The shared history of St Catharine’s and Worcester Colleges

It is custom for Cambridge Colleges to have a sister institution in Oxford but the character and scope of these connections varies between each pairing. With Sir John Benger (1979, English), Master of St Catharine’s, being admitted as an Honorary Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford on 2 November 2024, we wanted to celebrate the shared history of St Catharine’s and Worcester dating back to 1938. 

Sir John commented, “I am thrilled to be admitted as an Honorary Fellow of Worcester College, which has extended a similar honour to my predecessors as Master of St Catharine’s. The history that St Catharine’s shares with our sister College has enriched both of our communities over the decades. We can look forward to celebrating the 90^th anniversary of our alliance in 2028!”

The origins of our connection

The earliest reference to the alliance in the St Catharine’s archives can be found in the Governing Body decision from 14 July 1938, recorded in the minutes as “That the offer of Worcester College, Oxford to form an alliance be accepted.” Worcester’s College Record for 1937–38 reveals some of the conversations leading up to this decision, notably when Worcester representatives were invited by St Catharine’s to the dinner held annually on the feast day of our patron saint (25 November):

“The Provost [of Worcester], speaking on behalf of the visitors, expressed the hope and belief that the association would be of mutual benefit to the members of both Colleges.”

It is worth noting that this agreement was in place for over 20 years before the establishment of St Catherine’s College, Oxford (for readers who may wonder if an institution with a shared namesake was overlooked). 

The 1956 edition of the St Catharine’s Magazine presents an explanation for how the alliance came about:

“When the examiners of the Higher Certificate of the Oxford and Cambridge Joint Board met in Oxford on alternate years, the St Catharine's members of the Board… invariably found themselves in Worcester. Once the idea of a definite even if informal association between the colleges took shape, it was not therefore unreasonable that St Catharine's and Worcester should come together, and it is probably true to say that Professor J. H. Hutton, a Worcester man who was then William Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology at Cambridge and a Fellow of St Catharine's, was not uninterested to see that they did.”

Shared connections 

Given that Worcester was founded in 1714 (on the site of Gloucester College established in 1283) and St Catharine’s was founded in 1473, it is likely that there were individuals who enjoyed affiliations with both institutions well before an alliance was officially agreed. Since 1938, there has definitely been a steady stream of alumni and Fellows have been admitted first to St Catharine’s and then to Worcester, or vice versa.  

Shared connections across our current Fellowships include but are by no means limited to:

In competition

The alliance between St Catharine’s and Worcester soon took on a competitive edge, with an annual tennis fixture being established as early as 1947. Both boat clubs raced against each other at Henley Royal Regatta over the years and even organised joint training sessions in the 1980s. An annual sports day was launched in 2015, with students from each college engaged in friendly competition across a range of sports, usually followed by a night out in the host’s city.

Leah Grace (2013, MML), who organised the inaugural sports day as St Catharine’s JCR Sports and Societies Officer, recalled:

“After the Sports and Societies Officer at Worcester College reached out, I jumped at the opportunity to organise the sports day, as sports was such a fun and central part of my life at Catz. In the first year, a coach load of us headed over to Oxford and took on Worcester in several sports including football, rugby and hockey. We then headed out to sample the Oxford nightlife with our hosts before returning to Cambridge in the early hours. Dr Chris Thorne (Fellow 1963–2002, Emeritus Fellow 2002) was a big support and the College generously covered our transport costs. I'm so happy to hear this tradition has continued and am sure Catz's sporting prowess is as strong as ever.”

The annual sports day is fortunately still going strong, despite adverse weather in 2019 and COVID-19 restrictions causing back-to-back cancellations. St Catharine’s hosted the sports day in 2024 and students will be headed to Oxford for the re-match in 2025.

In tune musically

The St Catharine’s College Choir accepted an invitation to sing in the Worcester chapel in the 2004–05 academic year. A few years later, the choirs of St Catharine’s and Worcester sang together at a special seasonal concert in December 2009 at St Paul’s, Knightsbridge. 

In 2023, alumnus Caius Lee (2018, Music), a former organ scholar at St Catharine’s, was appointed the first full-time Director of College Music at Worcester. He is responsible for conducting the College Choir and the Boy Choristers as well as supporting a wide range of collegiate, community and outreach initiatives as part of ‘Music at Worcester’, including a professional recital series, masterclasses, the groundbreaking 'The Oxford Choral Experience' (a state school music residential programme) and a first-of-its-kind instrument learning scheme. 

Caius commented, "I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Catz, from playing the organ live on BBC Radio 4 in my first term to accompanying on international tours and CD recordings. As a former co-president of the Catz Music Society, I use much of what I learnt as an undergraduate today, from budgeting to conducting, workshop leading, programme planning and marketing concerts. I am incredibly grateful to the College – and to Dr Edward Wickham (2006) in particular – for the support I enjoyed throughout my wonderful three years at Catz. I would not be where I am today without this unwavering support, and I hope to emulate this in my current role to provide innovative opportunities to current and future cohorts.

“Like our sister College, Worcester is equally unrivalled as a friendly and forward-thinking community. There was already a strong musical link between Worcester and Catz when I moved to Oxford, thanks to Robert Saxton. I was lucky to perform several of his works whilst an undergraduate at Catz myself, and now feel fortunate to be able to join him as one of the alumni strengthening links between Worcester and Catz.”

In friendship

Social exchanges between postgraduate students at St Catharine’s and Worcester are first recorded in the St Catharine’s Magazine in 1994. By 2014, the St Catharine’s Middle Combination Room (MCR) sought to formalise these amicable links and annual exchanges (now called swaps) involving groups of our postgraduates continue to this day. 

Jessica van de Grint, a Psychology PhD student and MCR Co-president at St Catharine’s, added:

“The annual swaps we organise with Worcester, our sister college at Oxford, offer a fantastic opportunity to strengthen our connection with postgraduates at ‘the other place’. It's not only a chance to explore another beautiful city and get an insider's view of one of its prestigious colleges, but also a wonderful occasion for socialising and networking!”