all college members, where we make the best of the British weather and enjoy good food and good company.
We host an annual family day, where all college members with children can spend time together with some entertainment and activities. As a graduate college, many of our students have families and we encourage them to befriend and support each other through the dual tasks of studying and parenting.
Health and wellbeing
We want you to thrive at St Antony’s. Staying well in mind and in body is important for all College members and we know that how you feel impacts how you work.
We have a welcoming Welfare Team, which works with a wider welfare network including the Dean, College Nurse, Disability Advisory Service and the GCR Welfare Officers. They are happy to advise you on how you can access academic support if you are unwell, and where you can find other support through the University and in Oxford.
The College has a partnership with Summertown Health Centre, who provide GPs services. We advise all students to sign up to them via the NHS, so you can receive healthcare during your studies – you never know when you might need it.
We run several events each term to support your wellbeing, ranging from Warden’s Breakfasts, where you can discuss College matters with the Warden, to Welfare Lunches, where we invite a guest to speak on a relevant topic.
Taking care of your mental health is a priority whilst at Oxford, which is an academically challenging environment. Whether you have a long term mental health condition or are experiencing mental health challenges for the first time, we can offer holistic support by guiding you through academic procedures and signposting you to appropriate support.
At St Antony’s, we support students with a range of disabilities. We encourage disabled offer holders and students to contact the Disability Advisory Service as soon as possible. This includes invisible illness, mental health conditions, and specific learning difficulties.
Facilities
We provide a range of facilities for students to use to make the most of your time at St Antony’s College.
The College gym is for the use of St Antony’s College students exclusively and open 24 hours during term time.
The Gym has been recently updated and is well provisioned with everything that you would expect: CrossTrainer, Treadmill, Smith Machine, Dual Adjustable Pulley, Free weights and more.
If you choose to join the Gym, you will be charged a £25 annual fee that is non-refundable.
The Music Room is a GCR-run space that is bookable by students during term time for practice or performance for singing, playing one’s own instrument or using the electronic Yamaha Clavinova piano. It is located adjacent to the Founder’s Building. Booking the Music Room is via the Lodge.
Punting is a quintessentially Oxford pastime that is well worth trying. St Antony’s has a punt moored at the Cherwell Boathouse, a 10-15 minute walk from the College. The punt is available during summer months and is free to members of College. Bookings can be made up to a week in advance for a two hour slot.
St Antony’s College Library, one of five libraries on site, occupies the former chapel, refectory and chapter house of the convent of the Society of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, in what we now call the “Old Main Building”.
Since 1953, an impressive Gothic-Revival chapel built 1891-4, has served as the Library’s main reading room. The Library’s bookstacks and the Gulbenkian reading room may be found on the floor below.
Meals and food
You’ll be able to enjoy a range of delicious dining options at St Antony’s – we’re home to the largest Dining Hall in Oxford!
The Dining Hall is located in the Hilda Besse Building at the heart of St Antony’s College.
Lunch and dinner is served on weekdays in termtime, and brunch is served on Saturdays.
The catering is varied and well-received by the College community, and there are always vegetarian and vegan options available.
We have a strong focus on sustainability, which is echoed in our approach to catering. Our Chef works closely with our Sustainability Officer to make sure our food is sustainably sourced, and to highlight our vegetarian options.
If you’re living in college accommodation, you’ll have access to a kitchen, so you’ll be able to cook your own food and socialise with your flatmates at home.
St Antony’s is in an area with a wide range of shops and restaurants in a five-minute walk, so you’ll never be far away from a tasty meal!