Welcome to Queens’ College!
Welcome to Queens’ College!
Our names are Rufaidah (2nd year physical natural sciences, rh847@cam.ac.uk) and Faizan (3rd year Theology, fan22@cam.ac.uk) and we’re really happy to welcome you to Queens’!
Queens’ is one of the oldest colleges in Cambridge, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou, and later refounded by Elizabeth Woodville in 1465 - hence Queens’ with the very particular apostrophe! Queens’ has some beautiful architecture, and recognisable features, such as the famous Mathematical Bridge which connects the ‘light side’ to the ‘dark side’, the more modern and older parts of college respectively.
As the college reps, we’re the first point of contact for Muslims at Queens’ so please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or need any support!
Pros
Amazing location - we are just off the city centre so everything you need is a few minutes away and we aren’t as inundated by tourists as the colleges in the city centre (although you can often expect a crowd outside taking pictures of the Mathematical Bridge).
Usually everyone gets accommodation for all years of their degree.
Queens’ has very beautiful grounds and we’re on the river!
The buttery (cafeteria) serves reasonably priced meals three times a day, except on weekends when there is brunch (would recommend, definitely on the cheap side)!
We have a college ISoc, which is quite rare! Email us if you’d like to be added to the WhatsApp group.
Cons
En-suite accommodation is expensive compared to a lot of other colleges, and it can be quite difficult to obtain financial support.
Some accommodation buildings get cold due to single-glazed windows.
Kitchen facilities for on-site accommodation (gyps) don’t have a seating area, ovens or freezers and are very small.
Washing Facilities
Queens’ has two laundry sites in college, by FF staircase in Cripps on the light side and by Dokett/Friars bike shed on the dark side. Laundry is completely free! There are a few washers and dryers; usually, there are empty ones. There is also an ironing board etc.
Prayer Space
The faith centre located in FF8 in the Cripps building is a multi-faith area for reflection and prayer. Prayer mats are provided (and puzzles!) and there is a bathroom and kitchen. You can ask for CAMCard access or our lovely chaplain will let you in during her office hours.
Halal Food
Just the chicken in the buttery is halal - but always ask, sometimes there are other parts of the dish that is not halal. You can also request halal food at formals but be aware that they will sometimes just give you the vegetarian option.
Fridge/Freezer Provision
There isn’t really fridge/freezer provision, you can ask but they can decline your request to provide you with a fridge if the reason is for halal food. You are allowed to keep your own fridge/freezer in your room. All on-site accommodation will have fridges but not freezers.
Ensuite
Cripps, where most freshers live, has ensuite rooms or private bathrooms (a bathroom just outside your room). Of course, an en-suite would be more suitable, and you can stress this to the accommodation officer if you wish.
Other fresher accommodations, e.g. Friars, have shared bathrooms on the bottom floor for the whole staircase, but you will have a sink in your room to be able to do wudhu.
In general, Queens’ has a fair amount of ensuite rooms for all years, so getting one should not be a worry. From second year onwards you can also guarantee en-suite accommodation for religious reasons if you like as this will be classed as a welfare exemption - in the balloting email sent out in the summer there will be a section outlining how to apply for this.
Concluding Remark
We hope you have a great time at Queens’ - it’s a beautiful college with a really lovely Muslim community (the President of Queens’ is also Muslim!) with a nice mix of undergrads and postgrads. If you need anything please contact us! For more general information you can visit the main Queens’ College website at https://www.queens.cam.ac.uk/ or contact staff members - find their contact details at https://www.queens.cam.ac.uk/contacts/directories. You may find the emails for our Dean of Chapel and Head of Wellebing, Reverend Tim Harling (tch42@cam.ac.uk) and our College Chaplain, Reverend Anna Jones (chaplain@queens.cam.ac.uk) particularly helpful for religion and wellbeing questions.