Pembroke College Cambridge

07/09/2026

Emeritus Fellow Dr Barbara Bodenhorn was part of the first cohort of students to study the Cambridge MPhil in Social Anthropology, launched in 1977. In conversation with recent MPhil graduate Kaetlyn Liddy (King's), she reflects on what drew her to study Anthropology and how the "steady drip" of discussion and study developed her thinking.

"As my MPhil supervisor, Esther Goody simply insisted that my brain stay open. She was a master of the Socratic method – never telling me what I should have said – but always asking questions about what I had said."

After graduating, the MPhil helped Barbara secure the role of Director of Social Services for the Iñupiaq Community of the Arctic Slope (the regional tribal government in Arctic Alaska). It subsequently led to fieldwork that became her doctoral research project.

Barbara joined Pembroke in 1991 as a Fellow, College Lecturer and Director of Studies in Social Studies and Social Anthropology. She retired as a Fellow in 2013 and returned to the US, but she continues to teach and share her passion for Social Anthropology with Pembroke students on her regular trips back to the College.

Read Barbara's reflections: https://www.socanth.cam.ac.uk/news/one-mphil-nearly-50-years-apart

26/08/2026

HuffPost has drawn heavily on a blog post about medlars, written by Dr Sarah Gilbert, our Manuscript Fragments Cataloguer, for an article on bletting.

Bletting is a softening process that some hard, bitter fruits must go through to become edible.

Read Sarah's original blog post: https://www.pem.cam.ac.uk/kit-smarts-blog/medlar-fruits-

And then the HuffPost article: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/bletting-fruits-uk_uk_6a8844b9e4b021f20f8859e7

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24/08/2026

Fingers on buzzers! Pembroke is set to take on St Andrews in the first round of University Challenge tonight, 8.30 pm, BBC Two.

Our team comprises H**e Robertson (2023, Classics), Arvin Boraghi (2021, Medicine), Timothy Ho (Captain, 2023, Maths), and Rory Moloney (2025, Natural Sciences), with Felix Lawry (2025, Natural Sciences) on hand as reserve and Marie the Martlet performing important mascot duties.

“I’ve been a long-time fan of the show,” said Timothy, “So it’s still quite surreal to have the opportunity to live out a dream and participate in University Challenge. What has made the experience especially meaningful has been being able to share it with a group of people who are equally passionate about quizzing and the show.”

Already strong in maths and the sciences, they split up the other subjects based on their interests and strengths, meeting once or twice a week to practice, with Felix acting as quizmaster.

The episode was filmed in Salford earlier this year. “The atmosphere was something else,” observed H**e. “Obviously quite intense, but the team spirit was wonderful, and everyone behind the scenes of the show helped make the whole experience a positive one.”

Read the full article: https://www.pem.cam.ac.uk/college/news/pembroke-returns-university-challenge

If you can't watch the programme live, catch up later on BBC iPlayer.

Your starter for 10: how many series of University Challenge has Pembroke appeared in?

Photo: Front row (l to r): H**e Robertson, Arvin Boraghi, Marie the Martlet, Timothy Ho and Rory Moloney. Back row: Felix Lowry and presenter Amol Rajan

21/08/2026

Today we bid a fond farewell to our 2025-26 Graduate Library Trainee, Coral Shaw Jackson.

“I’ve had an amazing time at Pembroke as the Trainee Librarian. It’s been a busy and rewarding year, filled with valuable training, visits to other libraries and opportunities to build professional networks with fellow trainees and library staff across Cambridge.”

“From supporting students in the Library during the exam season, to researching one of Pembroke’s archive collections as part of my own project, every day has brought something new.”

As for the best part of the job: the people. “Thank you to everyone at Pembroke for making this year truly special!”

Coral joined Pembroke last September. After studying for a degree in Fine Art at Loughborough, she spent a year out working in Nottingham Central Library. Thoroughly enjoying that experience, she decided to explore a career in the library sector and to apply for the traineeship at Pembroke.

Many colleges offer library graduate trainee places, which provide valuable experience in key areas of library work, very useful preparation for those intending to apply for a postgraduate qualification. The Cambridge trainees attend a coordinated programme of events, including visits to many of the over 100 libraries across the University - and beyond.

We wish Coral all the very best for the future. She’s heading back to Nottingham to work part-time as an Information Assistant in Nottingham Trent University’s Library, alongside studying for a part-time online MA in Library and Information Services Management at the University of Sheffield.

If you would like to find out more about what the Cambridge trainees get up to, check out their blog on CaTaLOG: https://www.catalog.group.cam.ac.uk/

18/08/2026

A cartoon from the 1910 Easter Term edition of The Pem.

Did you know that water from a branch of Hobson's Conduit can be directed through the runnels on either side of Trumpington Street, passing Peterhouse (the Pot side) and Pembroke (the Pem side)?

It finally rained last night, but we suspect it will need a few more decent downpours before the Pem flows again...

13/08/2026

Congratulations to everyone who is receiving their results today!

Regardless of the outcome, we know you all have a very bright future ahead of you, and some exciting next steps await!

If you are coming to Pembroke or your loved one is, then please let us know in the comments! 👇

12/08/2026

Timelapse footage of the Auditorium tower and Warwick Foyer during this evening’s partial solar eclipse.

🌘

23/07/2026

Congratulations to the 29 Pembroke students who graduated from the University of Cambridge today! 🎓

Seven types of degree were awarded today: eight PhDs, an MA, two LLMs, 12 MPhils, two MASts, two MBs, plus a couple of BAs for variety. 😊

We're very proud of everything you've achieved during your time in College and wish you all the very best for the future.

21/07/2026

If you're a fan of BBC2's 'Quizzy Mondays', then you may have spotted the three Pembroke alumni on last night's episode of Only Connect!

The Makeweights are Omer Elchanan (2019), Eleanor Stiles (2021) and Isaac Barden (2021). As the team name suggests, all three were committed members of PCBC as students!

Did they win? Well, you'll have to watch and find out...

Bonus point: Can anyone spot the link to Pembroke in one of the clues on the first Connecting Wall?

Victoria Coren Mitchell hosts the quiz where knowledge only gets you so far. Three rowers take on a team of microbiologists in finding connections between apparently random clues.