From the College Library to the Art Room and allotments - find out more about the facilities we have available to students.
Library
King's College Library is a sequence of picturesque old rooms, with garden views and pleasant spaces to work in. It is open to students 24/7, and holds over 130,000 volumes. There is an online catalogue, and internet access is provided throughout which enables access to online content through the university library system. The librarians can also order books which are not currently held by the Library. In addition, the Rowe Music Library has an excellent collection of printed music and books, both for study purposes and for music making.
Archive Centre
The Archive Centre contains the College's own archives but also the papers of a number of important twentieth-century figures, such as the novelist EM Forster, the anthropologist Edmund Leach and the economist John Maynard Keynes (all former members of King's).
Graduate Suite
The Graduate Suite is a set of rooms overlooking the main King's courtyard. It includes a study, graduate computer room, and a reading room stocked with journals, as well as coffee and tea making facilities.
Internet
Undergraduate rooms have high-speed internet connections, with a maximum possible throughput via that socket is 100 Mbit/sec both up and down stream. There is wi-fi available for King's members in public areas such as the coffee shop and bar.
King's Bar and Common Room
The bar is a bright, well-used social space open to all members of the College community. It has a pool table, a quiz machine, table football, free wi-fi and daily newspapers. You can buy drinks at lunch times and in the evening. Students often organise events in the Bar, such as debates or live music. There are additional common rooms in a number of the accommodation blocks.
Coffee Shop
King's Coffee Shop sells Fairtrade snacks and drinks throughout the day. It has comfy sofas as well as tables and chairs and provides a relaxed environment for chatting with friends.
Chetwynd Court
Chetwynd Court is an outside space normally set up with wooden tables and parasols when it is sunny. It provides a very pleasant and flexible space in the summer term for working, eating or having a break.
Art Centre
King's Art Centre runs life-drawing and other classes you can attend and provides a bright and peaceful space where you can work on your own projects. It holds regular exhibitions by King's students and others. The centre is run by a resident artist.
Pianos and Music Rooms
There are two Steinway pianos available for student use and two music practice rooms on the College grounds.
Dark Room
The dark room provides chemicals and other equipment for processing negatives and printmaking.
TV Rooms
There is a TV room on the main site. There are also TVs in common rooms in several of the hostels.
DVD Library
King's College Student Union have a collection of more than 130 films for students to borrow, as well as a projector available for loan (free of charge). The College Library also has a collection of mainly foreign language films on DVD.
Comic Book Library
The Student Union also has a collection of comic books which students can borrow free of charge.
Sports Facilities
The sports ground is about a mile from College and has rugby, football, hockey and cricket pitches, and several grass tennis courts. King's students also use the hard surface tennis courts and squash courts at King's College School, five minutes' walk from the college. There are also kayaks, canoes and punts for use on the river Cam.
College Gyms
King's has a multigym with cardio vascular and resistance equipment, as well as some weights and a stretching area. There is also a separate Freeweights Gym.
Gardens
Students can use the large, picturesque Fellows' Garden at any time. This is a popular spot in the warmer weather for a break with friends, a pretty place to study, garden parties, and plays after exams. The lawn is an informal curvy shape broken by a flowerbed with a path through it, and surrounded by mature trees and further flowerbeds. There is also a croquet lawn.
Riverside Spaces
The river Cam runs through King's. Students use the private west bank, which is a particularly pleasant place to sit with an excellent view of the river, bridge and College buildings. Bodley's Court lawn is also next to the river, a popular spot for sunbathing, reading and having picnics.
King's College Chapel
The Chapel has daily Choral Evensong in term sung by the King's Choirs, as well as regular morning prayer and communion. This extraordinary building is open to people of all faiths or none and is used for a whole host of events ranging from talks to plays, orchestral concerts and even breakdancing!
Student Kitchens
Shared kitchens are available in the accommodation for students to use.
Cafeteria and Hall
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are available every day (though breakfast and lunch are replaced by brunch at the weekends). There is always a good choice of hot and cold food with vegetarian options as well. A special dinner, called Formal Hall, takes place weekly during full term and is served to Fellows and students.
Allotments
There are a number of allotments where students can grow food if they want to. These are looked after by the college gardeners during the vacations.
Laundry
There is a coin-operated laundry on the main College site and in most hostels. Ironing facilities are also provided.
Trunk Rooms
Trunk rooms are provided so that students who must vacate their rooms during vacations can store some items in College. This is particularly useful for international students.
Bicycle Racks
There is a large basement bicycle store where students can keep their bikes in shelter, and also open bicycle racks at the front of College.
