St Catharine's College Libraries
Coming out of COVID, the College Libraries are perhaps even more important than ever. The two libraries – the Shakehaft and the Sherlock – contain nearly all the books on first- and second-year reading lists, and the librarians work with the University to make sure that most of these are available as ebooks too. The collection is never static – we buy about 1,000 new books each year. But maybe even more importantly, the libraries are places that students can access go to study as a community, to work together, to get professional advice from the Library and Archive team and theses spaces are open to students 24/7. Your gift supports the library to continue evolving to support the new and different ways our community teaches, learns, and does research.
It's also important that we take care of our 10,000 rare books and manuscripts. The Central Spaces provided new facilities to store and to read these books, but we need to continue to invest to catalogue, conserve, and digitize them.
Please read our case for support for endowing the Librarian post
Chapel and Choir
Chapel provides a quiet space of contemplation for our community. In recent years, the Chaplain has become a key wellbeing figure supporting the Health and Wellbeing team in their activities and providing confidential support for our students. Our weekly evensong services during term time offer a spiritual focus for those wanting to explore faith and religion in an inclusive environment.
The choir continues to enrich the life of our College community. During term time our College choir sing at our Sunday and Thursday evensong. This summer the choir toured Rome performing in a spectacular range of venues around the city. St Catharine’s is also proud to be home to the first college-based choir for girls in the UK, breaking with 900 years of tradition and setting a precedent with has been followed by several other institutions both here and abroad. The choir sings weekly in the College Chapel as well as giving regular concerts and its repertoire extends from the early Middle Ages to the 21st Century, including music both sacred and secular.
The Chapel and Choir are seeking funds to sustain and expand their work providing a safe space for our community to unwind and recharge in a beautiful contemplative setting.
Sports
St Catharine’s has a rich sporting history of which we are proud. Participation in sport builds lasting friendships, fosters community spirit and positively contributes to the wellbeing of our students. Today the College routinely produces 30-40 Blues and Half Blues each year. The extent of our students’ participation in sport at all levels of competition and the support that they show for each other from the side-lines and riverbanks is one of the reasons our College community is so special. Typically, £15,000 of sports bursaries are awarded each year. Our sports ground by South Green Lodge remains a popular place to play tennis and is hosts the annual Acheson Gray sports day. This event brings together our alumni and students over some friendly rivalry and a dinner in College.
