Our Honorary Fellow Professor Emma Smith featured on In Our Time recently, discussing Henry IV Part 1, one of Shakespeare's most successful plays in his own time. We recommend listening to Emma in conversation with new In Our Time host, Misha Glenny.

You voted, and we did it! The next Somerville collectible to be sent out to our alumni will be this mini model of Vaughan. To make sure you get yours, remember to update your address by emailing [email protected]

Here is a heartening testament to citizen journalism by Somervillian Elspeth McPherson (1982), who first identified and then broke via BBC R4 that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor appears to have shared with Epstein official documents he received in his capacity as UK trade envoy. Listen from 47:00.

We're proud to share that Constable's Year by Somervillian Susan Owens (1990, English) was the BBC's Book of the Week last week. Celebrating the 250th anniversary of John Constable's birth, Susan looks at how the annual cycle of the natural world shaped the artist's life and work.

We've had this under our hats for the past six months, so we're thrilled to share that we welcomed Alan Carr and our fabulous alumna Susie Dent to Somerville, to do some filming for their new C4 show Secret Genius. See if you can spot the Ville in the trailer! www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uDP...

The JCR is transforming The Terrace into a more welcoming, flexible space for all Somervillians. Every gift helps shape a better Terrace for current and future Somervillians. Learn more and donate here: buff.ly/AavKMBl

Congratulations to Professor Patricia Owens, our Fellow and Tutor in International Relations, who has been awarded a three-year Major Research Fellowship by the Leverhulme Trust. @whitproject.bsky.social

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day, when we commemorate the six million Jewish people murdered during the Holocaust, and the victims of subsequent genocides. For last year's Holocaust Memorial Day, we shared a piece by our History student, Lucy Pollock, whose family were killed in the Holocaust.

NEWS: New animation explains 5 principles of good sleep health A short animation based on research by Prof Colin Espie at @ndcnoxford.bsky.social explores how ‘better sleep’ improves our health and wellbeing. www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/news/new-ani...

All are welcome to attend our weekly Choral Contemplations, which start again this Sunday with the theme 'On Being Seen'. Please do join us in Somerville Chapel at 5.30pm, every Sunday during termtime.

Congratulations to everyone who has received an offer from us today! We can't wait to welcome you to Somerville later this year.

It's 0th week and we're so glad to have our students arriving back at Somerville! They just missed last week's sprinkling of snow, but perhaps there's more to come...

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: