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The first women undergraduates of Jesus College reflect on their experiences of joining the previously all-male college in 1974 as part of a new documentary film co-produced by Jesus students.
Crossing the Threshold: The first women students of Jesus College features interviews with five of the 25 alumnae who joined Jesus in 1974 – the year that the College became coeducational, along with Brasenose, Hertford, Wadham and St Catherine’s. In the documentary, each alumna shares their personal experiences of joining Jesus, and describes how the college adapted to its new female cohort. The film also includes interviews with current women students, who explore the transformation of the college over the past fifty years, and the lasting impact of those early women pioneers.
Alumnae Jane Lewis, Ellen English and Ruth Saunders are three of five women from the 1974 cohort to feature in ‘Crossing the Threshold’
Dr Janina Schupp, SOUTHWORKS Digital Hub Fellow, and University of Oxford student filmmaker Joshua Luther Recido, directed and produced the documentary in collaboration with Jesus students Conrad Spencer (2022, Music) and Paloma Maiorano Castaneda (MSc, Sociology), using film equipment from the College’s new SOUTHWORKS Digital Media Lab. The project was supported by the College Arts Committee, and Development Office.
Janina says, “Our core motivation for the documentary was to find out what it was like for the first women students to cross the threshold of Jesus in 1974; what did that experience feel like on a personal level?
We were delighted that five alumnae from that year volunteered to share their memories with us – and they had so many stories to tell. We collected over eight hours of interviews, and many wonderful anecdotes. Selecting our favourites for a 20-minute documentary was a real challenge!”
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The alumnae – Ellen English, Helen Roe, Jane Lewis, Kirsty Thorpe and Ruth Saunders – recollect the sense of excitement and independence they felt coming up to Oxford, but also the anxiety associated with joining a previously all-male college. In the film, Kirsty, who read Modern History, describes the women students’ arrival as being “a little bit like you were in a goldfish bowl. There was an awful lot of observation of what people were doing, who they were talking to and where they were, going on all the time, especially in that first year.”
The film shows media headlines from Michaelmas term 1974 that read ‘Women breach Oxford defences’ and ‘Oxford’s October Revolution’. Helen, who was a Music student, remembers, “Some of my older male undergraduate friends told me that the dons had been pretty concerned when they decided to admit us – they suddenly realised that they would have to introduce soft toilet paper, and mirrors in every room!”
The production team greatly enjoyed working with the alumnae on the documentary. Janina says, “These five women were an absolute privilege and joy for us to meet – not only were we incredibly impressed by the role they played in paving the way in College for the women students who came after them, but we also found them incredibly humble, brave, and candid in sharing their memories. I’d like to thank them for taking the time to share their precious stories, and allowing us a glance into what it was like to be the first to cross this threshold!”
The documentary also investigates some of the documents and photographs held in the College archives about the ‘Jesus Plan’, including both the 1973 Matriculation photograph – which features only men – and the 1974 photograph that shows the first 25 women undergraduates lined up alongside their male counterparts. Lara al Murrani (2023, Law), one of four current students who also feature in the film, says of the women “They came and essentially carved out a space for themselves in an institution where there wasn’t originally a space. I don’t think you can overstate just how incredible their impact was by being here.”
Crossing the Threshold premiered at a special event held in the Cheng Kar Shun Digital Hub on Friday 7th March. Guests included the five alumnae stars of the documentary, as well as the women students who took part, and the student filmmakers Luther, Conrad and Paloma. Janina says, “We were delighted to reunite everyone who appeared in, and helped to make, the documentary. It was wonderful that the film received such a positive reaction at the premiere, and we’re excited to now share it with the whole College community.”
The stars and filmmakers of ‘Crossing the Threshold’ pictured with College Principal Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt at the premiere on Friday 7th March 2025.