page_title: Worcester College, Oxford
section_title: Traditions
hierarchical_section_title: Worcester College, Oxford / Traditions
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Worcester College, Oxford
context_page_description: Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms was adopted by the College. Its predecessor, Gloucester College, had been an institution of learning on the same site since the late 13th century until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. Founded as a men's college, Worcester has been coeducational since 1979.
  As of 2018, Worcester College had a financial endowment of £41.9 million.
  Notable alumni of the college include the media mogul Rupert Murdoch, television producer and screenwriter Russell T Davies, US Supreme Court justice Elena Kagan, Fields Medalist Simon Donaldson, and novelist Richard Adams.
  Worcester is consistently one of the most popular Oxford colleges amongst prospective applicants.
context_section_description: Every three years in June, the college hosts a commemoration ball.
  The College holds a Formal Hall every day of term except on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays; dress is formal with gowns compulsory for students who choose to attend. Before each meal, the College grace is recited by a scholar, or student studying a field related to Literae Humaniores. The text is the same as that recited at Christ Church but, in comparison, always given in the long form, in Latin:
  "Nōs miserī hominēs et egēnī, prō cibīs quōs nōbis ad corporis subsidium benignē es largītus, tibi, Deus omnipotēns, Pater cælestis, grātiās reverenter agimus; simul obsecrantēs, ut iīs sobriē, modestē atque grātē ūtāmur. Īnsuper petimus, ut cibum angelōrum, vērum panem cælestem, verbum Deī æternum, Dominum nostrum Iēsum Christum, nōbis impertiāris; utque illō mēns nostra pascātur et per carnem et sanguinem eius fovēāmur, alāmur, et corrōborēmur. Amen."
  Translated into English:
  "We unhappy and unworthy men do give thee most reverent thanks, Almighty God, our heavenly Father, for the victuals which thou hast bestowed on us for the sustenance of the body, at the same time beseeching thee that we may use them soberly, modestly and gratefully. And above all we beseech thee to impart to us the food of angels, the true bread of heaven, the eternal Word of God, Jesus Christ our Lord, so that the mind of each of us may feed on him and that through his flesh and blood we may be sustained, nourished and strengthened. Amen."
  Every Hilary (spring) term on the Saturday of 4th Week, second-year members of the College celebrate 'Midway' to mark the point at which they are exactly halfway through their degree (given that students on 3-year courses attend for nine terms, each of duration eight weeks...). The occasion is marked with the taking of professional photographs: one in formal dress (but not gowns), and the other in costumes made by the students, usually reflecting themes decided by individual groups of friends. Later in the day a meal is served in Formal Hall to distinguish the event.
  The unofficial motto of the college (in Latin) is "ibi solum unum Collegium Vigorniense".
caption: The lake and the playing field
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