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Site and Accommodation

Churchill's modernist architecture set within a spacious, green and leafy landscape gives it a definite and immediately noticeable character while retaining Cambridge's traditional interlinked courts and staircases. What works so well about the buildings and site is the way they combine wonderfully expansive outdoor space with a great deal of open and interconnecting indoor space: the concourses and foyers; the Bar; the Dining Hall; the student union areas. In most Cambridge Colleges, once cold weather, rain and fog set in, wandering social contact essentially stops, as people dash from one building to another, largely eschewing the exposed public space. Because of Churchill's spacious and light interiors, we don't have this problem. This is one of the reasons why our famous student Spring Ball (whose name is a triumph of marketing, given that it takes place in the middle of February!) is possible and works so well.

"Churchill is set in 42 acres of parkland, which means that, after I've lifted my weights in the gym, I can go for a mile run without leaving the grounds!"

The vast majority of undergraduates live in sociable courts around our gardens and on-site sports ground, rather than in distant "outer hostels" as is the case in many Colleges. We accommodate all undergraduates for three years and are usually able to provide accommodation for Fourth Years who request it. Accommodation is excellent: modern, very roomy, light, warm, internet-connected and nearly 30 per cent en suite. (Don't take our word for it: come and look for yourself.) Kitchen facilities are very good. Students choose their rooms each year in a housing ballot. Room prices vary with size and facilities, but we try to keep rents overall at about the Cambridge collegiate average.

"Rooms are amazing — large and with beautiful wooden floors. My favourite features are the big window seats, which are great when you have people round. Also the heating is good and the showers are undoubtedly the best in Cambridge! If you want to, you can choose a room with a fantastic view across the sports pitches."

Amenities are exceptional — arguably more akin to those of a large, campus university than a traditional Oxford or Cambridge College. We have a wonderful on-site sports field, an excellent new gym, tennis and squash courts, a large theatre/cinema and a new music recital room with rehearsal and recording facilities, a Steinway grand piano and a Rubio harpsichord. We also have an art studio. Our Dining Hall is the biggest in Cambridge and our Bar, which operates throughout the day, is open-plan and right in the centre of College. It is wireless connected, so people quite often deal with their e-mails there over breakfast or coffee. It has a giant-screen TV which we use to broadcast major news or sports events.

Another Churchill plus is our location, just outside the city centre (it takes just ten minutes to walk to the middle of Cambridge), and adjacent to Fitzwilliam, Lucy Cavendish, Murray Edwards and St Edmund's Colleges, Trinity Hall's Wychfield campus and the University's exciting new West Cambridge Science development, which includes the world-famous Cavendish Laboratory and the futuristic Centre for Mathematical Sciences. The University Library and the Arts Faculties and Departments are also nearby, so there is a real sense that we are at the centre of things as the University moves west. Centre-of-town Colleges can be right on top of Cambridge's pubs and bars, but this convenience often has a down side in lack of room and noise disturbance. Churchill is close enough greatly to profit from a city location, but far enough out to enjoy the huge benefits of space and quiet.

"Churchill grounds are really spacious and nicely removed from the bustle and bikes of Cambridge city centre."