Clare Actors

As Clare’s undergraduate drama society, the highlight of the year for Clare Actors was staging the outdoor May Play, a cherished tradition we were thrilled to revive in the newly reopened Sunken Gardens. This year's production, Shakespeare's "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," drew inspiration from the 'Duke of Edinburgh' expedition, failed camping trips, and farce! With good weather on our side, we had a fantastic time in June staging and performing the show for students, staff, and fellows to celebrate the end of the year.

We have also worked in particular over the last year expanding our reach as a society. For the first time, we supported a student-written production, "The Book of Margery Kempe," at the Camden Fringe Festival. We have also had the pleasure of partnering with the University Railway Society and Whippet Coaches on a project re-recording the voice announcement on Cambridge’s iconic U-Buses using student voices. After receiving over 80 audition tapes, we have selected the new student voices, which were updated on the U-Bus in September 2024, so make sure to catch them if you can!

Mia de Costa, President

Clare Boat Club

Participation in the Boat Club has remained high this year. Six crews entered the Lent Bumps and seven the Mays. Nearly 9% of Clare’s students took part in the Mays, compared with a cross-college average of 7%. The boat club also took part in many of the season’s timed races on the Cam and sent both a men’s and a women’s crew to the qualifiers for the Henley Royal Regatta. Alumni crews raced in the Fairbairn Cup and in the Town Bumps. The club has continued to explore the possibility of modifying and extending the boathouse to provide more indoor gym space. Three meetings have been held with alumni groups through the year to develop concepts of how modifications might be realised.

The club remains generously funded by donations from the Boat Club alumni. To recognise this support, the club hosted seven alumni events during the past year, mostly reunion rows or river-boat cruises. The highlight was a biennial Relics’ Regatta in April, with over 80 alumni and guests enjoying the river in the afternoon and then dinner in the newly refurbished hall. The Boat Club is proud to be providing welcoming and low-cost sport for students, and a healthy respite from studies.

Nigel Woodcock, President, and Andy ‘The Boatman’

Clare Corpus and King's Rugby

The 2023-24 season started with a bang. We won 5 out of our first 6 games in the round robin tournament with convincing victories over last year’s Cuppers runner-up, Fitz Sidney RFC, and this year’s eventual runner-up, Catz-Hom RFC. After this initial wave of rugby supremacy, we were promoted into Division 1 of the college tournament. Our rugby seemed to be blessed by the Elephant of Wisdom himself; teams fell at our feet throughout the first term and onlookers described the rugby as “joué”. The name of CCKRFC resounded through the streets of Cambridge, striking fear into the hearts of other colleges and filling the students of Clare, Corpus and King’s with a warm, glowing pride.

But as with all good things, it couldn’t last forever. Over the Christmas break we suffered a shock of injuries, losing some crucial players. The result was a slow Cuppers descent until we were firmly cemented in the bottom pathway of the draw. Thankfully, we still had the League to play for, where we remained neck-and-neck with SJRFC, for the top spot. A series of increasingly entertaining socials prepared us for the Cuppers final, motivated by the belief that unit cohesion was a far better tool than any amount of skills training.

On the day of the final, CCK ran out onto the pitch amid the roars of the fans jostling in the crowd. The stadium erupted when we immediately left our mark on the terrified PEST team. After a gruelling 70 minutes of end-to-end rugby the match concluded with a narrow defeat for CCK. But sadness was short-lived as every member of the team could leave the field with their head held high, knowing that they had not only entertained but had done the historic club proud.

The season concluded in an awards ceremony and dinner hosted at the Free Press, where we honoured our main sponsor, Simon Callaghan from MOOPS. This dinner perfectly captured the CCK spirit of comradery amongst a group of guys who can come together for a stunning performance on the field. It is sad to say goodbye to all the boys that are leaving this year, but we are looking forward to the new challenges of the year to come, where we are determined to clinch the top spot in Division 1.

Ed Pearson, Captain

Clare Dilettante

We’ve had a really great year at the Dilettante Society this year, making full use of an increasingly open Old Court. My aim this year has been to truly pursue Lady Clare’s ambition of promoting learning in a community of scholars across all levels of the college, something that is at the heart of the Dilettantes. We opened in Michaelmas term with a spectacular (and slimy) presentation on the phenomenon of snails with swords in medieval marginalia by Clare graduate and trainee librarian at Queens College Old Library, Anna Piper Thompson.

Other highlights from the year include an incredible joint event with the Union of Clare Students for LGBT History Month in February, where we had five speakers presenting on topics relating to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History. This event saw perhaps a record turnout for the society and was made all the more special by two of the undergraduate speakers, Mary Skuodas and Mia Da Costa, agreeing to present on behalf of the Dilettantes at the Clareity Symposium in March. Perhaps the most exciting event of the year was a tour of the newly reopened Fellows’ Library, conducted by Fellows’ Librarian Dr Tim Chesters, a committed supporter of the society.

I could not offer my report on the business of the Dilettante Society without recognising the incredible support of Dr Patricia Fara, who has been the society’s senior member, and Sir Nicholas Barrington, for his continued enthusiasm for the society. I am excited to have passed the baton on to Stelios Sycallides for the next year!

Charlotte Bond, President

Clare Law Society

The Clare College Law Society expanded its operations during the 2023-24 academic year, resulting in its most successful year yet. For the first time in college history, we welcomed a seven-person committee, secured new sources of funding, and launched the inaugural edition of the Clare College Law Journal, marking a busy, but rewarding year for the committee.

We introduced several new society events, including application workshops and dinners with globally leading law firms, a new ‘moot’ for Clare students – a mock trial simulation – kindly judged by barristers from Henderson Chambers, as well as social events in partnership with other college law societies. The first of these, held in Clare Cellars, was comically named ‘Called to the Bar!’. These events complemented our termly law dinners in the formal hall, where all Clare lawyers and Fellows in attendance enjoyed what has become the highlight of the term.

In addition to these new events, the Clare College Law Journal was founded and published. The work of both law and non-law students in Clare has resulted in an incredible journal containing three sections. Part I features interviews with leading legal professionals, including Baroness Hale, Lady Black and Lady Arden – the first three women to sit in the UK Supreme Court. Part II compiles fourteen articles selected for publication from students of various educational levels, both within Cambridge and beyond, examining a variety of legal areas such as human rights law, intellectual property, environmental law, and many more. Part III consists of student submitted first-class tripos essays providing examples from each of the modules forming a qualifying law degree, and more.

Sakshi Jha, President

Clare Medics and Veterinary Society

The Clare College Medics and Veterinary Society (CCMVS) kicked off a fun and productive term with our traditional medvet induction for the freshers, setting the tone for what would be an exciting period ahead. Throughout the year, we hosted a variety of events from Bridgemas gingerbread making to regular LCR donuts all aimed at improving welfare and fostering strong inter-year relationships. The highlight of the year was our Annual Dinner, where we had the honour of hosting Clare medic alum Christine Blanshard as our speaker. Christine delivered an inspiring talk, drawing from her diverse experiences as a gastroenterologist and senior medical leader.

Beyond these events, our members made significant contributions to the broader Cambridge community. Notably, Jenny Yang founded the Cambridge Rare Disease Society (CamRDS) with the desire to raise awareness of rare diseases amongst the medical students. Under her leadership, the society organised a series of impactful talks and the "Galactic Genomes: Exploring the Universe of Rare Diseases" conference. Meanwhile, CCMVS members continued to show that we are not just all work and no play. Our medvets sang in college choirs, participated in university dance teams, and even took on leadership and coaching roles in sports, particularly in rowing. A standout achievement this year was when five medvets, captained by Aadarsh Khimasia, led Clomerton Lacrosse from Division 3 to Division 1—a remarkable rags-to-riches success story that capped off a year full of achievements for CCMVS.

Oluchi Okoli, President

Clare Men's Football

Clare men’s first team had a wonderfully productive season, punctuated by a series of important socials, victories and curries. Through the generosity of the Maharajah, we fashioned a new kit and got to work in the depths of div 3. Embracing a healthy spine of freshers really allowed Clare to kick on. We battered Corpus, we embarrassed Christ’s, we diddled CCCC, and we toyed with John’s. Heading into the second half of the season, we looked cupward. The Fitz folklore would not deter our spirit, and we rode into battle against the 10 time champions in cuppers round 1. Our lack of a set piece coach shone through and we swiftly rode out of battle, but our heads were high!

Onto the plate, and a 6-3 vanquishing of the so-called division 1 side, Churchill evinced the hard work and camaraderie that had come to define us. By the end of the season we exhibited an elegant balance and maturity. It would not be possible without the earnest support of our wonderful secretary, Christopher. Up the football league we have gone, onto division 2 we bound.

Jonty Reading, First team President

Clare Politics Society

We’re really proud of what has been a very active year for the Clare Politics Society. We welcomed 8 external speakers, many of whom were leading progressive voices, strongly involved in issues that resonate with the Clare Student Body. These included the then CEO of the Nurses Union, Pat Cullen, Former Leader of the House of Lords, the Baroness Royall, and Feminist Campaigner Brenda Feigen. We also welcomed speakers who provided a fascinating insight into LGBTQ+ activism, environmentalism, and US electoral politics.

We organised a set-piece debate for the end of Michaelmas, which allowed Clare students to speak alongside prestigious external speakers on the role of the monarchy in modern Britain. This event was one of several this year which drew an involved crowd of over 100 people. In addition to the events we organised for the college community, we took a leading role in the university wide social scene, bringing together many other college politics societies for socials in cellars each term. It has been a great pleasure to lead this society this year and we look forward to what our successors Beth Fransham and Kiran Davies will do with the society.

Ed Parker and Gabriel Rubens, Presidents