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Wellbeing and support
Pastoral care
Caring for members' wellbeing
The wellbeing and pastoral care of our members is paramount. Our team of housekeepers, kitchen staff, Deputy Heads of College, and the Head of College master play a role in maintaining a safe and nurturing environment for members.
In addition to our staff, we have a team of eleven College Leaders, one per floor. These are senior students who provide pastoral and academic support to their floor and help with the smooth running of the College. The College Leaders play a very important role in providing a welcoming, homely, caring, and supportive environment in which members can thrive. The ratio of members to College Leaders is 19.36:1.
Academic support
St Margaret’s has an impressive academic record and consistently achieves some of the highest average grade point averages (GPAs) across the 14 undergraduate colleges at the University. This is accomplished through its system of highly regarded tutorials and mentor groups.
Tutorials
The College runs tutorials for a large number of first-year courses, including all first-year health sciences papers.
The Deputy Head of College - Academic manages the tutorial programme, and they are always held by highly competent tutors, often from within the same University department as the course being tutored.
Larger tutorials occur in our well-equipped study centre, while our two small tutorial rooms are used for papers with small numbers of members. These rooms also double as bookable group study spaces.
Mentoring
Unlike other colleges, St Margaret’s has a high number of returning members each year who act as mentors for first-year members.
The Deputy Head of College - Academic manages the Mentor Programme, with each mentor group led by a returning member to help answer questions and point new members toward other helpful resources. We try to match up groups of new members in a particular course or paper with a returning student who has experience in the same paper.
Mentor groups are a great place to ask those curly questions, go through past exam papers, and get general study advice.
Study assistance
As well as the more formal tutorials and mentorship programmes, there are other resources available to new Members to assist with their studies.
Returning Members are usually more than happy to talk to first-year members about courses they have taken and give advice on particular problems.
The Deputy Head of College - Academic can also arrange extra help for those who need it in difficult subjects. This includes assistance utilising the many different avenues of support that can be accessed through the University.
Study skills video
At the beginning of each year, our college leaders produce a video to provide new members with valuable tips on effective study. This is not only helpful for new members but also a fun, creative project for our College Members.