Clare College

This Wednesday, Choral Evensong will be broadcasted live on BBC3, live from the Clare College Chapel with music by John Rutter, Howells, Nico Muhly and Hovland. 🎶

🔗 Tune in on BBC Radio 3 at 3pm: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002xfgz

📻 Next week on we broadcast Choral Evensong live from , with ‘A Ukrainian Prayer’ by former Director of Music .composer, Responses by Clare alumnus .pacey, the Westminster Service by Herbert Howells (who was commissioned in 1976 for the College’s then 650th anniversary), and the first broadcast of ‘Reaching Farther’ by commissioned for the College’s 700th anniversary this year. With Organ Scholars and .costard24, directed by .

BBC Radio 3 Choral Evensong
Wednesday 17 June, 3pm
Broadcast live from the Chapel of Clare College, Cambridge

Monday Moment ☀️

A punt’s‑eye view of Clare and King’s College on the River Cam.

📸Harry Chevassut (Clare Undergrad)

Clareity Symposium 2026 💛

The Clareity Symposium 2026, held in March, is the annual speaker event organised by Clare's Postgraduate Committee. This one‑day conference gives postgraduate students the chance to present their cutting-edge research to an audience of students, Fellows, staff, and alumni.

This year, 27 speakers took part in nine thematic sessions, with topics ranging from The Language of Cells to Governing Risk, Climate and Environmental Futures to Dangerous Desires. They were joined by two keynote speakers, Professor Julian Downward and The Rev’d Dr James Hawkey, former Dean of Clare, marking this as a particularly special event in Clare's 700th anniversary year.

🔗You can now watch some of the Clareity Symposium talks here: https://stories.clare.cam.ac.uk/clareity-symposium-2026/index.html

📸 Photography by Nils Lauermann

Clare Translates – General Admission 🎓

You might have heard the terms “graduation”, “General Admission”, or “conferral of degrees” — they all mean roughly the same thing, and is a very Cambridge way of describing the main undergraduate degree ceremony!

Eligible students are automatically registered by the Praelector’s Secretary, and the day is typically full of memorable moments, from wearing academic dress to celebrating with friends and family, and the ceremony itself in Senate House.

Clare’s General Admission takes place on Wednesday 1 July. For more details, look out for emails from Yuanyuan (yz775) or https://www.clare.cam.ac.uk/general-admission. 🔗

🎉Congratulations to five Clare Fellows who have been promoted by the University of Cambridge, effective 1 October 2026.

• Professor Rebecca Lawson — promoted to Grade 12 Professor. Her research uses computational models, pharmacology and brain imaging to understand how humans learn to build adaptive expectations about the world around us, other people and ourselves 🧠

• Professor Oliver Shorttle — promoted to Grade 12 Professor. He studies the chemical and dynamic processes occurring in planetary interiors and crusts through a combination of fieldwork, geochemical analysis and modelling 🌍

• Professor Ioannis Lestas — promoted to Grade 12 Professor. His work is associated with the analysis, modeling and control of large scale networks, using advanced methodologies in control theory and optimization, with a focus on the control of power systems and smart grids ⚡

• Professor Matt Kenzie — promoted to Grade 11 Professor. Working with data from CERN's Large Hadron Collider, he studies the behavior of short-lived subatomic particles to see how matter and antimatter differ 🔬

• Isabelle Higgins — promoted to Senior Teaching Associate, Grade 8. Her research examines how people integrate and make sense of emerging technologies in daily life. Drawing on social theory, she critically analyses how these real-world settings reflect, reproduce, or challenge social inequalities 📱

📸 Isabella McNicholas (Clare Undergrad)

Ready to finish Easter Term with a flourish on the pitch? 🏏

There are two fantastic cricket matches this term for students, alumni, staff, and Fellows to get involved in!

On Saturday 20th June, 1pm, the joint Clare team of students, staff, Fellows are playing the Siegfried Sassoon XI, at the Trinity Old Fields ground, in a special one‑off match celebrating the College’s 700th anniversary and honouring one of our distinguished alumni, Siegfried Sassoon, a passionate cricketer.

On Thursday 25th June, 2pm, the annual big students vs staff and Fellows match returns, also on Trinity Old Fields ground. Last year staff and Fellows took victory for the first time...will they defend their title another year, or will the students strike back?

Whether you want to play or simply spectate, everyone is welcome! If you’d like to play in either match, please message Mark Smith (mss53).

Andrew Watson has been Head Rowing Coach at Clare Boat Club since 2016, leading one of Cambridge’s most historic and spirited college boat clubs 🚣

His rowing journey began at age 11, over 50 years ago, and since then he has played a key role in shaping and growing Clare’s rowing programme. He has seen generations of rowers develop their skills on the water and is now looking forward to exciting plans to develop the boathouse.

We caught up with Andy to talk about his career journey, the life of a head coach (lots of early mornings!), and the rewards of helping to shape individuals both on and off the water — just in time for May Bumps next week!

🔗You can read the full article here: https://stories.clare.cam.ac.uk/clarereview-202425-lastword/

Kingfishers at Clare 🪶

It’s kingfisher season! Chicks hatched in early April, and keen watchers may have spotted the parents busily bringing fish back to the nest over the past few weeks.

They’ve now fledged, but it was a real treat to see them around Clare whilst they were here!

📸 Photography by Jamie Clarkson

Monday Moment 🌟

Castlebrae, the heart of Castle Court — did you know it was once home to the remarkable Scottish twin sisters Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlop Gibson in the 19th century?

Medieval Manuscript Fragments 📜

A new piece from Michael Angerer, Newby Trust Junior Research Fellow, explores some of the fascinating treasures in Clare’s library collection.

Little survives of Clare’s medieval library, with the College now holding just 31 complete medieval manuscripts. However, the Fellows’ Library is home to hundreds of manuscript fragments, many preserved within historic book bindings. These fragments reveal a remarkable range of material — from beautifully illuminated illustrations to commentaries from medieval classrooms, as well as copying errors and puzzles that make identifying them an ongoing challenge!

🔗 You can read the full blog here: https://stories.clare.cam.ac.uk/library-medieval-manuscripts/index.html