We're convinced that Regent's Park is one of the best places in which you can spend your time in this beautiful city. Though, don't just take our word for it; here are some reasons why:
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Student Success
Simply being a student at the University of Oxford is an achievement in itself. Yet Regent’s supports its students to achieve their full potential. Regent’s academic successes speak for themselves and the college has a long history of punching above its weight in matters academic, sporting and artistic.
Many of our students engage in activities at University level – and it’s not unusual to see our students leading University societies, directing and performing in drama and musical performances, playing in University sport teams, or getting involved with student journalism and politics.
College provides support for excellence in a huge number of ways, with both academic and extra-curricular activities. In recent years, a number of our tutors have won awards from the Students’ Union for their teaching and student support. The College and its common rooms also have a number of grants to help support those performing arts or competing at sports at University level, or engaging in academic-related travel abroad.
Regent’s is a place where excellence is sought in all we do – the perfect place to strive to be the very best within a supportive and enthusiastic community.
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Central Location
Regent’s is situated on Pusey Street, which is off St Giles’ in central Oxford. This is a fantastic location that is close to the centre of town and easily accessible by car and public transport.
We are also very close to many of the relevant faculties: the Sackler Building for Classics is barely five minutes away on foot, the Bodleian Library is around eight minutes, and the English, Law, and Social Sciences are a ten minute walk.
It is a simple walk down St Giles’ to reach Cornmarket, Oxford’s main shopping street, and there is a wide array of shops, restaurants and bars in the immediate vicinity.
Students also take advantage of the college boat house (shared with New College) on the Isis and the football pitches at University Parks to represent the college in rowing and football respectively; Regent’s is ideally situated to access such facilities.
Proximity to such a wide array of facilities is a key reason as to why students at Regent’s enjoy their time here immensely.
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Friendly Atmosphere
Regent’s is renowned for its warm and friendly atmosphere across the University.
Events such as ‘brew’, where tea and biscuits are provided in the JCR twice a day, and JCR and MCR socials after Formal Hall every Friday night help to ensure that Regent’s is a hugely welcoming community for all.
The small size of the undergraduate body (around 110) and postgraduate body (around 70) means that friendships across subjects and year groups develop quickly, something often lacking in larger colleges. Both the JCR and MCR have common rooms on-site and both share the college’s student-run bar.
Regent’s also hosts a large number of cross-common room activities. Formal Hall on Friday nights has a real sense of occasion, as students and staff come together to dine. There are a number of events throughout the year that foster a feeling of community between common rooms: a charity fête in the summer (our tortoise’s birthday party), Christmas carols in the quad, Burns’ Night, and inter-common room socials where students and staff compete in rounders and a pub quiz. Put simply, the sense of community present in college is at the heart of everything we do.
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Inclusive Community
We have a long and proud history rooted in that of the Dissenters, who were for much of the college’s history excluded from the upper echelons of the British education system. No matter who you are or where you’re from, there is a home for you at Regent’s.
We were founded in the nineteenth century to provide an education for non-Anglicans excluded from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. When we moved to Oxford in 1927 we continued this mission of supporting disenfranchised communities – we were the first college to admit both men and women, and one of the first to publicly show our support for the LGBTQ+ community in the twenty-first by flying the Rainbow Flag. Despite, and perhaps because of, the barriers placed in our way, we’ve always been at the forefront of social change.
Along the way we’ve educated first-class cricketers, members of the House of Lords, laywers, civil servants, teachers, academics, poets, missionaries and abolitionists.
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Welfare Support
Regent’s has a fantastic network of people to whom students can turn when in need of support.
Among the student body, there is team of trained peer supporters, who are led by a student-elected Welfare Officer. The peer supporters not only provide a listening ear, but they also host welfare events, such as barbecues and sports events, at intervals throughout the term.
There is also a strong network of pastoral support among college staff. The College has a number of trained staff who can help, with a designated Fellow for Welfare and Equality, harassment officers, and a Women’s Officer. The welfare team also includes three Junior Deans, graduate students who help provide an interface between student and staff welfare support.
Regent’s Park has an excellent relationship with the University’s support services too, and we regularly facilitate access to, and work alongside, the University’s Disability Advisory Service and Counselling Services. We always put everything we can in place to try and help our students perform at their best and thrive.
University can be hard, but we believe that nobody should have to struggle alone. It is for this reason that we take pride in the outstanding support network we have within college, and hold it to be one of the Regent’s community’s greatest strengths.