Here at Churchill College, we are welcoming our latest cohort of undergraduate Freshers, so are delighted to give this update on the admissions round that brought them to us.

Churchill always seeks to admit undergraduates who will flourish at Cambridge. Our Freshers have performed exceptionally well in their school and college exams, and are typically drawn from the very top of their previous cohorts, giving us – and, more importantly, them – confidence that they will thrive here.

At the same time, our commitment to widening participation is reflected across the intake, with a proportional increase across all contextual categories measured by the University. For example, 25% of our UK entrants are from IMD quintiles 1 and 2, compared with 20% in 2021 and the University’s 18% target with the regulator. Our proportion of UK state-educated entrants stands at 75%, exceeding the University’s target of 66.1%.

For the third year in a row, Churchill has delivered on our aim of maintaining a gender-balanced intake, with 49% of this year’s entrants identifying as female and 51% identifying as male in UCAS. We are particularly proud of this because Churchill is bound by statute that 70% of its membership should be from STEM subjects, in which women remain under-represented at both school and university. We continually seek to redress this imbalance, not least through the work of our Master, Professor Dame Athene Donald.

Speaking of this year’s cohort, our Lead Admissions Tutor, Dr Jonathan Padley, said, “Our Admissions Tutors, Directors of Studies, and I are so proud of this year’s intake.  They’ve done brilliantly in the face of persistent disruption to their education these past few years.  As a community and as individuals, they are remarkable.  We’re really looking forward to working with them.”

And our Senior Tutor, Dr Rita Monson added, “We are so excited to welcome this year’s co-hort of students to the Churchill College community. Given the challenges that this year of entrants have faced, their achievements are even more impressive. I cannot wait to meet them all over the next two weeks.”