TRINITY HALL

Trinity Hall is the fifth oldest College in the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1350 by Bishop Bateman, and the picturesque main site is centrally located right beside the river. We encourage applications from anyone who has the academic ability and potential to flourish at Cambridge, and we always enjoy meeting prospective applicants at our Open Days and Residentials. We especially enjoy meeting people from disadvantaged or atypical backgrounds, so that we can help to raise their aspirations, build their confidence, and provide precise information about the various higher education options available to them. The College consists of around 650 students (of which about 380 are undergraduates studying a range of subjects), 60 Fellows, 130 staff and 8,000 alumni worldwide.

STUDENTS ENJOYING LIFE AT TRINITY HALL

These pictures demonstrate just some of the key aspects of life at Trinity Hall: studying, sport, music, socialising.

CLUBS AND SOCIETIES AT TRINITY HALL

Sport

Trinity Hall has teams for rugby, football, tennis, cricket, netball, badminton and lacrosse. These teams usually have a match at the weekend and training during the week. It is also very easy to set up your own college sports team if you’d like to try a different sport!

Another popular sport at Trinity Hall and across Cambridge colleges is rowing. Trinity Hall has several boats of 8 rowers each, with outings (training sessions) taking place early in the morning so they finish in time for 9am lectures. If you don’t want to row, you could try out being a cox, whose role is to instruct the rowers and navigate the boat along the winding River Cam.

Societies

Trinity Hall is home to a range of societies. Some of the societies are academic, such as History Society, Natural Sciences and Engineering. Alternatively, there are recreational societies; the Hummus Society is probably the most informal, offering students the chance to unwind, mingle, and of course indulge in some hummus! The Board Game Society can also bring some light-hearted relief (provided it doesn’t get too competitive) to the end of a busy week. FemFo encourages lively debate on feminist and gender issues, as well as hosting socials for female and non-binary members, such as its annual garden party. For those gifted musically, there is the college choir, who perform twice weekly in the college chapel, and its members are rewarded with a free dinner on those days!

Ents and Social Life

“Ents” (short for Entertainments) are events run by the JCR (the undergraduate students) and are a key part of college life. They take place most weeks of term and are usually either a Superhall, which is a dinner with themed food, decoration, and fancy dress, or a Crescent Room, which is a themed party held in a room next to the college bar. A DJ, usually from the college community, plays music and fancy dress is encouraged!

Every year the Trinity Hall Garden Party also kicks off May Week celebrations. May Week – which takes place after term finishes in June – celebrates the end of the academic year through June Events and May Balls held at different colleges. To start the week off, the Garden Party offers Pimms and non-alcoholic beverages, ice cream, and live music throughout the afternoon; it is the perfect way to bring everyone in college together before the long vacation.

Text adapted from the?Trinity Hall Alternative Prospectus, produced by Trinity Hall students. More information about Sport and Music can be found at on our?facilities webpages.

THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT TRINITY HALL

1) Trinity Hall was initially founded in 1350 for the study of canon and civil law, probably due to a shortage of lawyers and clergymen following the Black Death of 1349. Nowadays, Trinity Hall students study a wide variety of undergraduate courses in the arts, humanities and sciences.

2) Trinity Hall welcomes students from all over the world – within the current student body at Trinity Hall, there are 65 different citizenships represented.

3) Trinity Hall is often confused with its neighbour, Trinity College, which was founded almost 200 years after Trinity Hall. In the early years of Oxford and Cambridge Universities, the term ‘College’ referred to the group of students who lived within a ‘Hall’. In later years, the term ‘College’ replaced ‘Hall’, but as Henry VIII had already founded Trinity College, Trinity Hall had no option but to remain as Trinity Hall.