New Students

As you settle into the city, your department, and Queens’ your first few weeks in Cambridge will be very busy indeed. To help things along, the MCR has prepared

  • A document of things you should do once you’ve arrived in Cambridge.
  • A calendar of events in the first half of October.

Here is more detailed information on the events:

  • Oct. 1st (Friday) – Graduate Tutors Welcome Meeting. 4pm. Fitzpatrick Hall. General information will be given out and a roll call taken to see who has arrived. University cards will be available for collection, and forms for obtaining bank letters and council tax exemption will also be available.
  • Oct. 1st (Friday) – Graduate Tutors Welcome Party. 6:30pm-7:30pm. Drinks and nibbles for new graduate students in Qbar.
  • Oct. 2nd (Saturday) – MCR Coffee Morning. 10am-12pm. Woodville Room. Come to the Woodville Room between 1000-1200 for relaxed coffee, tea and pastries with the MCR committee’s Welfare and Women’s Officers. It’s a great chance to meet people in a chilled-out setting and also there’s loads of useful information going. We’ll also be selling secondhand gowns, from 11am – £30 for BA, £40 for MA; come promptly to avoid disappointment! .
  • Oct. 2nd (Saturday) - MCR Wine Tasting Workshop. 8pm-10pm. Old Hall. This event is limited in numbers and always popular, so make sure you get your tickets (£10, or £12 for non-Queens’) from the Events Officers during the Tutor’s Welcome Party. Afterwards, come to the MCR Welcome Party in the Woodville room!

    MCR wine tasting workshop

    MCR wine tasting workshop

  • Oct. 2nd (Saturday) – MCR Welcome Party. 9pm-11pm. Woodville Room. Tickets are 3 pounds at the door (or £2 in advance); plentiful wine and cheese will be served. This is the first real chance for new and old Queens’ students to mix, and is always a brilliant night!
  • Oct. 3rd (Sunday) – MCR Queens’ Historical Tours: Queens’ Fellow Dr Robin Walker is leading two fascinating Historical Tours of college, at 11am and 2pm; come along to see all the secrets of Queens’ that the tourists never learn! Spaces are limited so guarantee your place by speaking to the Events Officers at the Welcome Party on Friday; the tours will begin at the porters’ lodge.
  • Oct. 3rd (Sunday) – Dinner at Granta. 7pm. Come along for dinner at the Granta pub, located midway between college and Owlstone Croft – the beer garden is right on the river, and a perfect place to while away an evening.
  • Oct. 7th (Thursday) – MCR Formal Hall. 6:45pm-9pm. Cripps Hall. The first MCR formal of term, always busy! Sherry will be served from 6:45pm, and dinner begins at 7:30. You’ll need to sign up and pay through cashless (see the checklist for registration instructions). Gowns are required for Queens’ members (see below for more information on getting a gown).
  • Oct. 8th (Friday) – QEnts Bop. QEnts is one of the biggest student-run events promoters in Cambridge and their bops are rightly famously great nights – you should try at least one in your time at Queens’! The first of the year is always really popular but we’ve got some tickets reserved and will be heading over there around 2200 after a drinks party in the Woodville Room.
  • Oct. 9th (Saturday) – Cambridge Historical Tour. 1:30pm. Queens’ alumnus and historian Doug Dennis is leading one of his famous tours of Cambridge, meeting 1330 at the Porters Lodge. Come along for an amazing insight into how Cambridge has grown and changed over the years – this is the only tour to give you the whole story! Numbers are limited and we’ll operate an online sign-up; there may be another tour later in the term since this event is always popular.
  • Oct. 9th (Saturday) – Queens’ MCR Ceilidh. 8pm. In the evening, it’s the high-point of the week: Queens’ MCR Ceilidh, featuring the University band. Drinks in QBar from 2000, with dancing getting underway around 2100. Tickets will be £3 (£4 for non-Queens’) and can be bought from committee members once you get to Cambridge.
  • Oct. 10th (Sunday) – Walk to Grantchester. 10am-12:30pm. We’ll wrap up Freshers’ Week in classic Cambridge style, with a leisurely walk out to Grantchester, a beautiful country village famous for its association with poets, philosophers and writers from Cambridge’s past. The Orchard tearoom is a must visit, and the pubs do great Sunday roasts – the perfect way to relax before work gets underway properly on Monday!.
    • Clubs. A list of the various sports and societies in the MCR, with links to the broader clubs within the JCR and University.
    • Dining. An review of all the different types of dining in college.
    • Dress codes. A review of dress codes at Cambridge.
    • Glossary. A list of Cambridge and Queens’ specific terminology.
    • Neighbourhoods. A guide to the services in the areas around Queens’ graduate accommodation.

    • Finally, there are several other links within this website which you’ll probably find useful soon: