downing text 2012_Layout 1 - Downing College - University of ...

DOWNING COLLEGE ASSOCIATIONin December Downing had more applications for admission than in anyprevious year, which guaranteed an extremely intense and demanding periodof interviewing by Fellows. These students who arrive in October will be thefirst who are also full paying customers. I, and I am sure many of you, will havereflected upon how different this situation is compared to our own experiences:my fees were paid automatically by the local Education Authority (I was neveraware of tuition fees) and received a maintenance grant that was more thanadequate for rent, food and entertainment during 10 week terms. Well-paidvacation work was easy to find and there was no concern about paying off avery considerable debt after graduating into a world where employmentopportunities were many and varied. Clearly, the challenges facing our studentsare very different from those we faced as students in the latter half of the lastcentury; we must be mindful of the many pressures on them and be resourcefulin finding ways to ensure that their experience is no less rich than ever it was.We have had a relatively quiet year on the domus so far as building works areconcerned, although when you visit you will notice that the areas behind thenorth and west ranges have been given a major upgrade, with increased (andmud-free) areas for parking for both bicycles and cars. This continues behindthe Butterfield Bar to the entrance of the newest residence in the College,14 Regent Street, now named Griphon House ('Griphon' is the spellingdescribing the Downing Griffin that appears in the 1801 charter granting thearms to the College). Old members will probably not be aware of this buildingwhich has always intruded into the north-east corner of the College, but manywill have visited Oddbins (before it was wound up) which is the Regent Streetfacingground floor, next to Charlie Chan’s. Inside, there are superb studybedrooms, two kitchens attached to a large communal area and 22 first yearstudents will move in at the start of the Michaelmas term. Outside of term, itwill be used for conference guests and also for our thriving bed and breakfastbusiness, both of which provide significant income for the College.The 2012 cohort of students graduated two weeks ago and again there wereoutstanding individual and subject successes, as you will see in the CollegeRecord and can read in more detail in the Senior Tutor’s summary. However,it is clear that many of our undergraduates find the transition to moreindependent undergraduate study very difficult indeed and we continue tofocus on how to make that transition more rapidly and successfully. In fact, Ihave just come from a long and detailed meeting of the Education Committeethat was almost entirely concerned with addressing these issues and the changesthat might be put in place in the coming year. It has always been important thatstudents realise their academic potential, but never more so than now as theygraduate into a highly competitive and difficult employment environment.22