As the last all-girls college in Oxford, St. Hilda’s is often sterotyped, but in reality it is a community of great openness and broadmindedness. Where there may be a cliquey atmosphere at other colleges, there is little sense of that at Hilda’s, although of course friendship circles have naturally formed. The fact that St Hilda’s is all-female gives us the incentive to make many friends outside of college circles and to socialise as much as possible with as many people as possible. As a wise woman once said to me: "You don’t have to live with boys to sleep with them."
Yes we do watch a lot of Sex and the City, wander round in pyjamas, and laugh when a guy visits for the first time and tentatively asks: "Can I go to the toilet here?!", and our all-female status has always set us apart from other colleges. Yet St Hilda’s is on the cusp of change; a change that this college has never experienced before. Next year, boys will be admitted and the last all-girls college in Oxford will become mixed. Most love being in an all-female college, but I believe most will also love being in a mixed college. Perhaps then, a fantastic college could now become even better.The greatest conundrum must be… where will they put all the urinals?
