What We Do

The College Area Links Scheme was established to enable schools and colleges across the UK to build strong, effective relationships with the Cambridge Colleges. Every part of the UK is linked with a Cambridge College, giving schools and colleges in each area a specific contact point at the University.

Whilst students from state schools within Newnham’s Link Areas are given priority for certain events and school visits, students and teachers from other areas are always welcome to contact us with queries and use the resources on the Newnham College website. There is no expectation or obligation for prospective applicants to apply to their relevant link College, and participation in Area Links Scheme initiatives does not influence whether Colleges invite applicants for interview or offer them places.

Newnham College’s Link Areas:

• Birmingham
• Walsall
• Enfield
• Barking and Dagenham
• Redbridge

We also work with selected schools in Cambridgeshire through the Connect to Cambridge Scheme.

More information about the Area Links scheme and a list of Link Colleges can be found here.

In addition to our regional work, Newnham also works with a selection of educational access charities, including The Brilliant Club and the Access Project. The college regularly hosts visits from students participating in programmes run by these organisations.

Each year Newnham hosts several outreach events for students from schools across the country. These include the popular Rosalind Franklin Women in STEM Conference and the Reach your CAMbition Open Day.

Newnham regularly works with other Cambridge and Oxford Colleges on access and outreach projects. In 2020/21 Newnham was part of the team of Colleges running the ClickCambridge programme and also contributed to the West Midlands Webinars series. Aisling, Schools Liaison and Outreach Officer at Newnham, regularly works with our counterparts at Oxford Colleges (Keble, Oriel, St Peter’s and Wadham) to run schools roadshows for Link Area Schools, whether these are in-person or virtual.

Newnham’s outreach events are supported by our current undergraduate students, who provide a valuable insight into the reality of student life at Cambridge. They regularly take part in Q&A panels and give tours of Newnham, as well as assisting with academic taster sessions. Newnham Ambassadors are from different subjects, year groups and backgrounds, but have a shared commitment to supporting outreach activities at the College.

The JCR Access Officer is a current undergraduate student who is voted in by the student body to represent them and contribute to conversations about outreach work at Newnham College. They regularly meet with the Schools Liaison Officer to plan different events and discuss feedback from Newnham students, as well as representing the College during school visits and Open Days.

Schools Liaison and Outreach Officer: Aisling Gilgeours
Admissions Tutor: Dr Sam Lucy
Deputy Admissions Tutor : Professor Roisin Owens
Admissions Coordinator: Esme Page
JCR Access Officer : Nabiha Ahmed

You can keep up to date with Newnham’s outreach work by following us on Twitter at @NewnhamSLO

If you have questions about outreach at Newnham or any of our upcoming events, please send these to slo@newn.cam.ac.uk and Aisling will get back to you as soon as she can (she spends a lot of time running events and hosting school groups so there may be a small delay in response).

Teachers may be interested in joining Newnham’s Teacher’s Mailing List. Those on the mailing list receive a monthly bulletin from the Schools Liaison and Outreach Officer, with information about upcoming events and competitions, as well as helpful resources.