Clubs & Societies
Pursuing existing hobbies and stepping outside your comfort zone with new activities are important ways to have fun, feel at home, and develop skills for the future.
From oil-painting workshops and Drink and Draw nights, to JCR art competitions, exhibitions, and the Pembroke College Knitting Circle, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in art at Pembroke.
JCR Art Gallery and Collection
Pembroke has an onsite art gallery, the Pembroke College Emery Gallery, run by a student committee. The JCR manages its own art collection, the first JCR art collection of all the Oxford Colleges, which includes pieces from many notable artists and puts on regular public exhibitions with visiting artists. As well as getting involved with the gallery, students can borrow artwork to display in their rooms.
The JCR art collection was set up in 1947 by undergraduate Anthony Emery and is now considered one of the best collections of post World War II paintings in the country.
You can find out more about the gallery here.
The Emery Prize
Since 2018, the Emery Prize is awarded every year to a finalist from the Ruskin School of Art to support emerging artists and to encourage engagement with art in the wider Oxford community. The winner of the prize has the opportunity to put on a solo exhibition in the Pembroke College Emery Gallery.
Annual JCR Art Competition
During 'Arts Week' in Trinity Term, the JCR Art Fund Collection hosts its annual JCR art competition, inviting all Pembroke students to participate. Posters and postcards of the entries are then sold to raise money for arts charity ARK-T.
Our auditorium plays host to weekly music recitals, concerts, and the highlight of the year, our College musical. Students can use our Steinway D piano and one of only three Letourneau Organs in the UK house in our Chapel.
Our Music Director works with students to run and grow our Chapel Choir, orchestra, jazz band and more. We are also part of the University's Choral Award and Organ Scholarship scheme.
Ensembles
Pembroke has its own Jazz Band which rehearses every weekend during term time and is open to jazz enthusiasts of all levels. They even perform at our annual Garden Party!
We also have an informal choir, or 'Big Choir' as our students call it, open to all Pembroke students - no audition or ability to read sheet music required! They rehearse once a week in our Chapel and perform at our annual Christmas concert.
Pembroke and New College have a joint Orchestra which rehearses regularly throughout the year and performances at the end of each term. Like the informal choir, the orchestra is unauditioned and open to all!
Recitals
Pembroke College Music Society's Lunchtime Recital Programme offers our students the opportunity to perform in a friendly and supportive setting. Recitals are held once a week during term time, either in the Damon Wells Chapel or the Pichette Auditiorium.
Pembroke Chapel Choir
Our Chapel Choir is open to all who, after singing at a short audition, can commit to weekly rehearsals and performances. In recent years the choir has toured or performed in Tuscany, Tallinn, Milan and Paris, as well as engagements in Oxford and weekly participation in Pembroke Chapel Services.
Pembroke College Musical
Every year, a a committee of students puts on the annual Pembroke College Musical in the Pichette Auditorium. Students can get involved in a variety of ways, from directing, acting, stage design, lighting, marketing and more! Past musicals have included Guys and Dolls, Grease and Anything Goes.
Support Fund for Performing Arts
Pembroke has a College Support Fund for the Performing Arts, with grants between £100 and £500 to support students who demonstrate financial difficulty and need assistance with the cost of taking part in University-wide, high-level music or drama.
Instrumental Award
This award, worth £300, is open to all 1st year undergraduates reading any subject (apart from the Organ Scholar). The Award is made on the basis of a recital of up to 20 minutes, consisting of one or more pieces. Any instrument, apart from the organ and including the voice, may be offered.
Learn more about Organ Scholarships and Choral Awards here.
Our students proudly represent Pembroke in sports at college and university level. Our own sportsground nearby has two football pitches, a rugby pitch, two cricket nets, two grass tennis courts, three hard tennis/netball courts and a pavilion. Our successful rowing club train 10 minutes away at the boathouse.
Our friendly atmosphere welcomes newcomers and experienced sportspeople alike. If we don't have a team that you're interested in, you can start your own!
For our Pembroke gym enthusiasts, there is a PureGym a stone's throw from Pembroke on St Ebbe's Street.
Pembroke sports teams include...
Rugby, football, netball, cricket, rounders, hockey, rowing, basketball, dance, tennis, croquet, running, and more. There are also yoga and taekwondo lessons during term time as well as regular darts nights.
Most sports have two competitions which run simultaneously: a League competition and an intercollegiate competition know as “Cuppers”.
Students returning early at the start of term for University-level (or higher, e.g. national squad) training camps will be eligible for a 50% discount on the nightly rate for their College room.
Rowing
Pembroke College Boat Club is Pembroke’s largest student organisation and one of the most successful Oxford College boat clubs.
Both our Men's and Women's crews perform well in the two largest annual intercollegiate rowing races, Torpids and Summer VIIIs. PCBC is the first and only boat club to have held both the Men’s and the Women’s Summer VIIIs Head of the River in 2003. In 2025, our Women's First Eight won both the Torpids and Summer VIIIs Headship.
PCBC is open to all, from students rowing for University and National Squads to complete beginners!
Awards
You can find out more about awards given for achievement in sport and to cover costs of equipment, subscriptions and more on our Extra-Curricular Awards page.
The Pink Times
Founded in 2015, The Pink Times is a Pembroke College student publication featuring student news, updates, events, competitions and photos.
Edited and produced by our students, The Pink Times is intended to showcase and promote the friendliness and inclusivity of the College community, celebrating the achievements of those at Pembroke.
Oxford University Journalism
Students at Pembroke regularly write for a wide range of Oxford University student publications, including The Oxford Student (OxStu), The Cherwell, The Oxford Blue, The Isis Magazine, and more.
In many cases, these experiences have led to further journalistic opportunities and have prepared students for long-term careers in journalism.
From Peminists, our intersectional feminist society, to the JCR Biodiversity Project, which aims to protect and restore biodiversity on Pembroke land, we encourage students to engage with and think critically about the world around them.