Corpus Bridging Course

Last September Corpus Christi became the first Cambridge college to launch a full-length residential Bridging Course, welcoming to Cambridge 16 new undergraduates from backgrounds that are traditionally under-represented. The students spent three weeks in College as part of their preparation before beginning their first year here. The course is our flagship programme for raising academic standards at the College and for widening the range of social and educational backgrounds from which we draw our undergraduates. Thanks to these new undergraduate places, the College in 2020 has already met its targets set for 2025 by the Office for Fair Access for diversity and widening participation. The intake of home undergraduates this year is made up of 78% from the state sector, the highest share the College has ever had.

"As a student from a widening-participation background, I am extremely grateful to have attended the Bridging Course. The course built my confidence in my academic ability and strengthened my core skills, but it also provided me with comfort, amazing friends and unforgettable memories. No student finds it easy starting at Cambridge, never mind if you are from an under-represented background, but the course definitely makes the process so much more fun and provides a sense of belonging and solidarity to the students on it." -Jamie, Bridging Course student

Another 18 students took the next Bridging Course in September 2021. But without the generous financial support from the College’s alumni and benefactors, Corpus’s Bridging Courses would not be able to take place. We receive no financial support for this scheme from the University or the government, and charge the students nothing to attend.

If you would like to hear more about the programme or make a donation to the course, please contact our Development Director, Mrs Rachel Lawson, on development.director@corpus.cam.ac.uk.

Dr Charles Read
Director of the Bridging Course