Remembering Our Supporters’ Lunch 2026

This year’s Supporters’ Lunch was once again an unforgettable day of unions and reunions, stories, a few tears – and most of all, gratitude for the strong bonds forged by the Somerville community.

Here in Somerville, we look forward to the annual Supporters’ Lunch as a special moment in which to thank our loyal community of supporters for helping to secure our future, unleash our potential and guide our future planning. This year’s Supporters’ Lunch was no exception: over 140 people joined us, and we had the very great pleasure of watching many of our most loyal and long-standing supporters mingle with the next generation of Somervillians.

The proceedings began before lunch with our JRF Showcase, now a firm favourite among guests as a means of learning about the latest being done by Somerville’s early-career academics. This year, guests heard from our Germanist Dr Anna Wilmore, archaeologist Dr Mariana Sontag González, immuno-oncologist Dr Martin Fellermeyer, computational biologist Dr Lucy Garner, and literary researcher Dr Kieran Brown.

Together, they asked guests to consider the value of the humanities, described efforts to uncover the first Europeans through luminescence-dating of sediment, shared the latest research on how the immune system can fight cancer and improve vaccines, and pondered the mystical experiences of medieval women. You can read Dr Brown’s speech on the value of the humanities here.

Drinks Reception and JRF Showcase

Principal Catherine Royle with the speakers at our JRF Showcase, Lucy, Anna, Martin, Kieran and Mariana

Development Director Sara Kalim (right) with close friends of Somerville

Somerville College bears are most learned and erudite companions

Development Assistant Honey (right) and MTST Director Jessica Mannix (centre) catching up with a Somervillian guest

Guests at our Supporters' Lunch 2026

Somerville students Thomas, Zainab and Guan at our Supporters' Lunch 2026

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At lunch, we heard from the Somerville College Choir, as always in fine voice. The time after lunch was reserved for our speakers. We heard a fine speech from our Principal Catherine Royle, elucidating the College’s current situation and outlining our plans for securing at-risk subjects and Oxford’s unique tutorial system. We also heard from JCR President Thomas Bainbridge[LINK] (2024, English) and long-term supporter of Somerville, Ceiri Roberts (1975, Physics).

Guests were also able to hear a speech from one of this year’s new cohort of Sanctuary Scholars, Zeinab Mohamed. Zeinab, who is from Sudan, brought many to tears as she told those listening of her journey from the hospitals and communities torn asunder by the renewed outbreak of a brutal civil war to pursuing her academic dreams of a new and safer Sudan at Oxford.

It was the perfect way to end our afternoon together, reminding all who were there of the phenomenal power that our college and its supporters together can have.