It's closer than you think
Interestingly, St Hugh's - along with the bastion of carnality, Christchurch - has the highest number of students registered on OxfordRomance. Personally, I feel this reflects the flirty nature of the good-time Charlies (or should I say Hughsies?), rather than the sexual frustration of the students who venture into town once for matriculation and then a second time in order to graduate.
I lie, of course, but along with the other liberal colleges (i.e. Wadham), St Hugh's is a very relaxed place and forms a shocking underbed of sexual rampancy... or perhaps that's just my friends.
Most people think that St Hugh's is full of introverted, workaholic oddballs. And they'd be right. Well, I jest a little. However, in spite of St Hugh's being located in what is for all intents and purposes a different county, this surprisingly rather large college boasts enough fun, frolics and fraternising to keep any student amused.
We affectionately call our students "Hughsies" and the college has a real sense of community. I mea, after all, it helps to have someone to talk to when you walk into town. St Hugh's was founded by the niece of Wordsworth in 1886 (as if you really care!) and named after that famous monk St Hugh of Avalon, who lived in Oxford in the twelfth century.
Having had a small hernia trekking further north than they ever intend to in the rest of their life at Oxford, the first thing any discerning student from the deep south realises is the enormity and beauty of the college grounds. It's got something like 14 acres of plush gardens and rolling savannah. We've got loads of room for outdoor parties and we are so cool we have summer fun festivals with Pims and bouncy castles. And big cotton-bud-style Gladitorial contests. Blissful.
The buildings are, to say the least, eclectic, varying from neo-classical Edwardian with equally Edwardian kitchens to the uber-expensive homage to Ikea that is Hugh's latest architectural acquisition. Not only does St Hugh's have a reasonably impressive academic background (we came 17th in the Norrington this year - not half bad for a less well-endowed college). One famous alumni Aung San Suu Kyi, even proved that not all graduates from Hugh's have to go into teaching.
Academic matters over we are, according to the grapevine (namely St Anne's), rumoured to have the best bops in the Oxford. Let's face it, we need to. The bops, carrying the constraints of thematic dress, start off downright debauched and end in utter chaos, usually with students slumped in a random person's corridor followed by an pilgrimage en masse to local kebab van, "Sir" Ali's, which involves 100-strong gaggle asking for chips-n-cheese. At St Hugh's we tend to move in groups. In fact, our bops are so popular we had to introduce a stricter door policy than your averageLondon clubs. Our bar manager evicts anyone who looks "dodgy", mostly those not wearing tweed or said costume. The atmosphere is often lively and friendly. Generally it's a chance to let your proverbial hair down from the stresses of that two-day week. Some of my favourite highlights from bops include a naked JCR President, random Maltese Mafioso and turbo-shandy's (come try them to find out). So overall, St Hugh's provides one of the best nights out in Oxford. It's probably best to book a taxi for the homeward journey, though.
Anyway, if college fails to provide, then Jericho and the delightfully named Summertown provide all a student could possibly need. Summertown is but a short while away and is teaming with shops, restaurants and bored, middle-class housewifes, whilst Jericho, the land of wonky haircuts and second-hand jeans, provides trendy bars, a co-op (nice) and probably some of the best curry restaurants in Oxford, note the word probably.
So, forget your Balliols and Trinitys. Get those bags packed, and a flask in hand and make the hike to Hugh's. As Jennifer Aniston nearly once said, we're worth it.
7th Nov 2002