Though founded in 1911, St Margaret's College has embarked on numerous building and rennovation projects over the years, enabling the College to expand and develop to suit the needs of residents in the modern era, whilst retaining the historic character and charm of it's beginnings.
The College has 224 bedrooms, various social spaces, a library, a media room, a number of tutorial rooms, a games room, and a formal dining room, all heated through an environmentally-friendly hot water system, making the rooms warm and comfortable for Members.
Centrally located on the Universtiy of Otago campus, the College’s graceful buildings, sit amidst established surrounds, and we boast a private sunny courtyard, tranquil gardens, a tennis and basketball area provide the perfect environment for Members to feel at home, and to flourish is both their learning and life.
We are a College in the true sense of the word, putting a large emphasis on people, a family environment, and the infrastructure. The College is constantly upgrading, whether it be re-carpeting and re-painting rooms, putting in new bathrooms, new floors, or new furnishings.
Bedrooms
Bathrooms
Floor kitchens
Dining Hall
Common rooms
Tutorial rooms
Library
TV Room
Courtyard
Laundry
Information technology
Music facilities
The College houses 224 Members in eleven floors and two houses. Each floor accommodates 15 to 27 Members and has a resident College Leader to look out for the wellbeing of the Members. Floors have been carefully designed with a community environment in mind.
Because the College has been greatly added to and upgraded in the years since its founding in 1911, each floor has its own character, and the rooms reflect this. All bedrooms are equipped with a bed (mostly single), desk, desk chair, wardrobe, drawers, mirror, radiator and pinboard. All linen and blankets are provided although you are welcome to bring your own if you wish.
Please note that at times St Margaret’s is able to offer single-sex and alcohol free floors, but this is dependent on the number of requests for these.
The Norris Dining Hall was named after Dr Peter Norris who was the Head of the College from 1998 until his retirement in late 2016. It is a grand room with a majestic character and comfortably seats the entire College, allowing meal times to be lively and social as Members catch up with one another before, during or after each day at University.
The Dining Hall features a wonderful stained glass window of St Margaret, a baby grand piano and a grandfather clock, and is the perfect setting for our Formal Dinners and other celebratory events throughout the year.
The Valentine Common Room was built in 1995 and is a beautiful spot to relax with friends, whether it be just chatting or playing the baby grand piano or some card games or reading. This room makes the College feel like home.
The Otago Daily Times is delivered each morning to the Common Room, as well as each floor kitchen, to keep Members abreast of current events.
In the evenings, the Residents Executive Committee operates a Canteen where you can purchase delicious snacks. Adjoining the Valentine Common Room is the Games Room, with a professional size pool table and a table tennis table.
The Academic Common Room is used as a communal study space, as well as being used to hold functions and meetings throughout the year.
The Atrium, with its very popular coffee/hot chocolate machine, is open for Members between meals and at night. At certain times, evening tea and toast is available in the Atrium.
For senior Members of the College (i.e. third-year and above), the Fellows and Seniors Common Room in Thorpe House is available as a space where they can relax, read a book, study or have a coffee.
The College is well-known for the excellent on-site tutorials it offers our first year students and Members appreciate the contribution these make towards achieving success academically.
Tutorials occur in one of three special purpose rooms; a large Study Centre and two smaller tutorial rooms.
Enjoy your sport, movies or binge-watching your favourite series on Netflix? Then you will definitely make use of the 75" smart TV in the Media room.
The College subscribes to Sky, including the sport channels, and Netflix, so there is plenty to choose from should you wish to have a break from your studies.
Often used for floor birthday celebrations and other social occassions, the Media room is furnished with comfortable couches and bean bags, making it a modern, comfortable space to spend time.
Tucked between the College’s main buildings is a large, sunny and private courtyard for Members to enjoy all year round. The courtyard is utilised for many social occassions, including our Welcome Barbeque at the beginning of the first semester.
In the warmer months, Members like to enjoy their meals outdoors at the picnic tables or find a quiet spot in the sun to study. With the relaxing sound of falling water from the fountain, and the established garden surrounds, the courtyard is a great additional space at the College to study, relax and socialise in.
While the College takes care of the laundering of your bed linen each week, you will need to take care of this chore for your personal clothing.
The laundry comes equipped with washing machines and dryers (which are all free, not coin-operated). Should you prefer to air-dry your clothese, a clothesline is situated behind the laundry.
The College provides excellent IT facilities including a wireless network covering all residential floors, providing access to the University Network, internet, and colour printing. The College also has computers for student use.
Our extensive wireless network covers all parts of the College, including bedrooms, common and study areas, and the dining hall.
The College has two professional-grade Ricoh multifunction devices, capable of black & white and colour wireless printing, scanning, and copying.
Members receive $10 worth of free printing credit at the start of the year. Once credit is used it can be topped up.
Two computers running Windows 10 and Microsoft Office are available for students, should they need them.
The College also has an Apple Mac Mini with Sibelius music software installed and a Midi Keyboard in the music room for composition work, along with Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro.
The College has on-site IT support. This means if there is a problem, it will be addressed very quickly.
The College is very well-equipped for those who have a muscial passion. It has a Music Room with an excellent practice piano and keyboard. There is also baby grand piano in the Valentine Common Room, a piano in the Study Centre, and another baby grand piano in the Norris Dining Hall.
The Music Room may be booked for individual or group practice, and also has a media creation computer (Apple Mac Mini) with Sibelius music notation software, a midi keyboard, Logic Pro digital audio workstation software, and Final Cut Pro video editing software.
