Widening Participation

Selwyn College and the University of Cambridge are committed to a ‘needs-blind’ admissions policy, and to recruiting the academically very best students regardless of their background, circumstances, income or what type of school they have attended. We are eager to ensure that we treat all applicants fairly, and to guarantee that fair access to the University’s courses is promoted and maintained.

At Selwyn we are keen to receive applications from anyone who has the ability, ambition and academic potential to thrive in Cambridge. In the past, too many people have not considered applying to Cambridge because they felt, rightly or wrongly, that ‘it was not for them’ or they worry that they might not fit in socially. We are very committed to ensuring that all those considering their choice of university are well informed about the options that Cambridge has to offer, and are not put off by inaccurate, negative stereotypes, or by lack of information.

There is no denying that studying at Cambridge is hard work, that the competition for places is strong and that serious academic interest is required to prosper in our courses. If you are the sort of person who relishes a challenge, is deeply interested in your chosen subject, and who is prepared to ‘go the extra mile’, then we urge you to think about the possibility of study at Cambridge. It is not something we can tell you that you should, or must, do; we hope, however, that you will give us serious consideration.

The Admissions Tutors are always willing to meet any potential candidates, host visits to Selwyn from schools or colleges, or accept invitations to visit schools and colleges. We are especially interested to hear from schools and colleges who have not in the past sent many candidates to Cambridge.  Laura Carter is our Schools Liason Officer: her role is to visit schools and colleges, to establish links, provide information and generally facilitate our outreach work.  She can be contacted directly at schools-liaison@sel.cam.ac.uk.

To give you an idea of the type of programme that our Schools Liaison Officer runs with school groups when they come down to Cambridge, please see this sample programme. However, this is by no means set in stone, Laura is always happy to discuss the particular focus of your group and to tailor activities according to this.

Within the Cambridge Area Links Scheme area links, Selwyn has particular responsibility for building ties with schools and colleges in South and West Yorkshire, Scotland and parts of Berkshire.
Specifically we aim to work in the following LAs:

    * Bracknell Forest; Maidenhead; Slough and Windsor in Berkshire
    * Barnsley in South Yorkshire
    * Calderdale; Leeds, Wakefield; Huddersfeld and Kirklees in West Yorkshire
    * We currently work with all regions of Scotland.

It should be emphasized that these links are made on behalf of all the Colleges and the University – a particular College certainly does not have exclusive rights to a particular area.

Our students are enthusiastic participants in the ‘shadowing’ scheme and the Target Schools initiatives run by the Cambridge University Student Union; please see here for further information, or contact us directly.