St Hugh’s College is known for its welcoming and friendly community, which can help making friends and settling into college life easy. Life at university, though, can be stressful, and at times, the pressures of work together with personal or financial worries can start to take their toll. We take the health and welfare of all our members very seriously, and there are a series of both formal and informal structures that can help support you if things are proving difficult.
Students often turn to their friends when they have problems, but there may be times when you feel you cannot do this; at such times you should not hesitate to get in touch with your tutors, any of the College Officers or those involved with student welfare. They may offer advice or simply listen, and, if necessary, refer you to someone who is better placed to offer you the right kind of support that you need.
Should you find yourself in distress or difficulty, please do ask for help early on. You should never worry that you are wasting anyone’s time; we are here to help you. You are welcome to approach whoever you feel most comfortable speaking to, and you should also feel free to contact any of these people if you have concerns about another member of College.
For more information about the different types of support available you may wish to take a look at our Health and Welfare Booklet and the University website.
Who can you approach for help?
Undergraduate
Each undergraduate has a Personal Tutor (normally one of the Fellows or Lecturers in College in the relevant subject) who directs their studies, helps to arrange teaching for them, and is available to offer academic and general advice. Personal tutors will normally see their undergraduates for report readings at the end of term, and may also arrange other meetings from time to time.
Students should feel free to consult their Personal Tutors about academic matters, and should also feel free to approach their personal tutors about pastoral or financial matters in the first instance. Undergraduates may also choose to approach any Fellow or Lecturer in College in the relevant subject for advice in the first instance. In addition, you may contact the Academic Registrar or Senior Tutor, about specific or general academic matters, including advice about study skills.
Graduate
Graduate students will find that their primary academic support comes from their supervisor and faculty/department. Each graduate also has a senior member of the College as an Advisor. This is in addition to the supervisor, who is appointed by the University and has direct responsibility for monitoring academic progress. The College Advisor is usually a Fellow of St Hugh’s, but may also be another member of the Senior Common Room who is familiar with the subject area. College Advisors can act as the first port of call about personal or financial problems. Graduates can, for example, discuss eligibility for academic-related grants with the College Advisor before submitting applications or requests to the Senior Tutor. The Academic Registrar or Senior Tutor may also be consulted about academic or other matters.
We have an Accommodation Manager who looks after the accommodation at St Hugh’s; she is available to speak to if you have any queries or problems with your room or the facilities more generally. Maintenance and housekeeping requests may be made through the online Maintenance Request Form.
Counselling
St Hugh’s has a College Counsellor, Femke Stokes, who is available to students who may need to discuss personal matters in strict confidence. Appointments may be made through the College Nurse, or by email:
T: 01865 274945
E: counselling@admin.ox.ac.uk
Chaplain
The College Chaplain, Dr Shaun Henson is always available to members of College in any kind of need to offer support in strict confidence. He is in College on most weekdays, and Sunday afternoons and evenings during full term, and on Tuesdays can always be found in his room (Main Building 24) between 3.00pm to 4.00pm for consultation on any matter. You can also contact Shaun by:
T: 01865 274955
E: chaplain@st-hughs.ox.ac.uk
If you feel it would be helpful to see a trained counsellor but, for any reason, you would prefer not to see the College’s own counsellor, there are other services available:
University Counselling Service
3 Worcester Street
T: 01865 270300
E: reception@counserv.ox.ac.uk
Samaritans
123 Iffley Road
T: 01865 722122
Nightline
Nightline is a confidential listening service (not counselling) offered to students by students between 8.00pm and 8.00am.
T: 01865 270270
Students are encouraged to visit their home dentists for routine appointments. Students are able to get emergency treatment from Studental which is located at the Headington Hill Campus of Oxford Brookes University or Temple Street Dental Practice. For more information please visit the Studental and Temple Street websites.
Please note dentists are currently catching up with their own patients post COVID-19 so you may have to ring other dentists for possible appointments.
For out of hours dental emergencies please call 111.
The University and College are committed to making arrangements to enable any student with a disability to participate as fully as possible in student life; the Common Framework for Supporting Disabled Students sets out this commitment. Students with disabilities or specific needs are urged to notify College as soon as they are able of any special requirements or provisions, with respect to examinations, adapted rooms, ramps, fire evacuations etc. Detailed information for students with disabilities is available on request. The Senior Tutor, as Disability Lead has oversight of the College’s provision; further information and day to day advices is available from the College’s Disability Coordinator:
Thea Crapper, Academic Registrar
T: 01865 274918
E: thea.crapper@st-hughs.ox.ac.uk
Students may also contact the University Disability Advisory Service directly; our advisors are Suzi Hughes (mental health & Autism) and Pauline Graham (other disabilities).
T: 01865 289941; 01865 289820
E: suzi.hughes@admin.ox.ac.uk; pauline.graham@admin.ox.ac.uk
If there is a serious emergency please contact the Emergency Services on 999 and the College Lodge 01865 274900 or 07885 269772.
Every year there are a small number of undergraduates who, for financial or family reasons, do not have a home to which they are able to return during the vacations. The College has long offered support to students who find themselves in difficult situations; details of that support are now collected in this document.
Students who think they might be eligible for this support should speak to the Wellbeing Coordinator, Academic Registrar, or Bursar in the first instance.
The College aims to provide education of excellent quality at undergraduate and postgraduate level for able students, whatever their background. In pursuit of this aim, the College is committed ensuring that all of its activities are governed by principles of equality of opportunity, and that all students are helped to achieve their full academic potential. This applies to academic disciplines, recruitment and admissions, to the curriculum, to teaching and assessment, to welfare and support services, and to staff development and training.
As Tutor for Equality and Diversity, David Taylor’s role is to help ensure that the College is an environment in which all staff and students are treated equally, regardless of race, disability, gender, sex, religion, or age. He also looks actively at ways that St Hugh’s can become a more diverse place to study and work. In this capacity, David sits on and advises the Academic, Equality, and Welfare Committees of the College’s Governing Body.
David says “I am here for any student or member of staff who has concerns, questions, or recommendations about equality and diversity in college. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you think I can help. I’m here to talk – and listen – in confidence.”
tutorforequality@st-hughs.ox.ac.uk
St Hugh’s is a diverse community and cannot meet all the specific faith requirements of individuals on site, but College members will find that there is a wide variety of places of worship in and around the City centre.
The University’s equality and diversity website has more information about particular faith societies, groups or centres within the University.
The College has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of harassment, bullying, or victimisation. Our students and staff should feel able to recognise, challenge, and complain about harassment and bullying with confidence that their concerns will be treated with the utmost seriousness and investigated fairly and promptly. The College has two Harassment Officers who can offer confidential support and advice to anyone who feels subject to threatening or exploitative behaviour from another member or employee of College. Currently, these Harassment Officers are Karen Peake and Peter Marshall.
Junior members who feel that they are being harassed by a member of the College may also approach the Dean, Dr Damian Jenkins.
The College’s harassment policy can be found here.
The College’s anti-sexual harassment policy can be found here.
The Head of Estates has day-to-day responsibility for Health and Safety throughout College and is available to discuss any general inquires you have.
Any urgent Health and Safety concerns should be reported immediately to the College Lodge.
Maintenance requests can be logged by using the online Maintenance Request Form.
The College has a dedicated group of medical professionals, who are available to advise and support any member of the College who is injured, ill or in distress or difficulty.
College Nurse, Sarah Dragonetti
The College Nurse is available by appointment either in person or via Microsoft Teams. Please email her if you would like a chat or have a medical query.
E: pml.sthughsnurse@nhs.net OR nurse@st-hughs.ox.ac.uk
T: 01865 274945
Please email Sarah in the first instance, or contact the Lodge.
College Doctor
The College Doctor, Dr Siobhan Becker and Dr Charles Luo hold a clinic at the Summertown Health Centre for St Hugh’s students on Tuesday mornings, 1-8 weeks of term, and will be available either in person, by phone or via Teams. The clinics will be at the usual time: 08.30 – 10.00am. Please note you will need a UK mobile number for the doctor to contact you by phone.
You can ring Summertown Health Centre to make an appointment on 01865 515552.
The 24hr medical advice line for overnight, evenings and weekends is 111.
The College Nurse and Doctors are available to students who may need to discuss sexual health issues but advice can also be sought from:
Oxfordshire Sexual Health Service
Churchill Hospital, Old Road, Headington, Oxford OX3 7LJ
T:01865 231231
More details are available online.
Complaints about the behaviour of other students, including noise complaints, can be directed to the Lodge on 01865 (2)74900. In the evenings and overnight, one or more Junior Deans is on duty to ensure a calm environment in college and respond to any complaints or problems. Information about the decanal team is available here.
The JCR and MCR each elect their own Welfare Officers. More information is available on the JCR and MCR pages. There are also Peer Supporters available. Peer Supporters are students who have been trained to provide support by listening in confidence. Names of current Peer Supporters can be found in the Lodge and on the welfare notice boards, or you can contact them by email:
The College has a formal committee that considers welfare matters and reports to Governing Body. If you have any general matters that you would like to bring to the attention of the committee, you should feel free to contact the JCR or MCR welfare representatives, or the Student Welfare Committee’s Secretary.
The St Hugh’s welfare network exists to provide help and advice for the College community. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with any of the student welfare team, who are on hand to listen and to support you. Please click here to view the welfare network.
