Hello, and welcome to the Corpus Christi JCR website! This website has been produced by enthusiastic Corpus students in the hope that it will give you a sense of what Corpus is like and why you might choose to spend your time as a student here.
The special thing about Corpus for me is that it will help you to achieve what you want from Oxford, whatever that may be. The key to that is our unique student body, which is characterised by togetherness, enthusiasm, talent and diversity. The result is that on the one hand, people here will happily discuss economic theory in the lunch queue, run for miles as part of their rowing training, or rehearse for weeks to take a play to the Edinburgh Fringe. But at the same time, if you want to set up a Tiddlywinks club, sit in a paddling pool in the middle of the garden or race tortoises against one another, you can do that too. Perhaps most importantly of all, if you just need to chill out, you'll find no better place to relax with a copy of Hello! or an episode of Neighbours.
Part of why we can get involved in all these things is that we have such good facilities. They cover all the essentials very well: we get College rooms throughout our degree, with at least a shower and kitchen per corridor. We get meals just short of three times each day, at a reasonable price and with a lot of variety. Our library's open 24/7, and has most of the key textbooks. The college site is five minutes' walk from the main lecture halls, libraries shopping streets. When problems arise, we can rely on a wide welfare network, and generous hardship grants if there are financial issues.
Of course, much of Oxford is about academics, and tutors. Tutors everywhere want students to fulfil their potential, but we at Corpus are lucky to have a group who appreciate they have a role to play in doing this! They'll always provide help for anyone who's struggling, and often provide extra classes for things like study skills and exam technique. They really put their money where their mouth is, providing grants for books, vacation study and even travel. Thankfully, they also realise there's more to life than academics. The College President, Sir Tim Lankester, takes this support so far that he actually plays for a number of college teams!
All these things make Corpus the remarkable place that we love so much. We hope this introduction and the pages that follow it will make you think you would love it too!
James McDaid, JCR President 2006-7