SSCSU
What is SSCSU?
SSCSU is made up of both the JCR and MCR Committee; although they are separate committees, certain members of each meet up once a week to form the SSCSU Executive Committee, or as we like to call them Exec. The JCR Committee is made up of all undergraduate SSCSU Exec Officers and all other JCR officers. The MCR Committee is made up of all graduate SSCSU Exec Officers and all other MCR Offciers.
We want you to be happy, healthy and safe during your time at Sidney, and there are many people here to cover your welfare needs.
The pastoral system – the tutorial team allocates a Tutor to every student at Sidney, to oversee their non-academic welfare. The tutors hold drop-in sessions throughout the week for you to attend with specific problems or queries. Heading the tutorial team is the Senior Tutor, Max Beber, responsible for the pastoral care of the student body.
The Chaplain and the Nurse – in addition we have the college Chaplain, Peter Waddell, who is the emergency contact when there is not a tutor on duty, and is also available to any student who wishes to talk confidentially at any time. The college Nurse, Jenny Taylor, is a great asset to the college, and holds regular surgeries Mon-Fri when you can drop by with any health issues.
Social Welfare Officer - my role is to look after student welfare in areas of health, social and emotional wellbeing, safety, accommodation, and to help you make the most of the pastoral system. I hold weekly drop-in welfare sessions in my room Blundell 104, and am available for contact via email at sscsu.welfare@sid.cam.ac.uk. I deal with any issues promptly and with complete confidentiality. More practically I am also here to provide a source of resources such as condoms, free pregnancy tests and free Chlamydia tests.
That's Entertainment... Sidney style!
The SSCSU Ents team is responsible for making sure that everyone in Sidney has the chance to socialise at college organised events. The highlight of these are the fortnightly Bops, but beside that there are other events including Band nights, cocktail evenings and quizzes.
The JCR has a variety of e-mail lists which we run in order to be able to communicate with all the undergraduate members of college. The e-mail lists are moderated by the JCR Computer Officer to make sure that they are inline with the E-mail List Guidelines agreed by Exec.
Code of Practice
Please adhere to the code of practice when sending e-mails out to the student body:
There are central points in ‘dustbin court’ (behind the TV room), in the King’s Street Car Park, and Cromwell Court. There are several other collection points around college as listed below. Within college it is possible to recycle pretty much everything – cans, glass, plastic, paper, cardboard, batteries, plastic bags, old mobile phones and empty printer cartridges – so there’s no excuse! CUSU Green and Ethical Affairs hold collections for unwanted clothes, listed in green email bulletins from the Green Officer. For more information about ethical issues including Fair Trade please click on the following link http://www.srcf.ucam.org/sidneymcr/green/ethics.php
Central recycling points
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Dustbin Court, Car Park, Cromwell |
large bins for cans, glass, paper, cardboard, plastic, food waste |
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TV room |
labelled bins for newspapers/paper, plastic bottles (no tops), glass, standing bin for crushed cans (crusher attached to wall adjacent to the door) |
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Library |
green cardboard bins for paper downstairs and in printer room |
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P’hole room |
paper, plastic bags, empty printer cartridges |
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P’lodge |
old mobile phones |
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Hall |
food waste, plastic, paper (at plate clearance point) |
The Contingency Fund exists to provide funds for new clubs or societies. A new club or society must firstly become an affiliated SSCSU club or society which must be done by an Open Meeting motion. Once this has been passed the club may apply to the Junior Treasurer for funding from the contingency fund. The allocation of funds is at the discretion of the Junior Treasurer.
Hi Sidney,
As Ents Officer, myself, along with my teams of Ents Reps, are in charge of providing Sidney in the best of Entertainment, providing everyone the chance to relax after those long essay sessions.
This means that we are in charge of setting up and running the bops - the staple of Sidney relaxation - as well as deciding the themes for them, cleaning up after, and dealing with any problems that may arise during it. They're a lot of fun, and a great way to meet new peoples throughout the years.
Applying to Cambridge might seem daunting and stressful, especially with so many colleges to choose from. To make things easier, here’s some information and advice on what to expect if you decide to apply here.
Can I visit Sidney Sussex before applying?
Of course you can! We hold open days three times a year, in July, April and September. You’ll get to quiz students and tutors on everything you want to know, and have the chance to look around the college itself, including all the facilities and accommodation. Even if you can’t come on an official college open day, visitors are always welcome and if you contact us beforehand we’ll make sure there is a member of staff and, if possible, a student on hand to show you round and answer any questions you might have.
The Application Process
- When filling out your UCAS form online, you’ll also have to specify a college code as well as selecting “Cambridge University” (Sidney is no. 03 although this information will be available on UCAS). The deadline for this is around October 15th, well in advance of the UCAS deadline for other UK universities, so make sure you’re not rushing to get things done the night before!
- Within a month or so of sending your application, you should receive an invite to interview. This letter will also detail any work you need to send in, usually two pieces (generally for arts rather than science subjects). Don’t worry about preparing anything special, just send in something you’ve done as ordinary school or coursework which is unaltered and has been marked by your teacher. This way, interviewers can see exactly what you know and where there’s room for improvement as well as any suggestions your teacher has made.
- Sidney, like all colleges, holds its interviews in the first two weeks of December. For most subjects, you will have two or three interviews, each with more than one academic and at least one with your subject specialist (the person who will most likely supervise you or be your Director of Studies if you study here). Be prepared to be asked difficult questions, but don’t worry if you don’t know all the answers. Interviewers want to see how you think and how much interest you have for your subject, rather than how many obscure facts you can reel off. If you need accommodation the night before or the night of your interview, college provides rooms and breakfast to those travelling some distance, so don’t worry about having to do anything in a rush.
- Many subjects will also make you sit a written test of some kind and/or prepare some material to discuss at your interview. These could involve commenting on a text or source, completing mathematical or scientific exercises or translation a passage into/from a foreign language. These exercises designed to seem harder than what you’re studying at A Level, but will require the same sort of skills so try not to fret over them!
- Interview Content: the interviews will focus mainly on your subject and your passion for it. If you look nervous, you may get asked some warm-up questions, which won’t be counted in your assessment, such as how your journey was. You will NOT, however, be asked anything in relation to why you chose Sidney, as it is unfair to open applicants, so do not worry about finding a good reason for this!
