Stenton Hall JCR

The Junior Common Room

JCR stands for Junior Common Room; traditionally it refers to the undergraduate student population at a University. The term originates from the collegiate Universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, where the student population is split into different Common Rooms. In additions to the JCR, which at Reading make up the majority of the halls, there is also the Middle Common Room (MCR), while not prevalent at Reading, which consists of postgraduate students. Senior Common Room (SCR) is reserved for academics, and in the case of Reading, its staff as well. Whilst the SCR prevalence in halls has dwindled over the years, there is a single SCR for staff at the Univerisity which has a strong following and resides in Park House.

Stenton Hall JCR

Stenton Hall JCR is an organisation seperate from both the University and the Students' Union although we are committed to working with each other for the benefit of our members so everyone can get the most out of their time at University. The JCR is managed by a committee of elected individuals chosen from the membership through election, each with their own remit, of whom volunteer their time in aid of making the JCR function. Common Rooms operate in the majority of halls at Reading and are responsible for making the residence of the students in the hall as pleasant and memorable as possible.

Many of the facilities and amenities you will find in and around Stenton Hall are run by the JCR including heavily subsidised events that will happen throughout the year including, (and certainly not limited to), Freshers' Week and the Snow Ball. We also enter a number of sports teams in the University's Intramural competitions as well as others throughout the year.

We are also here to look out for your welfare whether that be moral support, guidance or some protection when you're in a tight spot, our Welfare Officers are on hand to make sure you are well looked after. If you need someone to talk to, or just a few free condoms, we're here to help!

Stenton Hall JCR is proud to be a fair and democratic organisation that listens to what its members have to say. Throughout the year we hold General Meetings which is your chance as a member to give us feedback and formally direct us if you think we are not doing something right. All members are invited and encouraged to come along and participate. For more information about our democracy, please visit the democracy page.

We are committed to giving all of our members the best possible time they can get in hall life. If you have any suggestions, comments or would like us to do something that we are not all ready doing or would like to learn even more about your JCR and want to get involved with what we do, please get in touch via the contact us page right away!

The History of Stenton Hall and the JCR

Stenton Hall Junior Common Room was first established in June 2010 under fairly unusual circumstances. Stenton Hall was erected as part of the Whiteknights Redevelopment Plan and also as a replacement for some of the older halls of residence at the University of Reading. Over the years, Wells Hall (2006), most of Whiteknights Hall (demolished 2008/9 with the remaining Dunsden Crescent still standing), Childs Hall (2010, of which the second phase of Stenton will be built upon) and Bridges Hall (2010) have closed in favour of super-halls Mackinder and Stenton Halls.

There was originally no plan for Stenton JCR to exist; this came about after interference from RUSU where it was decided that Bridges JCR would become Stenton JCR. There was outcry over this as there had already been a plan laid out for the Bridges funds and inventory to be held in trust of some of its most loyal followers. It was decided by the final General Meeting of Bridges JCR that they would establish Stenton JCR, but any and all funds used to do so would have to be repaid upon the time that Bridges was reopened or rebuilt. Currently there are no official plans from the University to do either.