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Peterhouse is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely and granted its charter by King Edward I. Today, Peterhouse has 226 undergraduates, 86 full-time graduate students and 45 fellows. The modern name of Peterhouse does not include the word "college".
Despite being one of the smallest colleges, it has one of the highest overall endowments, in excess of £250 million. Peterhouse is one of the most traditional colleges of Cambridge. It is one of the few that still seeks to insist that its members attend communal dinners, known as "Hall". Hall takes place in two sittings, with the second known as "Formal Hall", which consists of a three-course meal and which must be attended wearing gowns. At Formal Hall, the students rise as the fellows proceed in, a gong is rung, and two Latin graces are read.
Academic performance tends to vary from year to year due to its very small student population; for example, Peterhouse came 25th in the Tompkins Table in 2007 but 7th in 2010 and 12th in 2014 (out of 29 colleges). In 2011, Peterhouse had the highest rate of admissions from state schools of all Oxbridge colleges, at 74%.