Take a moment to revisit Term 2 at Josephine Butler College with our alumni round‑up newsletter. Bringing the spirit of Butler to you, wherever you may be.
There are several alumni events coming up in May and June. Please try and make one of the following events to connect with other Josephine Butler College alumni and also find out more from Principal Gillian Hampden-Thompson on our plans for the 20th anniversary year.
Newcastle Thursday 7 May Josephine Butler College Newcastle Alumni Drinks - Durham University
London Thursday 14 May Josephine Butler College London Alumni Drinks - Durham University
Manchester Thursday 21 May Josephine Butler College Manchester Alumni Drinks - Durham University
Butler Day Saturday 6 June - £12 Butler Day Alumni Expression of Interest Form! – Fill in form
If you are attending an event, why don’t you encourage at least one other Butler person who you haven’t seen recently to come and join you at the event. Also, feel free to sign-up a non-Butler alum to the events so that they can learn more about the college.
Finally, if you would like to host your own alumni event however modest in size, please let us know and we will advertise the event for you and send you a hosting pack.
We will be celebrating the College’s 20th anniversary during the academic year 2026-27. There are lots of events and activities planned, but we just wanted to draw your attention to the Cathedral service in November 2026, formal dining opportunities throughout the year, and the alumni weekend in 2027.
Cathedral Service (Wednesday 25 November 2026)
The service at Durham Cathedral is one of our key events of the year. All alumni are encouraged to attend the service. You are welcome to bring family and friends. The service starts at 7.30pm, but there will be a drinks reception in college prior to the service for those who would like to process down to the Cathedral for the service. The service will encompass readings, performances, and original compositions of music and poetry to celebrate 20 years of Josephine Butler College. The centrepiece of the service will be a performance by a Josephine Butler College scratch choir led by Butler alum and conductor Tori Longdon (‘12). This will provide a unique opportunity for current students, alumni and staff to perform at Durham Cathedral and be taught and led by one of our amazing alums. Anyone can join the scratch choir. The general format is that you will be sent the music ahead of the event and then on the afternoon of 25 November, Tori will lead a rehearsal in Howlands Hall ahead of the event. You do not need to be an accomplished singer, and we would encourage anyone who would like to get involved to participate. The idea is that this part of the service is inclusive and open to all members of the Butler community. Please mark your diaries and share widely with fellow Butler alums and we will send you more details next term.
Image: Headshot of Tori Longdon.
Anniversary Formal dining (various dates)
During our anniversary year, we are increasing dining capacity in Howlands Hall so that any alumni who would like to join us either as an individual or as a group can sign up to attend a formal. Once the formal dates (and themes) for next year are confirmed, we will let you know. However, formals are almost exclusively on Monday nights, as you will know, and there will be around 12 formals that you will be able to book into over 2026-27. If this is something you would be interested in doing, please complete this expression of interest form so we can send you targeted communications once the dates and themes are set.
Alumni weekend (July 2027)
While well over a year away, the 20th anniversary alumni weekend will take place in Durham on 23-25 July 2027. You can come for a day or for the whole weekend. We are planning for a traditional format with accommodation available in college, eating, drinking and various events and activities throughout the weekend. We will ensure it will be an inclusive weekend that individuals, groups and families will all enjoy. Please mark your diaries and please be in touch if you would like to be involved in the planning of the weekend or if you have any specific ideas.
We are currently in the process of developing our 20th anniversary webpages with a full list of the events and activities taking place over the next academic year. We will let you know when the pages are up and running. Alternatively, please visit the college website or JBalumni Instagram account for updates.
Our annual networking dinner took place on 9 March, welcoming back alumni to Butler to share their experiences and insights from the world of work with our current students. We welcomed 18 Butler alumni back to Butler for the event, with 120 current students in attendance for the two course formal dining experience. The students were fortunate to gain first-hand insight into a range of careers from public service and local government to technology, science, creative industries and small business. A big thank you to the alumni that attended and we hope to see many of you join us again or for the first time next year. Please mark your diaries for 8 March 2027.
Image: networking dinner with alumni panel Q&A
Durham’s famed Miners’ Hall – known to all as Redhills – reopened in January after a £14m restoration project. First built in 1915, Redhills has been an iconic site for the labour movement for well over a century, with its imposing baroque aesthetic providing a worthy setting for the ‘Pitman’s Parliament’.
Redhills is a site of living history. It was here that workers debated what a future welfare state might look like, and where the labour movement even today congregates at the time of the Big Meeting – the Durham Miners’ Gala.
The restoration project aims to ensure Redhills’ continuing centrality to the communities it serves, with guided tours and bookable facilities for community groups to host events. Durham University connections with Redhills are strong, with current Chancellor Dr Fiona Hill – herself the daughter and granddaughter of miners – receiving a £100 bursary to learn Russian from Redhills whilst a student.
That £100 set Fiona on a path, as she puts it, ‘from coal house to White House’; now a leading expert on international affairs and a former deputy assistant to the President of the United States, Dr Hill recently acted as external reviewer of the UK’s Strategic Defence Review.
This commitment to learning and education is at the heart of the Redhills’ refurb, with regular adult education activities for the local community taking place there, along with a conference on democracy and lifelong learning – very much in the spirit of the miners who founded the hall. If you’re back in Durham and fancy a guided tour of the Hall, or to join in with anything else at Redhills, you can see what’s on here.
Term 2 for the JCR is always unexpectedly busy - from back-to-back formals to the Fashion show, this term flew by.
The Mound Musical
The Mound Musical Society, Stephenson and Butler’s joint society, continued its tradition of bold, unconventional comedy with four performances of Urinetown. Despite the initial surprise at the title, the production proved to be a hit. The musical covers a great deal of ground, incorporating themes such as capitalism, corporate greed, bureaucracy, and environmental crisis into a deliberately dark, clever, and humorous show. Led by Co-Presidents Callum Ryan (Butler 3rd year) and Arthur Hamilton (Butler 3rd year), the cast and crew delivered another memorable performance.
Image: 'Urinetown' performed on stage by the Mound Musical Society.
Josephine Butler Charity Fashion Show
This year’s JBCFS transformed JB’s into a runway right in the heart of Butler (thank you to Pete and the team for creating the runway). After weeks of preparation, the committee, led by Tamsin Alcock (Butler 2nd Year) and Caitlin Griffiths (Butler 2nd year), completely reimagined the space, creating a truly impressive venue for the night. The theme, A Ripple in Time, took the audience on a journey through different eras of fashion (60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s and 10s), with each walk showcasing a distinct period and style. Gill was particularly excited to see her teenage years brought back to life during the 1980s walk. Notably, the event raised an incredible £2,000 for RSACC (Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre, County Durham), a fantastic achievement for an equally important cause.
Image: Josephine Butler Charity Fashion Show 2026 models on stage.
Sporting Successes
Butler currently sits 5th in the overall college sports rankings, an achievement to be proud of, with sights firmly set on climbing higher next year (watch out, Collingwood!). The Butler Tigers Cheer Team once again impressed at this year’s college competition. Competing in the all-girl division, they secured silver for both their pom team and stunt group, while their main routine took home gold. Women’s football reached another tense floodlit final (third in a row), narrowly losing to Snow but finishing a strong second in the league. Men’s Futsal A team dominated their season, finishing top of the League and Cup, while table tennis also secured a close second-place finish in the Cup. The men’s squash team had an exceptional unbeaten season, finishing first in the league, the Cup and defeating both Loughborough and York in varsity matches, leaving little else for them to conquer.
Image: Men's A squash team after winning the premiership.
Holey Moley Magazine
This year’s editions of Holey Moley (formerly The Mound Magazine) are linked below. They offer a brilliant snapshot of student life at Butler and are well worth a read.
February edition: https://online.pubhtml5.com/ghovn/jmsf/
March edition: https://online.pubhtml5.com/ghovn/pdga/
Term 2 saw several of the Butler community bid farewell to the Mound. Mandy Herron, our long-serving Catering and Bar Manager delivered her last formal dinner at the end of term, where she was presented with a token of appreciation for her valued contribution to generations of Butler students’ experiences. Dr Grant Jones, Assistant Student Support Officer, left Butler to take on a full-time role at Grey College. And finally, our Vice-Principal Harriet Tebbs (‘12) has stepped aside – but only temporarily – for a period of maternity leave for the rest of the calendar year, returning to Butler in early 2027. We look forward to welcoming Harriet and the new addition to the Tebbs’ clan back soon.
We said hello to a familiar face in Hazel Cheung (‘24) who joined us as College Coordinator in January; Hazel’s time away from Butler was brief to say the least, returning just a few months after her tenure as JCR President came to an end – living proof that once Butler, always Butler. She’s already been at the heart of driving forward college events and delivering on key initiatives for the Butler community.
Dr Mike Finn joined in March as Harriet’s cover as Vice-Principal. Mike has a wide range of experience in higher education, having previously served as Deputy Head of the School for Cross-Faculty Studies at the University of Warwick, and Director of Liberal Arts at the University of Exeter. He has also worked in sport, politics, and charities, including with his beloved Everton FC as Director of Lifelong Learning at Everton in the Community.
Image: Dr Mike Finn (left) and Hazel Cheung (right).
