Senior Tutor's Report

The beginning of this academic year was an unusual one in that many students were still receiving grades from the previous year’s work and, in some cases, were still awaiting their degree classification. When the results finally arrived, they revealed that Clare’s students had performed extremely well. There has been disruption to the academic data over the last few years due to Covid and its aftermath, to the extent that in many instances there have been no figures available. However, it was anticipated that this year would give us the first meaningful data since 2019. It is very good, therefore, to note that the published University figures show Clare in such a strong position.

Part of this success is due to the College’s continued commitment to recruitment and outreach work, which has now exceeded pre-pandemic levels. A donation to the College has meant that we have been able to recruit a second Schools’ Liaison Officer, which has allowed us to increase engagement with our London link areas of Tower Hamlets and Hackney. As for our link areas in Coventry and Warwickshire, these are benefitting from another Clare initiative, this time in terms of Bursary funding. Thanks to another generous donation, two fully funded University places are available for students in financial need who will be studying Natural Sciences, enabling them to graduate entirely debt free. Based in Clare’s designated outreach areas, these scholarships are open to applicants to any College, a decision taken to ensure maximum uptake and cooperation between the Colleges for the benefit of students in financial need.

The year has also seen a return of the hugely successful ‘Cambridge Future Museum Voices’ programme which has been led by Professor Ed Turner in his role as Curator of Insects in the Museum of Zoology. The collaboration between Clare and the Museum has been awarded a second year of funding by the Isaac Newton Trust, bringing young scientists to Clare for a residential this summer as they worked on the curation of their exhibition. Applications to the College continue to be very strong and we are grateful to the schools, both state and independent, who continue to send us their brightest pupils.

College life has returned largely to normal in spite of ongoing building works. The Hall is, once again, open and is being enjoyed by all. In addition, the new River Room manages to be both a café and an immensely popular study space with views over the gardens and the river. It was even a temporary MCR this summer as works were carried out on E Staircase, but the MCR was back in its proper home by the time the new cohort of students arrived. Student societies are thriving, including the very welcome return of well-established societies like the Dilettantes, together with new initiatives that bring together BAME students from across the University funded by the Soyinka-Appiah Fund. The MCR held another very successful Clareity Symposium in March, giving postgraduates, College Research Associates and undergraduates the opportunity to showcase their research and contributions to their field. Winners of prizes at the symposium have also been acknowledged for their work elsewhere, including by the Vice-Chancellor. Three of the fifteen winners of the Vice-Chancellor’s Social Impact Awards were Clare students.

A highlight of the year, and a major achievement for College Librarian Catherine Reid and her team, has been the return of the Fellows’ Library from storage. This involved the return of 700 crates containing 5,700 books and manuscripts. The Library Team is now in the process of transferring to the Fellows’ Library the last few volumes currently housed in the University Library and College Archives. There has been considerable strengthening of the archive thanks to development of the new Archives Management System. This has been overseen by Jonathan Smith whom we are now sadly losing to a post in the USA. However, he takes with him our thanks for all the work he has done during his time at Clare.