Christ's College, Cambridge

Christ's College is one of the colleges of the University of Cambridge. It is widely reputed for its highly academic bent – in recent years, it has consistently dominated the (unofficial) Tompkin league table of colleges. Many cite showers in the library and early bar closing times as examples of an absence of social life at this college. This is largely myth. The showers are in the library because they cannot be accommodated in the beautiful older buildings of the college and the bar opening times have recently (2003) been brought into line with those of other colleges.

It was originally founded in 1448 as God's House on land now occupied by King's College Chapel. It was refounded in 1505 and moved to its present site by Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII.

Christ's has (2001) about 390 undergraduate and 100 graduate students.

Their webserver hosts the British division of the International Olympiad in Informatics, [1]

Famous Societies

CCPQS is one of the most selective and prestigious societies of Christ's College. Its tie is believed to have been fashioned upon another tie of great distinction, that of the King Street Run. The exact origins of the society and even the meaning of its acronym are sources of fierce debate. Some insist that the society has its roots back in the 17th century and that John Milton may even have been involved with the society’s formation. However the evidence for such claims is tenuous at best.

The most commonly offered explanation of the acronym CCPQS is that it stands for Christ’s College; Posteritas Quantuluscumque Spectabilis ('posterity, notable however small'). Though there are many competing theories as to the true meaning. Selection for entry into the society is a highly secretive process, as is the nature of society’s activities. It is claimed that the first thing that one does upon joining the society is to take a vow never to discuss the goings-on to anyone outside the society.

Also of note is the football club, the CCAFC.

Famous alumni

• Sacha Baron Cohen – British comedian
• Richard Clerke
• Charles Darwin – British naturalist
• Colin Dexter – British author
• The Rt. Hon. The 2nd Lord Grantham – British Foreign Secretary
• David Mellor – British politician
• John Milton – English poet
• The Rt. Hon The 2nd Lord Liverpool – British Prime Minister
• The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mountbatten of Burma – British Admiral of the Fleet and statesman
• Sir John Plumb – British historian
• Forrest Reid , Cambridge apostle, novelist, literary critic
• Simon Schama – British historian, author, and television presenter
• Jan Smuts- South African general and statesman
• The Rt. Hon. The Lord Snow of Percy – British novelist and philosopher
• Richard Whiteley – British television presenter
• Rowan Williams – British theologian, Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury
• Timothy Marschall Jones – former British ambassador to Armenia
• The Rt. Hon. The Lord Irvine of Lairg – former Lord Chancellor

External link

• Official Christ's College website