Support for Students

The decisions made about what to study for sixth form/ post-16 can have a huge impact on the courses and university options available to you later on. Selective, competitive universities - like, but not only, Cambridge - often consider not only the individual subjects you study, but your combination of subjects. 

At Cambridge, many courses require applicants to have taken certain subjects, or combinations of subjects, because they prepare students effectively for those courses. 

How can I check what subjects to take?

All Cambridge courses publish their entry requirements on the university website. You can find a list of courses here, and then on the individual page make sure to read the entry requirements tab in full! 

Different universities will have different requirements, even for the same course or similar courses, and at Cambridge, some colleges might have their own more specific requirements. You can find out what we require at Christ's via our Subject Pages.

The University has also published a webpage on choosing high school subjects. 

Subject Matters Webinars

We know that thinking about your future options and what to take for A-Level, Highers or the International Baccalaureate can be quite daunting. That's why we include a session on Subject Matters: The Importance of Your Post-16 Choices amongst our Regular Webinars series! This session runs multiple times throughout the year, and is open to anyone currently studying for GCSEs or National 5s (Year 10/11 in England or Wales, Year 11/12 in Northern Ireland, S3/4 in Scotland), as well as any parents, carers, teachers or other supporters of young people in this age group. International students in equivalent year groups who are planning to take either A-Levels or the International Baccalaureate are also welcome. 

The session covers not only what subjects and combinations of subjects you should think about taking for different courses at both Cambridge and selective universities more widely, but we also discuss what you should consider when making informed decisions, and how different courses and subjects might translate into future potential careers. 

To find out when the next session is being held, please see our Regular Webinars page.

International students: you can check if your country's national qualifications are accepted on this webpage. 

Strong applicants to Cambridge and other competitive universities will have spent time exploring their interests within the subject/s for which they are applying at university. Such exploration - supercurricular activities - include wider reading and other enrichment work outside of their A-Level, Highers, or International Baccalaureate (or similar) studies.

What counts as supercurricular?

Supercurricular activities can be all sorts of things, so long as they are academic in nature and are relevant* to your chosen course. This might include: reading (books, journals, articles, the news); listening and watching (podcasts, lectures and talks); competitions or research (including past papers even if not having participated, EPQs); trips, conferences or visits (virtual or in person); experiences (including taster days or summer schools) and work experience (if it's relevant  work experience); or (free!) online courses. 

We don't expect you to have done one of everything above, nor is there a hierarchy of activities! It's just to show you how much can count. 

*Unless you're already 100% certain about what you're applying for, it's quite likely some things you do as you try to figure out what you want to apply for might not end up being relevant to the degree you do end up choosing. That's ok! These activities are to help you work that out as much as to have something to talk about in your application. 

What about extracurriculars?

Extracurriculars are activities you do outside of school that are unrelated to your chosen subject, such as sport, performing arts, music or volunteering. Activities with no relevance to your course will not increase your chance of getting an offer. However, there is still value in your pursuing your interests and hobbies - not everything has to be for the sake of applying to university, so you should of course still continue to do things you enjoy. 

However, if you're applying for music, then of course anything you do that is musical will count as supercurricular because then it is relevant!

Where do I start?

 Check out more advice and suggestions to get started over in Resources!

Students who are in Year 11 or 12 in England/Wales, Year 12 or 13 in Northern Ireland, and S4 or S5 in Scotland as well as those in international equivalent groups (e.g. US Grades 10 and 11) are invited to sign up to receive regular emails from the Christ's Admissions and Outreach Team. All are welcome, irrespective of the school attended or where in the world you may be studying.

Signing up for these emails means you will receive regular emails at least every other month highlighting a range of events and opportunities you might be eligible for, alongside lots of advice and guidance tailored to the time of the academic year, and signposting to any relevant events and information to support them in your research and exploration of your post-16 and post-18 options. 

Click here to join our Ongoing Support Mailing List today!

Christ's College runs a series of regular webinars for potential applicants to Oxbridge and other highly-selective universities. The sessions have been designed to provide you with the core grounding to work towards a competitive application, starting with their post-16 options through to understanding the application process and financing university.

Each session runs regularly - in other words, is repeated - throughout the year, so that you are able to attend no matter the stage in your application and research journey. By offering the same session multiple times through the year, you shouldn't miss out on information and guidance because you happened to look a little later than someone else! 

Webinars available:

Subject Matters: The Importance of Your Post-16 Subjects

Cambridge for Beginners

Christ's College: A Look at the Grounds & Facilities

Personal Statements & Competitive Applications

NEW FOR 2025: Student Finance Explained

Webinars last approximately an hour, usually with some additional time for questions where needed. Please note all sessions are live only - recordings are not circulated. Those who have  attended a session will receive a detailed follow-up email afterwards. If you book onto one, make sure you put it in your diary and set a reminder.

You can find out more about these sessions and their upcoming dates over on our dedicated Regular Webinars page.

There are a huge range of admissions and outreach events that take place every year organised by the University or Cambridge Colleges, including Christ's. This includes open days, subject taster events (online and in person), and overnight events in Cambridge, as well as a huge range of online webinars on various aspects of living, studying and applying at or to Cambridge. 

The University Upcoming Events page is regularly updated with opportunities, and these can be filtered by different categories. Christ's also uploads all upcoming events of ours here.

Most programmes or events at Cambridge will be free to attend, or with a small cost such as the Subject Masterclasses (£12.50), though there are funded places available for those who meet certain criteria. 

Eligibility Criteria: Note that outreach events in particular may have eligibility criteria, such as subject requirements or based on the school you attend or where you live. Where academic criteria is concerned, this is often because we want to make sure those attending could actually apply to Cambridge for that subject! For other factors, such as your school or where you live, this is because some of our events aim to encourage young people who might be less likely to make an application to Cambridge in the first place, to do so. 

If you don't meet criteria like this, or you're unsuccessful in your application for a programme, don't let this put you off a future application: selection for these is different to actually applying to study with us and not indicative of how likely you are to succeed in applying for an undergraduate place! We don't expect applicants to have attended things like taster days or summer schools, and there are plenty of other ways to engage with your chosen subject as explained under Supercurricular exploration. 

Note: Beware of private companies! 

We receive many emails asking us about summer schools and other opportunities for students to get a "taste" of university whilst still at school.  Whilst we do not expect potential applicants to have done this, we are aware that there are many companies that offer very expensive programmes, which we would not encourage students to attend.  We have therefore put together a document containing information about the opportunities that do exist which are run by universities and charities as access and outreach programmes and so are usually free to attend.

Opportunities in Year 12 (note: this document is now out of date, but whilst we work on a more up-to-date resource, we have kept it here for the time being. Also see the Upcoming Events page which now exists!)

Students who have signed up to the Ongoing Support Programme emails will also receive emails that sign-post upcoming opportunities and deadlines - so if you'd like some of this directly to your inbox, sign up below!

There are many opportunities throughout the year for prospective students to visit the college, either as individuals or through visiting with their school. 

School Visits

From 2025 we will be running KS4 and KS5 visit days. These are designed to give students insight to studying at a top university like Cambridge, and provide lots of useful information to help them make informed decisions about their future steps. Places will be prioritised for state schools and colleges in our link areas, though we will consider requests from those outside of our areas where places are available. See more about our Visit Days here. Teachers will need to make booking requests. 

Individual Visits

As well as booking into our dedicated Open Days (there are at least six opportunities each year), pospective students are always welcome to have a look around the college on a date that suits them. This includes specific student-led tours or a self-guided visit as well as open days. Further information about visiting Christ's in these ways is available here.  We add any known dates the college is completely closed here, though it's also a good idea to ring the Porters' Lodge in advance to check too.

You may also have an opportunity to visit if selected for a place on one of our outreach programmes, several of which include the opportunity to stay overnight with us.

Virtual Visits

We appreciate it isn't always feasible to get to Cambridge for a visit, which is why we also offer virtual ways to get a feel for Christ's. This includes our regular webinar for Grounds and Facilities, the University of Cambridge Virtual Tour, and extensive facilities webpages on this website. Our October and February open days are run in hybrid format with key information sessions delivered online and in-person tours being optional. 

Christ's College provides opportunities throughout the year to visit us through the University Open Days, and our college-specific open days. 

Christ's Open Days take place in a hybrid format in October and February. Key information sessions are hosted online, and then there are optional separate days around this on which potential applicants and their supporters are welcome to visit the college for a guided tour with a current student, talk to admissions staff, and have the opportunity to meet with an academic in their subject (where available).

University Open Days take place every July and September, during which Christ's typically runs drop-in tours with current students throughout the day, with admissions staff also on hand to answer questions. In September, we also run some additional online webinars for potential applicants in the run-up to the September open day. Please note that only the July open days will involve colleges and subject departments - in September, only colleges are open to visit. Read more about Cambridge's collegiate structure here. 

Christ's also participates in the Maths Faculty Open Days in the late spring (April/May). 

All open days are open to any prospective applicants regardless of school type or home country, and booking is on a first-come first-served basis. They are aimed at those in the academic year prior to making an application (e.g. if you're planning to apply to university in October 2025 to start in October 2026, then you might consider the October 2024 or February, July or September open days in 2025). 

Alongside our all-subject open days, we also have a range of outreach and subject taster programmes as part of our commitment to widening participation. These events will have eligibility and prioritisation criteria, so you should check you meet the minimum eligibility criteria before applying. These events are open to students in any region of the United Kingdom. 

We also run additional support and visits for schools and students in our link areas of Harrow, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. See our Outreach Work with Schools section for more information. Not from these areas? You can find your area's link college here to see what additional support may be available in your region. 

Taster Days and Series

We organise some one-day or multi-week hybrid subject taster opportunities to provide prospective students with an insight into what it might be like to pursue particular courses at a university level. In 2025, these will include:

Medicine Taster Day (Hybrid) | 29 January 2025

Natural Sciences Taster Day (Hybrid) | 25 March 2025

English Taster Series (Online with in-person visit) | TBC Spring 2025

Residentials and Summer Schools

Throughout the year Christ's offers students the opportunity to live in real undergraduate accommodation and get a taste of what it's like to live and study with us. These include:

Women in Maths | hosted in collaboration with Trinity College (dates: late March 2025)

World of Words | hosted in collaboration with King's College (dates: early April 2025)

Experience Christ's | dates: late August 2025

Click on the relevant event to find out more about what they entail, eligibility criteria, dates and to register interest for when applications open.

We have collated over 100 student profiles from past and present Christ's undergraduates with detailed information, advice, guidance and insight to what it's really like to live and study with us - from real students! 

They cover all subject areas, and students from both the UK and internationally. You can browse the full range of profiles here. You can also browse profiles by where students came from here. Note: we have over 400 undergraduates at Christ's at any one time, so profiles might not capture every kind of student we have!

We recommend reading some both from the subject(s) you're considering at university, as well as some from a few different subjects as well. Remember that each student is an individual, with their own unique interests and expereinces, and reading a few different ones will give you a flavour of the various things you can get up to at Cambridge within and beyond your degree!