Josephine Butler

Events

Butler College Day

At Josephine Butler our students put on lots of different social events throughout the year, from formal dinners to fashion shows to 'Butlers got Talent'. Our annual Balls are a highlight, with one in winter and one in summer to celebrate the year end, as well as our annual College Day.

Butler fashion show

We have lots of day-to-day events including sports matches, bops and formal meals. Our bar is the biggest in Durham so we often have live music and other entertainment events which are really popular, and at weekends we show sports on the big screen TV so the bar's often full of people.

If you want to help in the organisation of events, there's the Social Committee or Ball Committee which you can join. It's also a fun way to make friends and really feel like you are contributing to college life.

Organise your own event

Case study: Sarah Watts, BSc Mathematics, From Ballinderry, Ireland

Saying you want to organise something and doing it are two very different things! I had the idea of organising a game-show evening to raise money for our College charity, Grace House, and fortunately, Josephine Butler proved very helpful in giving me the support to make it happen. Emails were circulated, contestants nominated and a team assembled, and in no time a Josephine Butler 'Take Me Out' evening came into being; mimicking the hit TV series. The bar was full of excited students and we made an incredible amount of money for charity. I had an amazing time setting up this event and would encourage any new 'Butlerites' to give it a go!

Public Events

In addition, the College organises a number of events normally open to the general public, as part of our remit to be a 'local' college. These include,

We've also had talks from Rabbi Lionel Blue on the value of communities, Prof. Chris Higgins (the Vice Chancellor) on stem cell research, Vince Cable MP (deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats) on environmental issues, Jane Whittaker (Bowes Museum) on the Bowes Collection and various visits from the Bishop of Durham, the Mayor of Durham and Bill Bryson amongst others.