Hello, I’m James and I study Physical Natural Sciences at Pembroke College. Hailing from the royal borough of Wigan in the North West of England, my motivation for applying to Pembroke was based predominantly on promising course admission statistics and of what I could gather from Google Images. However, after spending almost two and a half terms here, I’m not quite sure I could have made a better decision. I’d even say I nearly love Pembroke as much as I love Wigan Athletic Football Club.
Pembroke’s main selling points are its location, sports facilities, food, and the willingness of the college to listen and respect its student body. The college sits just beyond the bottom of King’s Parade, the beating heart of Cambridge city centre, adjacent to the famous Fitzbillies patisserie, Revolution and The Fitzwilliam museum. Pembroke is a five-minute walk from the market and no more than six from Sainsbury’s (check out our YouTube channel for more accurate timings!), but also only a couple of minutes from the river and one of the closest colleges to the train station.
For a college not widely publicised in reference to sport, Pembroke is certainly a force to be reckoned with. For me, the college’s facilities are unparalleled across the board and exemplified by our boathouse shown right, arguably the most picturesque and well-maintained on the river (yes, I am including the Cambridge University boathouse in this). Pembroke Pitches is also home to football, rugby and cricket pitches, along with tennis and squash courts all less than a 10-minute cycle from college grounds. All college sports teams compete to a high standard, but also have a number of squads accommodating for a range of abilities and prior experience. In fact, our first XI football team competes in the quarter finals of the cup tomorrow evening against an in-form John’s team, and the hockey team anxiously awaits a final match up against Jesus College! Pembroke also teams up with Girton College to form the mighty Pirton Rugby Club, with rugby taking a logical backseat to a thriving social scene.
One of the aspects of college life where Pembroke excels is its arrangements of second year accommodation for undergraduate freshers. Lots of Oxbridge colleges try to organise this far too early in my opinion, leaving very little time for students to develop friendships to a point where they can decide if they would firmly like to live with someone. In contrast, Pembroke’s deadline this year for submission of accommodation groups was the 3rd of May, giving ample time for students in a year which arguably required it most.
Pembroke’s first year accommodation offers a range in style and character without varying heavily in comfort, practicality and the convenience of facilities. Rent bands range from A to C for first year undergraduates, equivalent to around £120 to £140 per week, falling at the bottom end of the range quoted on the university wide website of £120 to £200 per week. Pembroke also only offers 27-week contracts for the academic year, meaning payment during the holidays is only for as long as you are in residence and heavily subsidised with easily attained vacation grants.
Pembroke is best known for its excellent food, with the New 7 Wonders Foundation (a swiss company who was recently tasked with compiling the ‘New 7 Wonders of the World’) listing the college’s brunch as number 3. Back in first term, I’d constantly hear older students and staff refer to Pembroke’s stereotype of one of the friendliest Cambridge colleges, and based on the little amount of time I had spent here I was always sceptical and found this phrase vague and surely an impossible generality. This is why I was genuinely so surprised to find everyone – literally everyone – so calm, patient and open-minded. Despite sounding like such a cliché, Pembroke’s environment lacks the stuffiness and traditional obsessions of other colleges while maintaining the age-old formal dinners, societies and ball’s that gives Oxbridge its rather magical allure. The college also does it upmost to satisfy the interests of its student body, most notably committing to full divestment in fossil fuels as of late in conjunction with the JPC (Junior Parlour Committee), the Pembroke Climate Justice Campaign and the Pembroke Orchard Green Society.
My only criticism of Pembroke is that its undergraduate degrees are only three years long, but I suppose this fact is largely out of their hands. Despite a tumultuous year characterised in part by ambiguous rules and a socially frustrated student body, I have largely admired college staff for their patience and understanding. I can only speak for Pembroke of course, but in contrast to the arbitrary student-staff division characterising secondary school and sixth form, college has maintained a strong unified community with exciting times ahead.