Support St Andrew's in 2024

Watch the video above or continue reading below to understand how, with your help, we can enhance the St Andrew’s experience for all current and future students through the Junior Common Room Upgrade and by increasing funds for essential means-tested scholarships.

The Junior Common Room Upgrade

A vibrant and purposeful common room is essential to the student experience at a residential college. This year, your support will help us give the JCR a long-overdue upgrade and transform it into an inviting community hub at the heart of College.

Redesigning the JCR is a collaborative effort between St Andrew’s students, staff, Council, Foundation and alumni, with the aim of significantly improving the bar, courtyard, and lounge areas. This much-needed upgrade aims to create a modern, inclusive space where students and the wider College community are inspired to connect, learn, and thrive. The upgrade will cost an estimated $4.8M to complete, and it will not be possible without the support of our community. Together we have raised over $1.1M to date towards the project.

"The JCR is a great venue for our Highlander events, but it could be so much more."

Phoebe Lotz

2024 House Committee Honorary Secretary

What the Junior Common Room Upgrade will include

Creating comfortable, multipurpose areas with versatile seating options to support everything from individual study and recreational activities to hosting meetings and large scale events;
Installing a convenient cafe for our community to use during the daytime, 7 days a week, which can convert into a bar for different events throughout the year;
Creating an area for students to enjoy a late-night meal in comfort, as well as providing a haven on campus for our non-residential students;
Bringing the courtyard atmosphere to life with improved lighting, functional outdoor table settings and benches, an improved service area, and level paving;
Building more male, female and new, accessible bathrooms;
Creating new food prep facilities and additional storage space;
Installing contemporary lighting, audiovisual equipment and air-conditioning, which will also be used for cooling and heating the Dining Hall above.

For more details on the JCR Upgrade, visit the Building projects page. Please get in touch with the Advancement Office if you would like to view the latest JCR Upgrade plans!

Key benefits of upgrading the Junior Common Room

Create a vibrant hub on campus for student and community connection and engagement
Provide students with a shared space for relaxation and recreation
Provide a convenient venue where students can bring friends and family
Create a welcoming space suitable for hosting guest speakers, mentoring and networking events
Improved facilities for hosting large-scale events, meetings, workshops and seminars
Provide areas and equipment for collaborative learning opportunities

For more details on the JCR Upgrade, visit the Building projects page.

JCR Dollar Match – Double the Donation, Double the Impact!

Thanks to the St Andrew’s College Alumni Society all gifts up to a total contribution of $100,000 for the JCR upgrade, have been matched, giving your generosity twice the impact.

Means-Tested Scholarships

In 2024, applications for scholarship support to attend university and St Andrew’s College have doubled. Young people continue to face soaring living costs, compounding the challenges for students already burdened by financial and socioeconomic barriers.

Means-tested scholarships play a vital role in enabling students from diverse backgrounds, who possess immense talent and motivation, to attend College and university in Sydney. Your gift, no matter the size, makes a difference and helps to create life-changing opportunities. This year, our focus is on supporting students most affected by financial barriers by providing more of the following scholarships:

Rural & Regional Scholarships

With over half of our current student body hailing from rural and regional areas, and over 60% of the applications for financial support originating from them, it is clear that these scholarships are life-changing for so many of our students. Your support can enable us to continue to provide these scholarships, helping create equal opportunities for rural and regional Australians.

Indigenous Scholarships

We recognise that access to higher education is vital to empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and promoting equality. By providing more scholarship opportunities for First Nations students, we can break down the financial barriers that prevent many indigenous students from realising their academic and career goals.

Government School Scholarships

These scholarships are about ensuring equity and access to education. By removing barriers to tertiary education created by social and economic disadvantage, we can provide students from government schools with opportunities to pursue tertiary aspirations in a safe and supportive environment.

We also have multiple year-on-year programs and scholarships that we welcome your support for!

Join us and support our students by making a gift to one of the means-tested scholarship funds and the Junior Common Room Upgrade!

Call us on +61 2 9565 7303 to have a chat and make a credit card donation
Download our GIVING FORM and send it along with your cheque or credit card details
By clicking the button below to take you to our online portal below

Every gift made, no matter how large or small, has a direct impact on our current and future students.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like further information about our Annual Giving Appeal or to support any other areas of the College:

Hannah Atwell, Director of Advancement