Offering spacious, secure and comfortable accommodation, we house our undergraduates in single study-bedrooms on the beautiful main site.
Our undergraduates are offered 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. Modern Languages students on a four-year courses that include a year abroad should be aware that the year abroad does not count, and that your return for your fourth year will be counted as your third year 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.
We provide substantial financial support for UK students to help those on lower budgets.
First year students are allocated rooms by the Student Accommodation Officer. Second and third year room allocation at Newnham is done using a ballot system. More information on the ballot process, as well as other aspects of living in college can be found in the Student Hub area of the website
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 £193.90 per week in 2025-26. 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 2025-26, subject to minor changes, are as follows:
A continuous licence (38 weeks) runs from Saturday 04 October 2025 (2pm) to Saturday 27 June 2026 (10am). For 2025-26, total rent for this option will be £7,368.20 (£193.90 x 38 weeks).
A three-term licence (for term only). For 2025-26, total rent for this option will be £5,817 (£193.90 x 30 weeks):
Michaelmas term:
Saturday 04 October 2025 (2pm) to Saturday 13 December 2025 (10am) £1,939 (£193.90 x 10 weeks)
Lent term:
Saturday 17 January 2026 (2pm) to Saturday 28 March 2026 (10am) £1,939 (£193.90 x 10 weeks)
Easter term:
Saturday 18 April 2026 (2pm) to Saturday 27 June 2026 (10am) £1,939 (£193.90 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.
