The Junior Common Room and Middle Common Room are the hubs of undergraduate and graduate social life in College.

Junior Common Room

All undergraduates are members of the Junior Common Room or JCR. The JCR represents and supports undergraduates, organises events and maintains undergraduate facilities in College.

JCR

Events
The JCR organises a range of events:

  • bops are the regular College themed parties, with low cost drinks, a DJ and plenty of creative outfits
  • at Guest Dinners students invite friends and family to a black tie dinner with fine food and wine
  • at Welfare Lunches, Men’s Lunches and Women’s Lunches there is free food with plenty of welfare information
  • Environmental and Ethics (E&E) brunches are post-bop meals for those who may have missed breakfast with Fairtrade food 
  • in Freshers’ Week the JCR organises a programme of events to welcome new members of the JCR and make them feel comfortable in their new surroundings 

Facilities
As well as access to wider College facilities the JCR offers students:

  • JCR lounge with quiz machine and free jukebox
  • TV room, complete with full Sky/ESPN access and a surround sound entertainment system
  • games room where you can invite friends for a game of pool, darts or arcade games
  • JCR DVD Collection with over 100 DVDs
  • JCR Art Collection with numerous artworks available for members to hang in their rooms.

Representation and support
Among the many ways the JCR provides support are:

  • regular meetings to allocate funds and discuss any issues raised by the JCR
  • representation on College Committees, providing a student voice on College matters
  • liaising with Oxford University Student Union (OUSU) and other college JCRs
  • the Room Ballot that allocates accommodation to all continuing undergraduates
  • academic feedback, to ensure that you continue to get the best standard of study experience
  • newsletters announcing events and services

Visit the student-run JCR website to find out further information on student life. JCR students also produce a termly magazine of articles, art and poetry called 1555. You can see past issues here.

The University website for Students has lots of information too.

" I was worried everyone would either work 25 hours a day, 8 days a week and never talk to me or that they would all be posh. Neither is true. I've enjoyed it far more than I thought possible, both academically and socially. " Ben, third year PPE student

Middle Common Room

All graduate students are members of the Middle Common Room or MCR, which is the College's graduate student community and the hub for graduate social life in St John's. The MCR organises events, maintains graduate facilities and represents and supports graduates in the College.

Events
The MCR organises a range of events:

MCR

  • bops (College themed parties): a great way to relax during a weekend with low-cost drinks and DJ
  • Exchange Dinners: a chance to meet graduates from other Colleges over dinner
  • Guest Dinners: black tie dinners that are a great way to show off the College to your friends
  • film nights: subsidised visits to the cinema 
  • desserts nights: free selection of desserts
  • wine and cheese tastings: a chance to experience the College’s wine cellar jointly with the SCR
  • one-off events suggested by graduates, which have previously included ice-skating, jazz nights and cultural trips

Facilities
The MCR Building in College includes:

  • main room, the venue for MCR events and a space for graduates to work or relax in
  • kitchen for all graduates to use
  • computer room with free printing and access to computing resources
  • TV room with a 60" TV, DVD player and Sky access
  • sports cupboard with equipment that is free to use for a large range of sports
  • games room with a pool table and many board games
  • meeting room  for work or meetings 

Representation and support
Among the many ways the MCR provides support are:

  • representation on College Committees
  • room ballot allocating accommodation to all continuing graduates
  • newsletters announcing events and services for graduates
  • peer support providing other students to talk to if you want to discuss something
  • sports teams organising sporting opportunities for graduates

Find out more information on the graduate student-run MCR website.