Our new Principal Catherine Royle has led a fascinating career as a British diplomat, including as Ambassador to Venezuela. Catherine was on LBC Radio yesterday, sharing her personal insights and expert analysis of the current situation there.

Happy Hannukah to everyone celebrating! Chag Sameach!

Term has ended, and Somerville's JCR have met for a final time in Michaelmas. As Christmas approaches, JCR President Thomas Bainbridge shares his reflections on what makes Somerville special.

Next Friday Roopa Panesar, the globally acclaimed sitarist, will be performing at the Sheldonian, accompanied by her talented team of Indian classical musicians, in an event supported by the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our alumni and students celebrating today, whether in the US, Oxford, or elsewhere!

Zoya Yasmine is an DPhil student at the Faculty of Law and @somervillecollege.bsky.social looking into biases and legal issues in medical AI🩺 How can we protect people’s rights without stifling innovation❓ www.youtube.com/shorts/QK1VV... @ox.ac.uk

How long have dogs been humanity’s best friend? Somerville JRF Lachie Scarsbrook is a key author of a new study which reveals how humans and dogs spread across Eurasia together. www.some.ox.ac.uk/news/somervi...

We’re thrilled to share that our former Principal, Baroness Jan Royall, has been awarded an honorary fellowship of Somerville College. This honour recognises her exceptional leadership, dedicated service, and remarkable achievements over her eight years as principal. Congratulations, Jan!

A fantastic fireworks display last night at @somervillecollege.bsky.social . They do this every year, but I’ve missed the last 4 since joining the college as I’m usually away at conferences. Great to finally be able to attend this year and definitely worth waiting for. 🎆🎇

As officials from nearly 200 countries gather for COP30, to discuss how to rein in the climate crisis, meet the Somervillian students and early-career academics driving climate solutions.

Sparks flew over Somerville last night! Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate our annual Fireworks Night, and thank you to Sam for this photo.

We are thrilled to share that our alumna and honorary fellow Afua Kyei (2000, MChem), has been named the UK's most influential Black person. The top spot in the 2026 Powerlist went to Afua in recognition of her work as chief financial officer for the Bank of England. Read the full story below!

Our Access and Outreach campaign is underway, but we need your help to reach our £30,000 goal! Every donation supports transformative activities like school visits, mentoring, and residentials that help students from underrepresented backgrounds picture a future at Oxford. buff.ly/Ngqwnn8

The new BBC R4 documentary from Somerville historian turned investigative journalist Charlie Northcott is unmissable. ‘The House at Number 48’ uncovers a tale of secret identities, Nazi plunder and family history buried by war.

View from my office (and one view of my office!) .... not such a bad place to work, really, Somerville College! @somervillecollege.bsky.social

In case you missed it... our new Principal Catherine Royle was interviewed by current student Lucy Pollock for the Oxford Blue! Read the full interview here:

There haven't been too many sunny days to appreciate them this October, but today the trees in Somerville College @somervillecollege.bsky.social are looking lovely.

Do you remember the first time you came to Somerville? For some people, visiting a college is what enables them to picture themselves at Oxford. Become part of the movement to make Oxford more inclusive by supporting our Access and Outreach fundraiser: buff.ly/jZmlFWu

We were so delighted to welcome our students to Somerville at last weekend's Matriculation! We hope you all had a fantastic day and are feeling at home here already.

We’ve launched! Help us raise £30,000 for Somerville’s Access & Outreach programme. Your donation supports school visits, residentials, and mentoring for students from underrepresented backgrounds. Make your gift here: buff.ly/jZmlFWu

At Somerville, we honour Diwali as a reminder that light takes many forms: the light of learning, the light of justice, and the light of inclusion. Wishing all Somervillians and friends around the world a joyful and peaceful Diwali.🪔✨

Why do our bodies need to sleep? Our Fulford Junior Research Fellow, Dr Raffaele Sarnataro, addressed this question in his recent paper published in Nature, titled ‘Mitochondrial origins of the pressure to sleep’.

Coming soon: Somerville’s Access & Outreach Fund! 🎓 We’re raising £30,000 to support students from underrepresented backgrounds through workshops, school visits, and residentials. Breaking down barriers to education, one step at a time. Launching on October 20th.

Absolutely fabulous to hear Somerville alumna Kate Williams’ 2007 book “England’s Mistress” cited as the top authority for The Rest is History’s most recent episode 'Lady Emma Hamilton: More than Nelson's Muse'.

Michaelmas term is off to a running start - especially for those in the Somerville community who ran Oxford Half Marathon yesterday! Well done to everyone who took part - we hope you're not too achey today.

Introducing our second new GB Fellow, Dr Francesca Arduini. Francesca is a microeconomist dedicated to challenging social inequalities by understanding how individuals, households and corporations make decisions on the issues that affect our lives.

We recommend listening to the very funny 'Five Lessons', a radio play by our alumna Marcy Kahan (1975, BPhil English). The play is currently available on BBC Sounds as part of a series of comedy dramas written especially for actress, writer, director and author, Dame Maureen Lipman.

We welcomed the new cohort of scholars at @somervillecollege.bsky.social. With eleven scholars, this will be the biggest cohort at the Centre. The new cohort represents the Centre’s commitment to diversity of representation from India at the @ox.ac.uk. Meet our new scholars here 👇:

As we begin a new academic year, we'd like to introduces Professor Dale Dorsey, our new Tutorial Fellow in Philosophy, who joins Somerville from the University of Kansas. We interviewed Dale about this big move, how every day life informs philosophy, and his advice for incoming students.

We can't wait to listen to The Magnificent O'Connors, featuring our alumna Nemone Lethbridge. We were lucky enough to interview for this year's Somerville Magazine, and hear some of her incredible stories.

Much looking forward to my visit @somervillecollege.bsky.social #Oxford on 12 Oct to talk about Victorian #badass #BarbaraBodichon www.some.ox.ac.uk/news-events/...

We've always known Margery Fry was a work of art... and this beautiful print by Oxford printmaker Sally-Anne Stewart proves it!

Our Emeritus Fellow Barbara Harvey is featured on today's episode of Last Word. Barbara's former colleague Professor Emeritus Joanna Innes speaks about her life and career, alongside her former student, Professor John Blair.

Somerville's final Open Day of 2025 is this Friday! If you're thinking of applying to Oxford, please come and visit us between 8.45am and 5pm. It's a great opportunity to meet some of these friendly faces, learn about the college, and talk to our fantastic tutors.

Blades never looked so good! Somerville College Boat Club are delighted that their new sets of blades have arrived, commemorating their successes at Torpids and Summer Eights.

If you are applying to Oxford this year (exciting!), don't forget to register if your subject requires an admissions test as part of the application process. buff.ly/oUbyeLd

On Saturday 6th September, we will be hosting the final day of the Anglo-German Colloquium's international conference on German Medieval Studies, alongside @somervillecollege.bsky.social Follow the link below for more details about the conference (running 3rd-6th September), and to sign up!

Mary Somerville was many things: a scientist, writer, and polymath. She was also prolific collector of shells. Her collection of shells - and other natural history specimens - has recently been catalogued and is available to view via our Library website. Read more here:

Save the date! On Sunday 14th September, Somerville will take part in Oxford Open Doors weekend.

This year's Somerville Magazine is now out in the wild! Featuring alumna Tessa Ross, producer of 'Conclave' (2024), a history of Jane Austen and Somerville for her 250th centenary, an introduction to AI Scientists - and much more! Read it online here: buff.ly/B1y7w8y

And the winner is.... Vaughan! Thank you so much to everyone who voted in our search for the next Somerville collectible, following the success of our mini Somerville Library earlier this year. Thanks to your support, we have raised over £20,000 for the Somerville Fund.

I'm delighted to see this article published in Arts Education Policy Review (🔑OPEN ACCESS🔑) with my wonderful colleagues @thomasbreeze.bsky.social and Viv John. #MusicEd #CardiffMet @somervillecollege.bsky.social doi.org/10.1080/1063...

OUT NOW: Divine Light! Somerville College Choir is incredibly proud to introduce our new album, Divine Light, released today. Available here: buff.ly/05SQssu

Graduation season might be over for the summer, but we couldn't resist sharing one last photo...

Good luck to everyone opening their A Level results today! We hope you are proud of yourselves, and can't wait to welcome our incoming freshers this autumn - Somerville Library is quietly waiting for you. Please share if you are #GoingToOxford and tag us! Photo credit: Fisher Studios

We are deeply saddened by news of the death of our Emeritus Fellow Barbara Harvey, CBE, FBA, at the age of 97. Barbara was a Fellow and Tutor in Medieval History at Somerville from 1955 to 1993. Read more here: buff.ly/X9SANFs

We’re counting down to the release of Divine Light, the new album from Somerville College Choir, launching 22nd August. Pre-save the album: buff.ly/DATjkrG

We’re proud to share the work of Somerville Associate Dr Liliia Bespala, who recently set up the Clinical Communication Club. The initiative aims to introduce Ukrainian medical students and early-career researchers to evidence-based communication science. Read the full story here. buff.ly/xnG0f4q

Was Jan your Principal? If so, this Gaudy is for you. Join us on Saturday 6th September for a chance to say goodbye to Jan - and reunite with your Somerville friends! Book tickets here: buff.ly/8PbFx9a

We’re delighted to see our recent graduate Holly Cobb (2021, French and Linguistics) feature in the University’s new information pages for young carers. To read Holly's story, and find out about the support available to young carers at Oxford, visit buff.ly/xD5zASE