Viewing archives for Old Members & Friends

Come join us at the New Old Members ‘plus’ Drinks Reception in London on Tuesday 18 November from 6.00 till 8.30pm at The Folly, Gracechurch Street, near Monument (map). 

Booking is now open until 3 November (or until we sell out).

New Old Members – those who joined Queen’s within the last ten years – are warmly invited to an evening of meeting, greeting, and networking with fellow Old Members. We’re also delighted to welcome alumni who joined Queen’s in 2010 or later (hence the ‘plus’ in the event name).

New Provost Paul Johnson will be there too, so come and say hello, share stories and build new connections across the year groups of recent Queen’s leavers in the Garden and Deli semi-private area of The Folly bar and restaurant! 

Tickets are £20 per person, including drinks and light bites.

We will celebrate our traditional Needle and Thread Gaudy on Saturday 10 January 2026 for Old Members who matriculated in the years 2008 or 2009.

Booking is now open.

Traditionally held at the beginning of the New Year, this dinner involves the College’s Bursar threading a needle into each guest’s jacket and advising them to be thrifty in the coming year. Needles were historically popular as Christmas gifts but it is thought that this Gaudy’s customs are a pun on the College founder’s name, Eglesfield – the French words ‘aiguilles et fils’ meaning needles and threads.

The Gaudy dinner is free of charge. B&B is available for Saturday 10 January at £50pppn.

Please note that due to space restrictions in Hall, this is an Old Member only event (for matriculation years 2008 and 2009).

SATURDAY 10 JANUARY

  4.00pm   Tea & cake in the Shulman Auditorium
  4.30pm   Welcome
  6.30pm   Drinks in the Upper Library
  7.00pm   Dinner (Black Tie)

SUNDAY 11 JANUARY

  8.15–9.45am   Breakfast in Hall
  8.45am    Holy Communion

We will celebrate our traditional Boar’s Head Gaudy on Saturday 20 December 2025 for Old Members who matriculated in the years 2000 or 2001.

Invitations to join the ballot for places will be sent in September.

The programme will begin with tea and Christmas cake in the Shulman Auditorium, followed by a recital of seasonal music in Chapel with the College Choir.

The Gaudy is combined with the Boar’s Head Ceremony, which takes place before dinner. Guests are asked to assemble in Hall by 6.25pm when the Boar’s Head will make its ceremonial entrance.

After the Ceremony, champagne will be served in the Upper Library, followed by dinner at 7.15pm. Holy Communion will be celebrated in Chapel on Sunday morning.

The Gaudy dinner is free of charge. B&B is available for Saturday 20 December at £50pppn.

Please note that due to space restrictions in Hall, this is an Old Member only event (for matriculation years 2000 and 2001).

Programme

SATURDAY 20 DECEMBER

  3.30pm   Tea & cake in the Shulman Auditorium
  4.00pm   Welcome
  5.45pm   Recital of Seasonal Music in Chapel
  6.30pm   Boar’s Head Ceremony
  6.45pm   Drinks in the Upper Library
  7.15pm   Dinner (Black Tie)

SUNDAY 21 DECEMBER

  8.15 – 9.45am   Breakfast in the Hall
  8.45am    Holy Communion

We will celebrate the Jubilee Matriculation Lunch on Saturday 18 October 2025 for Old Members who matriculated in the years 1955, 1965, 1975.

Booking is now closed. Please contact the Old Members’ Office to enquire about any spaces becoming available.

SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER

The event commences at 12noon for the commemorative photograph, but refreshments will be available from 11.30am for guests arriving early.

12:00 Commemorative photograph
12:30  Drinks in the Upper Library
13:00  Lunch (Dress code: Lounge suits)
14:30 Talk by College Archivist Mike Riordan in the Shulman Auditorium
15:30 Tea, coffee and cake the Shulman Auditorium Foyer
16:00 Close

Lunch is free of charge for Old Members.
If you would like to bring a guest, please register their details when booking. Tickets for guests are £25.

Julia Doyle  soprano
Esther Lay  mezzo-soprano
Guy Cutting  tenor

Choir of The Queen’s College, Oxford
Academy of Ancient Music
Owen Rees
 director

Handel’s Messiah lies at the very heart of Christmas musical festivities. The oratorio follows Christ’s life from the prophecies of the Old Testament through to his birth, passion and resurrection, and the final conquest of sin with the promise of eternal life. Handel uses his consummate skill as an opera composer to inject vivid colour and intense drama into his score. First heard in 1741, it remains just as popular today as it did in Dublin nearly 300 years ago. Arias of mesmerising beauty and triumphant courage sit alongside virtuoso choruses of stunning power – including the famous ‘Hallelujah Chorus’.

This concert continues the acclaimed collaboration between the Choir of The Queen’s College, Oxford and the world famous Academy of Ancient Music, a combination of the finest choral singing and an orchestra with a worldwide reputation for excellence in baroque and classical music.  Previous performances of Messiah in this collaboration, also with star-studded line-ups of soloists, have sold out months before the event and early booking is advised. 

Choir and orchestra are conducted by Owen Rees, Director of Music at The Queen’s College, hailed as ‘one of the most energetic and persuasive voices’ in this field.

Contact

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High Street, Oxford,
OX1 4AW

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Tel: 01865 279120

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