In line with the College's commitment to Widening Participation, our outreach programmes support students who may have experienced educational disadvantage or belong to a group that is statistically less likely to progress to higher education.
Where spaces on an outreach programme are limited, students who meet one or more of the following criteria will be prioritised. The criteria below are organised in order of their priority, i.e. being care experienced is of the highest priority.
- Students who are in care or care-experienced
- Students who are an asylum seeker or refugee
- Students who are eligible for the 16-19 Bursary/ Pupil Premium and/or those who have been in receipt of Free School Meals at any point in the last 6 years
- Students who belong to an under-represented ethnic group identified as:
- Black African or Black Caribbean
- Pakistani or Bangladeshi
- Roma, Gypsy or Traveller
- Students who have experienced disruption in their education such as:
- Medical/health issues (including mental health), particularly those that have resulted in long or extended periods of absence (over eight weeks) from school in the last six years
- Bereavement of a close family member (e.g. parent/carer) in the last six years
- Being a young carer, defined as being the primary carer for a parent or sibling
- Becoming a parent
- Becoming estranged from both primary parents/carers
- Moving schools twice or more in the last 6 years
- Other disruption (to be specified)
- Students from schools with historic low progression to Oxbridge
- Students who are resident in areas with less advantaged socio-economic characteristics (using IMD)
- Students who are from any background or region of the UK which is under-represented at the University of Cambridge
Some programmes may be aimed at addressing barriers to higher education faced by a specific underrepresented group, and may therefore use stricter criteria. Full details will be provided on the relevant programme webpage.
The criteria above are drawn primarily from the University of Cambridge's Access and Participation Plan and are informed by current research into Widening Participation and the Cambridge admissions statistics.
We recognise that there are many social, economic, and educational barriers to higher education that may not be listed above.
If you are interested in applying for a programme and would like to discuss your eligibility, please get in touch with Libby Beckett (Outreach & Admissions Officer, schoolsliaison@clare.cam.ac.uk) to arrange a confidential conversation by phone or email.
