St Peter’s College (Oxford): Detailed Guide, General Information and Contacts

St Peter’s College is in the centre of Oxford and located close to the University departments, and only one minute away from the Oxford Union and Purple Turtle (the Union nightclub).

The College awards bursaries to students who have a household income of less than £60,000 and are not eligible for an Oxford bursary. As well as this, prizes are awarded as one-offs to undergraduate students on the basis of high academic achievement and other reasons. Scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate students are awarded based on academic merit and these scholars are invited to dinner with the SCR every year.

All graduates are eligible to apply for graduate awards at St Peter’s. More information on finance can be found here.

At St Peter’s College, there is an annual Arts Week with many lively events including drawing classes, artists’ talks, and more. As well as this, the College has its own student-run art magazine and has enough money from the Arts Fund to support students’ artistic pursuits. The College has one of the largest groups of music students in university, and music facilities include its chapel organ, a harpsichord and ample rehearsal space.

As well as these opportunities, there are over 300 university societies you can join.

During the first year, all undergraduate students live on the main college site with people in their year groups. In second year, students typically live in private accommodation with their friends in the city of Oxford. In third and fourth year, undergraduates are allocated rooms by ballot. These rooms vary by size and bathroom access. More information on undergraduate accommodation can be found here.

The dining hall provides breakfast, lunch, and dinners on a pay-as-you-go basis and Formal Dinners are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

St Peter’s gives priority to housing postgraduates who are new to Oxford in college accommodation. Not all graduates can be housed, and further rooms are available through the University’s Accommodation Service. More information can be found here.

St Peter’s College shares a sports field with Hertford and Exeter, providing two cricket pitches and pavilions and football and rugby pitches. The boat house is shared with University College. The JCR pays for all students to use the gym at Iffley Road. There are many teams in a range of sports available for novices or serious sports players and an opportunity to play in competitions.

The welfare team at St Peter’s includes senior and junior members of the College. Students are allocated college families who are second-year students in the same course and offer help and guidance to first years. The Welfare Officers live on site and are regularly available.

• The library is available 24/7 and holds over 50,000 books. Being a member of St Peter’s College means students have access to the famous resources at the Bodleian Library, where a copy of every book printed in the UK is held.
• The College hosts one of the largest collections of paintings by Duncan Grant.
• The College’s biggest rival is St Edmund Hall and the college song contains choice lyrics highlighting this fact.

Mark Carney

Helen Lewis

Ken Loach