Offering spacious, secure and comfortable accommodation, we house our undergraduates in single study-bedrooms on the beautiful main site.
Our undergraduates are offered three years accommodation in secure, comfortable, single study-bedrooms in five 19th-century buildings and our new Dorothy Garrod Building. All the undergraduate rooms are on one site surrounding the college gardens, so you’ll always be close to your friends and to college amenities.
Newnham can offer three years of college accommodation to undergraduates. If you are on a three-year course, this will therefore be all three years of your course. If you are on a four-year course, this will be your first year and then any two years out of your second, third and fourth years. If you start on a three-year course and transfer or extend to a four-year course, you are still limited to three years of college accommodation.
The rooms in the Victorian buildings vary in size and position. Some have large sash windows and overlook the college gardens. Our new ensuite rooms have large windows with balconies or window seats, oak floors and high ceilings. Because each room is unique, the room for you is a very personal choice. To make it fair for everyone, we use our Room Ballot system (see below).
All the rooms are furnished and all have shared kitchen facilities, so you can cook the meals that suit you at a time you want – though of course, you can always eat with friends in our friendly Buttery and Iris café. Safety tested electrical equipment such as fridges, microwaves, kettles and toasters are provided in the shared kitchens. Students will need to provide their own pans, crockery and utensils.
In advance of the room ballot taking place, it is possible for those with medical/access needs or religious requirements to request room types that suit their particular needs. This is done via a form sent out to all undergraduates, typically in the latter half of January, containing information on what rooms types we can offer and giving students the opportunity to inform us of their needs. Students with medical/access needs must have a Student Support Document (SSD) and be able to provide medical evidence of their condition, such as a Doctor’s Note. While we do our best to meet the needs of every student our rooms stock is limited, and this process is required to make sure that certain types of rooms go to those that need them the most. See the ‘What if I have a disability?’ section in the Health and Wellbeing area of the Student Hub for more information on obtaining an SSD to help with any reasonable adjustments you may need in all areas of your college life.
We provide substantial financial support for UK students to help those on lower budgets.
Room ballot
Room allocation at Newnham is done using a random ballot system. As you progress through College you have the potential to get a better room each year, as you get to choose before the undergraduates in the years below you. It’s a slightly complicated system to understand, but students going into their second-year are allocated a random number in the ballot order, with that order reversed the following year (so if you’re bottom of the second year ballot, you will be top going in to your third year). The same rent is paid for every room, so cost is never a factor in your choice of room. Feel free to decide on a room based on your preferred size and location. Ensuite rooms in the new building are in very high demand and with not enough for available for everyone, students with specific medical needs (evidenced by Student Support Documents and Doctor’s Notes) are given priority.
More information on the ballot process, as well as other aspects of living in college can also be found in the Student Hub ‘Your room at Newnham’ page
Rents and charges
We have a different charging structure for undergraduate accommodation from that of many other Colleges, in that we charge the same rent to all students for all rooms. This will be £187.30 per week in 2024-25. There are two options: a termly contract (10 weeks per term), where your room needs to be vacated in the Christmas and Easter vacations, and a continuous contract (38 weeks) where it doesn’t. Finalists have an extra week at the end of the year, so 11 weeks in the final term, or 39 weeks on a continuous licence.
Room licence (contract) dates for 2024-25, subject to minor changes, are as follows:
A continuous licence (38 weeks) runs from Saturday 5 October 2024 (2pm) to Saturday 28 June 2025 (10am). For 2024-25, total rent for this option will be £7,117.40 (£187.30 x 38 weeks).
A three-term licence (for term only). For 2024-25, total rent for this option will be £5,619 (£187.30 x 30 weeks):
Michaelmas term:
Saturday 05 October 2024 (2pm) to Saturday 14 December 2024 (10am) £1,873 (£187.30 x 10 weeks)
Lent term:
Saturday 18 January 2025 (2pm) to Saturday 29 March 2025 (10am) £1,873 (£187.30 x 10 weeks)
Easter term:
Saturday 19 April 2025 (2pm) to Saturday 28 June 2025 (10am) £1,873 (£187.30 x 10 weeks)
The above charges include, as well as rent, background heating, Wi-Fi and personal belongings insurance (insurance details here). Rents at Newnham increase by inflation each academic year, based on the CPIH inflation measure for the previous calendar year.
While shared kitchen facilities are available to all undergraduates in college accommodation you also have the option of eating in the college Buttery and Iris Café.
Every student in College accommodation will pay a CPP (Catering Pre-Payment). This is a pre-payment plan that can be used in the Iris Café and Buttery. Each term £200 will be added to the college bill of all undergraduates in college accommodation. While you are in credit, you will pay discounted prices (75%, i.e. a 25% discount) at the Buttery and the Iris Café. If you are not in credit, you would have to pay by debit/credit card and pay full price (100%), however you can top up your CPP online at any time. Any unspent credit will be returned to you.
To help students on lower budgets meet these charges, Newnham offers a very generous system of student bursaries and rent subsidies to UK and EU students, and all students in financial need are encouraged to apply for these at the start of the academic year.