Clare Tennis

This year saw the welcome revival of Clare Tennis. From September through June, members gathered faithfully on Sunday afternoons at Jesus Green. Sessions were relaxed and inclusive, combining shot practice, informal games, and plenty of good humour. With abilities ranging from seasoned players to enthusiastic beginners, the club thrived on its openness and sense of fun.

On the competitive front, Clare Tennis made its mark in Cuppers, where the enthusiasm of our players shone through. Sundays on the courts often ended with brunch outings, and there was no shortage of regular sweet treats supplied to keep morale high- another reason our weekly sessions became such a highlight of term.

Perhaps the defining feature of the season was its consistency: come wind, rain, or the occasional sunshine, Clare members could be found on court each week. More than just a sporting fixture, tennis this year became a regular social anchor, strengthening friendships within college and reminding us of the joy of play.

Summer Breen-Levine, President

Clare Actors

The highlight of our year was staging the outdoor May Play ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ in the Sunken Garden. The sold-out performances in June were a testament to the enthusiasm, creativity and dedication of many students. Our play told a story of transformation, duality and fate, and invited audiences into a world of mythical possibility with our performers. It was a fantastic way to celebrate the end of the academic year and showcased the incredible talent and imagination of students.

Excitingly, Clare Actors also established a new Student Creativity Award to develop small-scale projects. This year, we had the privilege to fund the short film Oxpecker, which had a private screening at Clare in June. Looking forward, we are thrilled to continue to grow as a society, support future productions, and inspire creativity within the Clare community!

Asha Metcalfe and Emily Shelley, Co-Presidents

Clare Men's Football

The 2024/25 season was one of passion, pride, and plenty of pints – made all the better thanks to the kind sponsorship of the Baron of Beef, whose support helped fuel both our match days and our match nights.

We kicked off the season with a spirited 4-4 draw against eventual league winners Churchill, setting the tone for a campaign full of grit. A few weeks later came one of the seasons highlights: a thunderous revenge win over Trinity, who had dumped us out of the Plate the previous year. That sweet result was followed by a comeback for the ages against Long Road – a game that will live long in Clare folklore.

But it wasn’t all joy. A heartbreaking cup exit to Pembroke left us ruing missed chances, and though we ended the season in style with a commanding 3-0 win over King’s, we cruelly missed out on playoffs – thanks to goal difference.

Off the pitch, CCFC socials were as lively as ever. Weekly debriefs, pub crawls, and our glorious end-of-year formal brought the squad together in fine fashion. Massive thanks must go to Will and Chris for their unwavering support throughout the season – from sideline shouts to post-match kit-kats, we couldn’t have asked for better fans.

Ben Keeling, Captain

Clare Dilettante

It has been another fruitful year for the Clare Dilettante Society. Events kicked off in October with the presentation of artworks at the college’s 4th Plinth by the artists themselves. This was followed, later in Michaelmas, by a tour of the Fellows’ Library with Fellows’ Librarian, Dr Timothy Chesters.

Lent Term started with the LGBT History Month Speakers Event. Four students gave short talks concerning LGBT topics, from Hollywood's legacy on queer cinema to queer Classical reception. In March, this was followed by a talk given by the Society President, Stelios Sycallides, on placing Wagner's 'Ring Cycle' in the context of 19th-century Germany.

In Easter Term, talks were given by Clare postgraduates on aspects of Computer Science and Theology.

As always, the society is indebted to its Fellow Patroness, Dr Patricia Fara, for her incredible support, as well as Sir Nicholas Barrington KCMG CVO, for his continued enthusiasm.

Stelios Sycallides, President

Clare Goes Green

It has been a year of significant expansion for Clare Goes Green. The year started strongly, with over half of Clare’s incoming students signing up for the society. The momentum never waned as we hosted 28 events over the 24 term-time weeks, many with record attendance. Some highlights include our sold-out end of ‘veganuclarey’ formal, a clothes mending workshop (run by Clare’s own Jo Costin) and Clare’s first Big Garden Birdwatch held in the Fellows’ Garden.

Over our time as a committee, we collaborated with 13 colleges, other societies within Clare and universities such as UCL and Imperial College London.

The year culminated in the Climate Ideathon, an event designed for students to brainstorm solutions to Cambridge’s most pressing climate challenges, for which we received funding from Cambridge Zero. This event was a reminder of the problem the society was (re)founded to face – the climate emergency.

We are grateful for the college’s commitment to ‘going green’ and it has been a great pleasure to lead the society.

Rose Dolan and Priya Watkinson, Presidents

Clare Medics and Veterinary Society

At the end of another fantastic year for the Clare College Medics and Veterinary Society (CCMVS) it’s great to take the time to reflect. We began with our Michaelmas formal and traditional freshers’ induction, an opportunity to bring all years together and welcome our newest recruits!

Over the rest of the year, CCMVS hosted lots of welfare events, inter-collegiate swaps, and events like the Bridgemas pizza party. All were well attended and offered plenty of opportunities for our hungry med-vets to vacate the library for some well needed doughnuts and socialising. To cap off the year, we had our CCMVS Annual Dinner, a wonderful evening for students and alumni alike. We were honoured to welcome Professor Trisha Greenhalgh as our guest speaker, regaling us with stories from her time at Clare and her fascinating career working in primary care as a professor, GP and researcher.

Displaying our prowess in sports yet again, the very med-vet heavy Clare/Homerton lacrosse team won the division 1 title in Michaelmas, captained by 3rd year Ollie Isaac! We have also expanded to the athletics world, where many of our med-vets have been hard at work on the CUAC pole vault team. This alongside our continued strength rowing for Clare Boat Club with 2nd year medic Fiona Cook becoming the new Women’s captain, is true testament to the diverse talents of so many in our med-vet community.

Patrick Dolan, President

Clare Jazz

Clare Jazz has gone from strength to strength over recent years, becoming a key contributor to live music and student life within Clare and the University. This year was no different, having put on 11 events, selling out each. For the record, that's over 1400 tickets sold, 17 unique bands of which nine were student organised, over 30 hours of live music and one minor flood.

Our first gig welcomed back Misha Mullov-Abbado, Clare Jazz alumna. This event signified a full-circle moment, with previous generations of Cambridge musicians returning as headliners, no longer student volunteers. Further Clare talent was also showcased with Postbox (Take it to the Bridge finalists), and open jams featuring several Clare students.

We're very proud of the professionalism with which we run our events, and that it still remains completely student run from the bottom up. This led to multiple collaborations with the Cambridge Jazz Festival in November, in which we hosted TC and the Groove Family, and Jack Banjo's Snackwall. Up-and-coming talent was the theme for Lent: Knats of Newcastle (famed Geordie Greep support act) graced the Cellars stage; as well as London-based band Third Room; and the Sheon Toms Trio, hailing from Trinity Laban. We hope to continue bridging student and professional musicianship and inspire the next generation of young artists.

Essential to our success has been the generous funding granted by the UCS, which has allowed us to discount tickets for Clare students, making jazz more accessible to a wider audience, and bringing together a wonderful community through music.

Khai Tran, President