Page updated: 26 August 2025
First year students (with the exception of international students, Foundation Year students, and Maths students who are asked to arrive early for a pre-term course) are asked to come into residence on Wednesday 1 October from 10am (by 4pm at the latest). The following day there are a number of meetings and events which you will need to attend.
Parking is available in Mare's Run for you to use.
Maths students are asked to arrive in College on Sunday 28 September. Information about the pre-term course can be found in the letter which will be emailed to our Maths Freshers. Further details about the course will be sent to you nearer the time.
International students are invited to arrive from Monday 29 September. Further information about International Freshers' events can be found on the International Students page.
Our Accommodation Manager will send you an online form to book your arrival. If you do not receive this email, please check any spam/junk folders, otherwise email accommodation@girton.cam.ac.uk. On this form you will also be able to order bedding and other items that will be in your room when you arrive. Should you wish to purchase a College gown, there will be a sale during Freshers' Week at Girton.
If you arrive earlier than expected you will be charged for the additional nights before your tenancy starts at the same rate as charged during term.
The JCR is the undergraduate student community, and the JCR Committee are a group of elected students that represent you!
They have their own website, which explains who they are, what they do and how they will be welcoming new students.
A very warm welcome to Girton College! We’re thrilled that you’ve joined our community, and we want to assure you that this will be an exciting, transformative time filled with new experiences, friendships, and opportunities.
I’m Gracie - one of your Welfare Officers at Girton! I am a third year English student.
I’m Orlando, a third year BioNatSci student and am also excited to be working with Gracie to boost welfare and be a friendly face to go to if you need any help!
We have been the Welfare Officers since Easter term and so far we have been busy supporting the new Wobble Week! We helped provide a week of unwinding activities and events to help with exam term stress. This proved to be very popular, so we will be running it again this year (Michaelmas and Easter term). As Welfare Officers we also organise the marriage formal and the termly petting zoos! We are beginning to organise your College families.
Throughout the year, we’ll be organising various events and initiatives designed to promote your wellbeing, help you settle in, and connect you with others. Whether it’s through welfare hour or just a chat over coffee at schlub, we’re here for you. Remember, no question is too small, and no issue is too insignificant. If you ever feel overwhelmed, homesick, or simply need to talk, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re here to make sure you feel at home at Girton.
You can find us in the Welfare Office during welfare hour but I’m sure you’ll see us around College so don’t be afraid to say hi! Or message us via email (jcr-welfare@girton.cam.ac.uk) or on Instagram (@girtonwelfare).
Hope to see you all soon, and we can’t wait to meet you!
A warm welcome to Girton from your College Chaplain. I hope you get to know you in one way or another in the course of the year. Since joining Girton as Chaplain in 2020, I have found the College to be a welcoming and kind community, as well as a place of exciting endeavour and opportunity. I’m confident you will find that too.
As Chaplain to the whole College, I’m here to be a supportive presence for anyone and everyone in our community - to help you with any matter of personal concern, not simply on issues that might be labelled ‘religious’. I am here as a friendly face and an experienced listener - a confidential and non-judgmental ear when it’s needed, someone to encourage you, someone who is in the College world and understands the pressures on you, but is also outside of the assessment system. In addition, of course, I am here to help anyone engage with the spiritual dimension of life – whether you belong to a faith community or are perhaps trying to make sense of those moments of intuition and awareness that don’t seem to fit into anybody’s system.
As a priest in the Church of England, I am here for any College members who are Christians or who wish to explore Christianity, to help you on your journey of faith. However, it’s also my role to support members of all faiths, and if you belong to any other faith community I’m here to help you negotiate the relationship between your life of faith and your College life. I can also put you in touch with various representatives of other faiths in Cambridge, and will gladly represent the needs of the various faith communities that make up our College family.
I am also responsible for the life and worship of the College Chapel. The Chapel here at Girton provides us with an oasis of calm in the midst of a hectic term life, a place of peace and depth, and a space to be yourself. There are regular services of Christian worship during term, and the Chapel Term-card contains all the details you need to know from term to term. All are welcome. Make sure you get a chance to hear Girton’s first-rate choir, too, who lift our worship in Chapel Sunday by Sunday. If you’re interested in getting involved in Chapel life in any way, please let me know and we can chat about what you want to do. We are always appreciative of help as we cultivate a friendly, dedicated and inclusive community.
Girton also has a multi-faith prayer room which you can access from the Porter’s Lodge, and for which I am jointly responsible along with the Junior Bursar.
Away from Chapel I also work professionally as a jazz saxophonist and pianist, and am the Artistic Director of Girton Jazz – a pioneering scheme of workshops and concerts bringing some of Europe’s top jazz musicians to Girton. So, I’m always happy to connect with any jazz musicians and enthusiasts!
Please feel free to contact me at any time, stop me in the corridor (I’ll usually be wearing a clerical collar) or simply follow the sound of jazz coming from my room, D4A. You can knock on the door at any time. I work part time, but am in College regularly during term time. The warmest welcome to you all.
I hope to see you soon.
Tim Boniface