Student Life
Despite its size, St. John's has merits that the other larger colleges do not; for instance its sense of community. Owing to its small population, it is not surprising that Johnians tend to know one another regardless of year, course, or accommodation (all first years and the majority of finalists live in college, with the second years required to find their own accommodation), and this bond contributes to College life immensely. The John's Hall freshers week is different from many other colleges in the way that relationships form more quickly due to the freshers' population being only between 100 to 120. Elected Freshers Reps are generally well known throughout college, with the strongest personalities, thereby giving new Johnians more opportunities for one-on-one interaction, providing a more solid foundation in their first few weeks than in the larger colleges.
St. John's performs well in a number of sports such as Cross Country Running, Mixed Lacrosse, Rowing, Men's Football (the A team went on a cup run up to the semi-finals, defeating the college champions on the way), Badminton, Hockey and Rugby among others. St John's College Boat Club was founded in 1910 and operates out of two boathouses on the River Wear. It is also renowned for its contribution to university theatre, with the Bailey Theatre Company producing successful versions of Sarah Kane's 4.48 Psychosis in the Epiphany term of 2009 and Arthur Miller's The Crucible in the Michaelmas term of 2008, as well as the annual Summer Shakespeare. This involves an outdoor performance on Library Lawn. 2008's performance of Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus won the Durham Student Theatre Award for Best Play.
St John's College bar is renowned amongst the student population of Durham, particularly notable is the wide selection of real cask ales available. Presently serving Dizzy Blonde, Tribute and Black Sheep ale, the bar hopes to source the finest local ales in the near future. There are unconfirmed reports that in the Second World War, the cellars that are now the college bar were used by the SOE (Special Operations Executive) to store weapons and ammunition for resistance fighters in the case of a German invasion. Like most student bars John's has its own unique 'college drink'. This takes the calorific form of the 'Tripod'.
Read more about this topic: St John's College, Durham
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