Arriving at Newnham

Students are expected to arrive in Cambridge shortly before the start of each term, on the dates which are set out in your Room Licence. If you are not able to come on the prescribed date, you should contact the Admissions Office (Freshers) or the Student Accommodation Officer (other year groups) to ask permission to come on another date. It is not always possible to meet individual requests, especially if you want to ‘come up’ (= arrive in Cambridge) earlier than the date which has been set.

Please go to the Porters’ Lodge (on Sidgwick Avenue, CB3 9DF) to collect your room key and/or University Card and the lockable storage keys for your room, get directions to your room and be shown where to collect mail from your pigeonhole.  Please enter the Lodge alone unless you need a supporter. This is to keep the number of people in this busy area as low as possible during the peak arrival times.

If you are arriving by a car, you will be directed to the area in which you should unload your car. After unloading you will need to move your car off the site to allow others to also unload. There is a lot of on street parking available (metered – which accepts cash and card). See the map for more information.

There is no on-site parking for students, other than for those who have obtained both a licence from the University Motor Proctor’s Office to have a vehicle whilst at Cambridge, and a permit from the Head Porter for parking on site specifically. You may park to unload your luggage – you must then move the car to allow other students to do the same. Please ask the Porters where to park.

Make sure you register your bicycle online at (you will need your raven password) https://apps.newn.cam.ac.uk/v2/bike/

Following the above registration process, you will need to collect an appropriately coloured tag to affix to your bike, and borrow a marking pen to mark your bike with a registration generated serial number.  Both are available from the Porters’ Lodge.

Make sure you wear a helmet when riding your bike and use bike lights in anything less than full daylight – safety first!

The police carry out random street checks during term, so regularly check your lights are working as they should.

Bike theft is a problem in Cambridge, so you should get a decent lock (or two locks) for your bike.

If your bike is expensive make sure that it is insured.

If your bike is lost or stolen, tell the police to obtain a crime number, and tell the Porters’ Lodge. The police will tell the student if a bike is found but will keep it at the police station for only 28 days, after which it will be disposed of.

At the end of the Easter Term, bikes should be taken home if possible – any which remain do so entirely at the owner’s risk.

Bikes should be parked neatly in a bike shed or rack. Any which obstruct other users may be cut free and moved without compensation.

A bicycle pump is available at the Porters’ Lodge.

The college conducts an annual cull of bikes aimed at maintaining free space for current members.  For details see Bicycle Cull below.

Bicycle Cull

At the end of each Academic Year the College carries out a Bicycle Cull to remove any untagged bicycles.

Bicycles that are removed will be securely stored for a short period of time, allowing owners to reclaim them on their return.

More information on the cull will be sent via email at the time.

CamSIS is Cambridge’s system for handling student information, records and transactions, from initial contact and application all the way through to graduation. It is a single shared system, with one record per student.

All transactions, processing and updates to the student’s record are either carried out directly in CamSIS by University and College staff, the students themselves, or are downloaded into CamSIS by external organisations. This makes maintenance of the record simple and straightforward and ensures the accuracy and integrity of the information.

Please keep your information up to date with your email, phone and address.

• Very few students have permission to keep a car or motorbike in Cambridge.
• Parking at Postgraduate Houses is for staff only (as arranged by Porters).
• Students wishing to bring a vehicle (not moped) into Cambridge, should first apply to the Tutorial and Academic Office with their reasons for doing so. Eligibility will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
• Successful applicants may then be advised to apply through the University Motor Proctor’s Office, for a university license. This license permits you to bring your vehicle into Cambridge.
• Parking in College however, must be applied for through the Head Porter, as parking is very limited. Eligibility to park will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and permission given only in exceptional circumstances.
• Permission to park in College should neither be considered a right nor permanent and can be retracted at any stage, should a more exceptional application be received.

For a guide to college rooms and gardens, as well as our location and directions, please see our College map.

International Students should please refer to the following information:
https://www.internationalstudents.cam.ac.uk/

The following passport holders are required to register with the police after they collect their Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) in the UK and also update their details as required: Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Georgia, Hong Kong SAR, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Palestine, Peru, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Stateless or travelling on a non-national document (i.e. Travel Document).

Further information can be found on the International Student Team website: https://www.internationalstudents.cam.ac.uk/tier-4-responsibilities/police-registration

All students are required to live in Cambridge in order to fulfil the requirements for their degree. Undergraduates, who are working towards a BA Honours degree, need not only to pass the annual exams, but also to complete nine Terms of residence over the standard 3 years of study. There are three Terms: Michaelmas, Lent and Easter; the first two are of 80 days each, the third 70 days. Within each Term there is a shorter period called Full Term.

The precise dates when each term begins and ends are given here:  https://www.cam.ac.uk/about-the-university/term-dates-and-calendars

In order to ‘keep Term’ for purposes of a degree, an undergraduate must reside in Cambridge for a period equivalent to the length of Full Term. This is defined as being 60 days (59 nights) in the Michaelmas and Lent Terms and 53 days (52 nights) in the Easter Term. If any nights are spent away from Cambridge during Full Term, they must be offset by residence during the period of Term, either before or after Full Term. Days kept in excess of those required in any Term cannot be transferred to a subsequent Term. At the end of each term, the College certifies to the University and, in the case of overseas students, the Home Office, that you have kept term, and needs to supply mitigating evidence if that is not the case.

Full Term always begins on a Tuesday. Lectures normally start on the Thursday and run for eight weeks (four in the Easter Term), ending on a Wednesday. Full Term itself ends on a Friday. In most subjects, all formal lectures and supervisions are given during Full Term.

Postgraduate students have different residence requirements, details of which can be found online. 

Please sign in and out at the Porters’ Lodge at the beginning and end of each term. This also applies to those on continuous room licences.

Please sign the exeat book at the Porters’ Lodge when you spend a night or two away from Cambridge during term, in case it is necessary to contact you urgently.

Tell your Tutor when you are going to be resident in Cambridge outside Full Term. This avoids a delay if anyone in College wishes to contact you during the vacation.

Come into College at least once a week to collect mail from your pigeonhole.

Check the information on Tutorial and Directors of Studies’ noticeboards; this enables you not to miss such things as deadlines for interviews, grant applications and so on.

If you wish to change your lodgings, you should notify the Tutorial and Academic Office of the new address as soon as you finalise arrangements.

You should maintain your contact details via CamSIS self-service (see CamSIS above).

Please sign in and out at the Porters’ Lodge on your arrival in Cambridge and upon your departure.

Come into College at least once a week to collect mail from your pigeonhole.

Come in and use the facilities in the College MCR.

Check the information on Tutorial and Directors’ of Studies’ noticeboards; this enables you not to miss such things as deadlines for interviews, grant applications and so on.

If you wish to change your lodgings, you should notify the Tutorial and Academic Office of the new address as soon as you finalise arrangements.

You should maintain your contact details via CamSIS self-service (see CamSIS above).

You will be issued with a University Card – this card will be programmed to allow you to purchase items in the Buttery, access various doors/gates and also to take library books out of the library (once you have been inducted and given a tour).

If you lose your card, please email the Tutorial and Academic Office who will cancel your old card and organise a replacement; and see the Porters for a temporary card.

Under no circumstances are you to give or lend your card for someone else to use.