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| Society of Home-Students | |
|---|---|
| Name | Society of Home-Students |
| Established | 1878 |
| Closed | 1979 (renamed) |
| Type | Non-collegiate student society |
| City | Oxford |
| Country | England |
Society of Home-Students
The Society of Home-Students was an institutional arrangement at the University of Oxford allowing women and later men to matriculate and study without belonging to a traditional college (Oxford), linked to institutions such as St Hugh's College, Oxford, St Hilda's College, Oxford, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Somerville College, Oxford and Nuffield College, Oxford. It played a role in the expansion of access alongside reforms influenced by figures like Emily Davies, Millicent Fawcett, Dorothy L. Sayers and organisations including the Women's Social and Political Union and the Oxford Union. The Society evolved amid broader trends exemplified by the Representation of the People Act 1918, the Education Act 1918, and the interwar growth of continuing education at sites like Ruskin College and Bodleian Library.
The Society originated in the late 19th century as part of movements led by activists such as Christabel Pankhurst, Gertrude Bell and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and by academic reformers connected to John Ruskin, Benjamin Jowett and Henry Acland. Early interactions involved colleges including Balliol College, Oxford, Magdalen College, Oxford and Exeter College, Oxford and administrative figures such as John Henry Newman and Edward VII-era university officers. During the First World War the Society’s membership and profile shifted in response to services by alumni in campaigns like the Battle of the Somme and wartime medical work coordinated with hospitals such as St Thomas' Hospital and organisations like the Red Cross. Between the wars, links strengthened with municipal and philanthropic actors including the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, the Birmingham Settlement and foundations such as the Carnegie Trust. After the Second World War, postwar expansion paralleled national reforms epitomised by the Butler Education Act 1944 and the establishment of bodies like the University Grants Committee and the Open University; governance adapted under vice-chancellors drawn from colleges including Trinity College, Oxford and Christ Church, Oxford. The Society was renamed and reconstituted in the late 20th century alongside migrations to sites connected to Headington Road and associations with trusts such as the Nuffield Foundation.
Governance structures echoed collegiate models influenced by the Clarendon Commission, with trustees, tutors and administrators drawn from institutions including Keble College, Oxford, Hertford College, Oxford and Wadham College, Oxford. University officers such as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford and bodies like the Hebdomadal Council and later the Council of the University of Oxford oversaw academic recognition while philanthropic patrons such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie provided support. Prominent academic figures who informed policy included A. L. Rowse, E. R. Dodds, I. A. Richards and Isaiah Berlin, who interacted with tutors and examiners from faculties like the Faculty of Classics and the Medical Sciences Division. Governance also reflected national legal frameworks exemplified by statutes debated alongside the Education Act 1944 and permissions notified by the Privy Council.
Admissions procedures intersected with university examinations such as the Honour Moderations and Final Honour School systems, drawing applicants from schools including Cheltenham Ladies' College, Winchester College, Eton College and St Paul's School. Student culture overlapped with organisations like the Oxford University Dramatic Society, the Oxford Union Society, the Oxford University Labour Club and the University College Players, and students took part in societies linked to public affairs such as the Fabian Society, the League of Nations Union and the Royal Historical Society. Sporting life saw engagement with the Oxford University Boat Club, Oxford University Women's Boat Club, The Rugby Football Union-affiliated teams and local clubs tied to Iffley Road Stadium. Student welfare services worked alongside the Student Christian Movement, St John Ambulance and college chaplains from parishes such as St Mary the Virgin, Oxford.
Academic supervision used the tutorial model associated with colleges like New College, Oxford and Lincoln College, Oxford connecting students to tutors who were fellows at institutions including All Souls College, Oxford, Linacre College, Oxford and Green Templeton College, Oxford. Programmes covered disciplines taught in faculties such as the Faculty of History, the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Theology and Religion and the Mathematical Institute; notable examiners included scholars from Trinity College, Cambridge and researchers linked to institutes like the Pusey Library and the Ashmolean Museum. Support services interfaced with national schemes like the Disabled Students' Allowances and scholarships donated by donors such as the Leverhulme Trust and the Gulbenkian Foundation; postgraduate pathways connected to institutes such as the Institute for Advanced Study and the London School of Economics.
Accommodation arrangements reflected non-collegiate models with lodgings in streets near High Street, Oxford, Broad Street, Oxford and residential districts including Jericho, Oxford and Headington. Facilities relied on libraries such as the Bodleian Library, laboratories at the Clarendon Laboratory, reading rooms in the Radcliffe Camera and shared access to dining halls and chapels like Christ Church Cathedral. Health and recreational amenities included partnerships with Radcliffe Infirmary, sports grounds at Wytham, and cultural venues like the Sheldonian Theatre and the Oxford Playhouse, while trustees negotiated leases and building projects with municipal bodies such as the Oxford City Council.
Alumni and fellows associated through study or teaching included writers and public figures such as Dorothy L. Sayers, Vera Brittain, Iris Murdoch, Rosalind Franklin, Margaret Thatcher, Evelyn Waugh, Ken Follett, Philip Pullman, Aung San Suu Kyi and Indira Gandhi; academics and scientists such as C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, H. A. L. Fisher, John R. Vane, Peter Medawar and Stephen Hawking also engaged with the university milieu. Political and diplomatic figures linked by mentorship or affiliation included Harold Macmillan, Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee, Ruth Kelly and William Hague. Legal and artistic connections brought interaction with judges from the House of Lords and artists exhibited in venues like the Ashmolean Museum and the Tate Modern.
The Society’s evolution influenced the later creation and renaming of institutions such as St Anne's College, Oxford and paralleled reforms at universities including Cambridge University and the development of collegiate models at Durham University. Its legacy is reflected in scholarship programmes funded by trusts such as the Nuffield Foundation and the establishment of outreach initiatives echoing practices at Open University and University of London External System. Institutional memory survives in archives held at the Bodleian Libraries and in histories written by scholars affiliated with Oxford University Press and the Clarendon Press.