About the JCR
A brief description of Magdalen and the JCR
A description of Magdalen must begin with its beauty. Set in 100 acres of some of the most stunning grounds that you’ll see in Oxford, the college is more than five hundred years old and yet careful restoration work has ensured that it has not lost any of its traditional charm. Though close to most faculty buildings (and right opposite the main venue for lectures, very handy in the mornings!) and a short walk from the main Oxford shops and nightlife, Magdalen is uniquely spacious and calm. Incredible buildings, striking quads, peaceful meadows, its own Deer Park (complete with the best looked after deer in the country!)…Magdalen has it all. But what makes Magdalen such a wonderful place to be is the vibrant community of students and fellows who live and work in its amazing surroundings. With around four hundred undergraduate students, two hundred and fifty graduate students and one hundred fellows, as well as the non-academic staff who are as much a part of college life as the academic ones, Magdalen is one of the biggest Oxford colleges, and yet there is a real sense of college unity and spirit amongst all of its members, creating a genuinely friendly atmosphere.
Magdalen is consistently one of the top five colleges in the university academically, but this is achieved without a huge amount of pressure from tutors. Excellent facilities, with a well stocked library open 24 hours a day and world experts as tutors, mean that working hard at Magdalen is not as difficult as it might first seem. Anyway, there is ample opportunity to play hard too. The college bar is reasonably priced and the social centre of college, and there are usually around four massive (and sweaty!) college parties a term, with barbeques on the lawns and meadows in the summer. There is a definite culture of going out and having a good time, but only to the level that you’re comfortable with; you don’t have to drink to have fun at Magdalen. Most of the entertainment and services for undergraduates are provided by the JCR, the mini-union that all Magdalen students belong to and that decides what the money gets spent on. Magdalen has not only one of the most active JCRs in Oxford, but also one of the wealthiest, so there’s always plenty happening! The JCR also looks after some of the more serious aspects of college life, with guaranteed support offered if a student finds themselves in financial, academic or emotional difficulties.
All students are provided with guaranteed college accomodation for the length of their undergraduate degree, the majority of which is entirely on site (and which is only paid for during term time, much less expensive than renting a house for the full calender year). Rooms are excellent, with lots of sets (living room and bedroom) and ensuites to choose from (all with ethernet access), and equal rent for all rooms means that cost will never be a barrier to living in luxury! Most corridors or staircases have their own kitchens, but if you aren’t much of a cook, there is always Hall food. Dinner in Hall is a shade over £2 and is pretty decent fare, and breakfast and lunch are also served with a choice of four dishes per meal. The college bar serves salads, sandwiches, pasties and baked potatoes for lunch and dinner too, so there are plenty of options for food. Other on-site facilities are exceptional: rugby, cricket and football grounds, squash and tennis courts, a gym, an excellent boat club, a fleet of fifteen punts for the summer, two common rooms complete with surround sound TVs, vending machines and a free pool table, a JCR Shop selling everything you could ever need, numerous music practice rooms, the best auditorium in Oxford for film screenings, debates and talks, a fully equipped darkroom, two free computer rooms and much, much more.
It is little surprise then that Magdalen students get involved in a broad range of activities, both on the college and university level. From the legacy of writers such as Oscar Wilde and Seamus Heaney, Magdalen has long had a reputation of being an artistic college, and the current thriving of Magdalen dramatic and musical companies suggest that this is warranted. The Magdalen Players is a highly regarded drama company, staging shows in and around Oxford, and musically Magdalen possesses, amongst others, a Grammy-nominated choir, a mixed choir, and a swing and jazz band. However, Magdalen is also an extermely successful sporting college for both men and women, with (arguably) the best boat club in Oxford, an inter-college championship winning football team, strong rugby, cricket and hockey teams and a growing netball team. The water polo, ice hockey, tennis and squash teams are all inter-college champions, and Magdalen has a number of Blues (University level) sportsmen and women. The Magdalen Film Society is the largest of its kind in Oxford, and there are a number of other societies for debating, poetry…and yes, drinking. Whatever you’re into, you’re bound to find like minded people at Magdalen, and its continued academic, sporting and artistic success combined with an extremely active JCR and strong inter-common room relations makes Magdalen an excellent choice for undergraduates.
