Congratulations and Welcome to Mary’s

Congratulations and Welcome from the MCR President – Zareen Hyatt

Congratulations and welcome to St. Mary’s College! We’re delighted that you will be joining our postgraduate community and I’m looking forward to meeting you all in September. 

I’m Zareen, a fourth year Mathematics student, and your MCR president this year. The MCR, short for Middle Common Room, is a community at Mary’s made up of postgraduates, 4th year undergraduates and mature students. Membership of the MCR gives you access to the wide range of sports, societies, formals, balls, social events, and research seminars that both the JCR (Junior Common Room) and MCR host throughout the year. 

Additionally, the MCR fresher’s representative (frep) team and I have been hard at work this summer planning a variety of events for your arrival. We have an incredible lineup prepared for you over the ten days leading up to the start of the academic year, including tours, parties, movie/games nights and a Durham pub crawl. These events are a great way to meet fellow Mary’s freshers and learn about the MCR and life at Mary’s/Durham.

We’ll be emailing again with more details and information about how to sign up for fresher’s week and MCR membership, so keep an eye out! 

Once again, I’d like to congratulate you on receiving a place at Mary’s. I might be (just a little) biased, but I can confidently say that Mary’s is one of my favourite places in Durham. Known as the friendliest college in Durham, Mary’s lives up to the reputation. Inclusivity, compassion and respect are highly valued here, creating an environment where you can make lifelong friends. Conveniently located between the Hill and the Bailey, Mary’s also offers some of the most affordable JCR and MCR membership prices, along with a thriving community of sports and societies. There’s something for everyone, and I can’t wait for you to discover all that our wonderful college has to offer!

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected].