Oxford University have announced that their Safe Lodge Scheme now includes every college with a porter’s lodge manned at night. The scheme allows any Oxford student, regardless of college, to ask for help at the lodge of a participating college if they feel unsafe or distressed.
Last week, the oxunistudents Instagram released a post reminding students that “any Oxford student can ask for help from any safe lodge”. Participating colleges are marked with a green dot somewhere near their porter’s lodge, and can be identified using the Safe Lodge map.
The scheme aims to ensure that students who seek help are given a “friendly welcome”. Their home college lodge will subsequently be contacted to coordinate a safe return, they and will be given the option to connect with further support if necessary. This is related to the EveryDaySafe scheme which was developed in 2021 and implemented in 2024, which aims to make the University’s safety policy more action-orientated.
The scheme is part of the Oxford University Security Services which aims to create a “safe and secure physical environment in which the University community can work and study”. The scheme was created in partnership with the Conference of Colleges – a body that allows independent colleges to act collectively on issues affecting the whole student body.
All colleges and permanent private halls admitting undergraduates, apart from Wycliffe Hall, now participate in the scheme. Not present on the list of 38 colleges are postgraduate colleges Nuffield College and Kellogg College and permanent private halls for graduate students, Blackfriars Hall and Campion Hall.
A University spokesperson told Cherwell: “The scheme has been running for the past six years. It has expanded over this time and in 2024/25 includes 38 participating colleges”. They also mentioned that the scheme was created with vulnerable students in mind, after the realisation that “many students were unaware that they could approach any College Porter’s Lodge manned at night for assistance”.
