Have a look at our roundup of donor events for 2025. We look forward to welcoming many of you back to College in 2026 in thanks for your generosity.
1511 Lunch 2025
We welcomed back supporters and friends of the College on Saturday 10 May for the inaugural 1511 lunch. Guests enjoyed welcome drinks in the Master’s Lodge garden before proceeding to Hall for a delightful lunch. The Master, Heather Hancock (1984), greeted guests and shared upcoming exciting projects across the College. Evangeline Dillon (2023), the first Dobson Free Places recipient and Davies-Jackson Scholarship holder, told of how these awards had impacted her first two years at St John’s, helping with her studies and extra-curricular activities.
“Awards like these put people from backgrounds like mine on an even playing field with others when coming to university, and I will be eternally grateful for your generosity.” – Evangeline Dillon (2023, Medical Sciences)
After lunch half of the group went to the Old Music Room to listen to Professor Ulinka Rublack (Professor of Early Modern History at Cambridge University and Fellow of St John’s College), who is currently writing a global history of fashion from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment. The other half of the guests took a tour of the College grounds with College Gardeners David Austrin and Zoe Cullen, learning about the types of soil and planting used across the College. We finished the event with tea and coffee in the Senior Combination Room.
Dobson Free Places Drinks Reception
More than 150 supporters and friends of the College were welcomed on Wednesday 24 September to Lambeth Palace in London to mark the progress of the Dobson Free Places Fund. The Master greeted guests and highlighted how each attendee is part of a remarkable community of Johnians whose generosity is opening doors and shaping brighter futures for generations of students to come. With continued support the gates of opportunity can be opened even wider, ensuring that students from any background can thrive at St John’s. The Dobson Free Places scheme will be a legacy of inclusion and excellence.
Mark Onyett (1990) shared why he had decided to give to the Dobson Free Places scheme and how he had seen firsthand how great an impact your gift can have on students attending St John’s. Free Places recipients Mustafa Sayfi (2024) and Evangeline Dillon (2023) talked about their experience receiving a Free Place and how it enabled them to flourish at St John’s, allowing them to take part in extra-curricular activities as well as focus better on their studies.
The Dobson Free Places award lets me focus fully on my studies, enjoy university life and gain real financial independence. A year ago I worried about turning my offer at Cambridge down because of the cost – but thanks to this support I never had to think about that again.” – Mustafa Sayfi (2024, AMES)
Winter Warmer 2025
On Saturday 6 December donors returned to College for an a cappella concert from the Gents of St John’s. Guests enjoyed mulled wine and mince pies as they listened to the close harmonies from the choral scholars.
