Living and Learning

Generations of students, over many decades, have thrived in the space for thought provided by Girton's magnificent Victorian buildings, expansive gardens, multiple on-site sports facilities, reliable infrastructure and wide range of services. A short bicycle ride away, Wolfson Court, at the heart of the West Cambridge science complex, provides a second home-from-home, whose developmental potential is enormous. The two sites combined place Girton squarely at the cutting edge of the University's planned expansion to the North-west of the city. Girton has very literally become the gateway to Cambridge. To make the most of this a Great Campaign will support two very special projects.

A New Wing to complete Ash Court

In addition to 50 flexible en-suite rooms, the development includes a spacious courtyard together with a leisure complex incorporating the existing squash courts as well as a new gym, ergo room, changing rooms and refurbished fully accessible swimming pool. The whole development is a model of best practice in sustainable building design, using ground source heat pumps, and photovoltaic cells to maximise energy efficiency.

Ash Court will be used by students throughout the academic year and by wedding parties, conferences and other events in the summer. This will turn Girton into a premier Country House facility with some of the finest accommodation, public rooms, and catering services in Cambridge. Once the new facilities are on-stream we can accommodate anything from company conferences to family reunions, as well as a wide range of arts, crafts and leisure activities. We invite our alumni and supporters to publicise and make use of this opportunity. Your advocacy will help Girton thrive every bit as much as a substantial donation.

The New Wing also needs direct finance. Building at Ash Court now beginning: we have enough funding already to cut the turf. To complete the project, we need help right away. This is an opportunity for you to join a long tradition of benefactors whose names have already shaped the College: the Stanley Library, the Eliza Baker Courtyard, and the Duke Building to name but three. In that vein, it will take £5 million to name the new wing in its entirety, or £50,000 to name a room within it. Other naming opportunities include the courtyard, fitness centre, refurbished swimming pool and colonnade.

Celebrating half a century at Wolfson Court

Wolfson Court lies at the nexus of West Cambridge and the University Library. It is a deceptively large site. As the University expands to the North-west a Great Campaign will allow us to transform Wolfson Court into a world-class graduate and research centre. There is scope to double the number of rooms (to perhaps as many as 250), to upgrade the infrastructure, and to remodel Wolfson Court's wider role in accommodating, providing teaching space, and offering dining facilities, for use by all College members. Our aim for 2019, the 50th anniversary of the opening of Wolfson Court, is to celebrate a renewed purpose for this site, as Girton once again takes a lead, integrating the life and work of the postdoctoral, postgraduate, undergraduate and senior members of collegiate Cambridge.