Cambridge students warned to stay in halls or they won’t be allowed to graduate
- Undergraduates have to stay within three miles of Great St Mary’s Church
- Graduates have to stay within ten miles in order to progress their degrees
- Those in earlier years may also be prevented from progressing to next year
Cambridge students will not be able to graduate if they leave their accommodation during lockdown, university leaders have said.
Undergraduates are required to stay within three miles of Great St Mary’s Church, and graduates within ten miles, in order to progress their degrees, according to college principals.
One senior tutor at Jesus College wrote: ‘Full-time students are required to keep terms of residence in Cambridge in order to be awarded their degrees.
Undergraduates are required to stay within three miles of Great St Mary’s Church (pictured), and graduates within ten miles, in order to progress their degrees, according to college principals
‘In order to keep residence, you need to live within the university’s precincts during term time.’ Those in earlier years may also be prevented from progressing to the next year of their course, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Longstanding university statutes say students should reside within university precincts for at least three quarters of each term. A spokesman said the statutes on residence ‘remain consistent’ with government guidance.
Students have been urged to ‘save lives’ by staying in their halls and not rushing home before tomorrow’s lockdown.
Messages are seen pasted inside the windows of the Cambridge Halls student accommodation, for students at Manchester Metropolitan University
A woman walks across the Great Court at Trinity College, part of the University of Cambridge, in Cambridge, east England
Universities minister Michelle Donelan also called on institutions not to abandon all face-to-face teaching because it could jeopardise students’ learning and ‘risk their mental health’ during a potentially lonely period.
However, there were several reports of students abandoning their halls and heading for home yesterday.
Undergraduates told student publication The Tab they had already left their digs. Lancaster University’s Trina Read said: ‘It became clear to me that the only way for me to cope during this difficult time would be to go home.
‘I am lucky enough that most of my course is online.’