The University claim that in no way do they discourage applications from student parents. “There is no discouragement to graduate students applying and being accepted, nor to supporting them if they become pregnant during the course of their studies here,” said a spokesperson. “Though less common, the same is true for undergraduates here. Each instance is treated individually by discussions between the student and her College.”

The University says that the provision made “depends entirely on circumstances” but that “most colleges have flats for students and these often are used for students with families. Other provision such as child care support, financial aid and so on is also provided and is available as needed through discussion with the student concerned on an individual basis.”

But Kerstyn Comley, President of the student-run Families Society, said: “On the whole the provision for student parents at Cambridge is not that great. The general atmosphere is that when you are a student here you’re expected to give your entire life to the university. To have commitments outside of it is not looked upon that well.

“The provisions for pregnancy are a little bit undefined. There aren’t enough people getting pregnant to make an official policy. When these situations arise the official policy of the University is that they are keen to support students with kids.”
She says that whether tangible help materialises is largely dependent on the student’s college. “Some have their own family society within them, the most active being Wolfson which has a coffee morning every Saturday morning,” she said. “Other colleges are a bit hit and miss depending on the year. My own experience was it took a year before I heard about the Childcare Clerk, Cassie Marks. When you get to Cambridge there often isn’t enough support in the early stages, from tutors and so on.”

CUSU Women’s Officer Elly Shepherd agrees. “Tutor and Director of Studies attitudes vary hugely,” she says. “Some have been very understanding, others have definitely not been.” Welfare Officer Andrea Walko claims that the university is reluctant to fund family social activities. “They are funded by CUSU and the Graduate Union, which is a shame because it’s hard to find space in our budget”, says Walko. She has campaigned to add advice on how to deal with a student pregnancy into the Tutor’s guide. She says: “There’s no structure at the moment; it’s all completely ad hoc and that’s the main problem.”

Cassie Marks says: “The majority of students with children are graduate students and the majority of those are grad students from overseas. Undergraduate parents are a small minority. We can pass on any information to parents in terms of childcare, or in terms of funding and university services available to them, but we can’t get involved in counselling pregnant students. I can just provide the information on what would happen if they did have kids. I have a mix of people coming to me - most people plan quite far in advance and already have children. They need to know which colleges have family flats available. A lot of colleges don’t have any family accommodation at all.

“Five years ago there were no central information service and no central nurseries. The University has been making a concerted effort to improve things but there’s still room for improvement. Childcare in Cambridge is notoriously very expensive. People have to think twice about the costs. There are pockets of funding, but it will never be enough to pay for childcare. We try to give people the information at the application stage. We do want to widen access, but they have to know the costs.”

CASE STUDIES

You can feel very isolated

SARAH, 30, is a classics undergraduate who came to Cambridge with as five-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son

“The University isn’t that great at supporting student parents. For example, an issue which made my first year really difficult was the library. My college library is very poorly stocked and my faculty library closes at 6 and if you’re doing a school run it’s very difficult to study in that time.

“My Director of Studies in my first year was awful, completely hopeless. I flagged the whole issue and he was just totally indifferent. My tutor tried to help by getting me access to the University Library which would have been really helpful, but at first they just ignored us, then eventually they just said no.

“In the end my faculty let me borrow some more books but it took till second year and it was such a battle for my whole first year. I know that loads of students had a similar problem. It was only the fact that they had then set a precedent for doing it with someone else that made them agree to it. There’s just so much red tape.

“Student parents tend to get pooled and put in the ‘mature student’ colleges which don’t have as good resources. In terms of financial assistance there is a bursary, but it gets paid in the summer term. It would be much better if it coincided with the start of the Easter term when you have to pay your fees.

“As a student parent, you can feel very isolated. By coming here you’ve lost the support networks you rely on at home, your families and so on. It would be really nice if we could organise shared babysitting or something with other people in the same position. There is a University nursery, but I wouldn’t send my children there. We lived above it and they never took the children out. You could hear them crying all the time; it was actually quite stressful. The staff were there from 8am to 6pm; they must have lost their patience with them.

“There should be better networking facilities for student parents. The University want to distance themselves from anything like that because of any legal issues. An email went round a while ago trying to set up some kind of student parents’ network, but the University wouldn’t have anything to do with it. Family society events are quite sporadic really and there’s hardly anything specifically for student parents.

“There’s a family coffee morning at the University Centre, but I went to it once and it’s really more for wives of people who are here. The coffee morning itself was when I had lectures anyway. There should be ways of meeting other parents. The college I go to is a mature college and I know there are other student parents because I met one in the summer, but I haven’t seen her since.

“I’ve heard St John’s is fabulous for student parents, and I know that Wolfson used to have a formal hall for student parents with a pyjama cre che. It’s just a bit of a college lottery. For myself, I have no idea where the other student parents are. Even just circulating an email list would be a start.”

I can't afford childcare

Arnaud B izard moved to Cambridge to do a PhD this year with his wife and six month old daughter, Domitille

“I wanted to go further in the mechanics field but I didn’t want to do a PhD in France because it’s not recognised in the same way as a Cambridge PhD. The living expenses I was quoted before I came here are much lower than what they really are.
The big problem is rent. I was told it would be £600 per term. In fact, it’s £850. I wouldn’t be here at all if a professor hadn’t made it possible for me to study by finding additional funding for me out of the Cambridge European fund.

Without that finding, I would have gone to America. Even so, what I receive is £1,000 short of what I need according to the University’s own assessment, which itself doesn’t take into account the fact that I support a family.

Most colleges put money into a childcare fund to help families, but Peterhouse doesn’t so we don’t get any money to help us. This means it’s impossible to afford childcare.

The nursery is so expensive that it’s not worthwhile for my wife to work, which is ridiculous. It costs more if your child is under a year, so it would cost about £10,000 per year.

The rent and nursery together is more than I earn, let alone food and other necessities.

Our accommodation is fine, but very expensi ve. It was the only flat suitable; Peterhouse doesn’t have family accommodation.
There is a toddlers group every Friday which is organised by the Graduate union. I don’t go because I have to work, but my wife goes and she likes it.

I can’t even imagine doing this as a single parent. It would be impossible. Subsidised nursery places would be a big help. There are things I’d like to get involved in; clubs, or the Cambridge Union for example. But I just can’t afford it.”

I don't have a student life at all now

Alyssa Howard, 21, resumed her degree last month having taken a year out to have her son Freddie

“I found out I was pregnant at the beginning of my second year. It was a surprise for both of us, but there was no question of us not having the baby. I would have liked to have finished my second year but the University didn’t encourage it. I suppose it was fair enough as my due date was around the same time as my exams, but I would have rather had a year off when my baby, Freddie, was born. Having said that, I would have been so embarrassed being pregnant and studying. I would have got a lot of looks and it wouldn’t have been very comfortable.

“Trinity Hall has been hugely supportive. My Director of Studies and my Tutor in particular have been really understanding, and I’ve been able to take my baby to DOS meetings which has been really helpful. However, the university as a whole could do more.

“Cambridge is a rich university, and I thought that their policy was that everybody should be able to study here, and that money shouldn’t be an issue. But I haven’t been offered financial support or families’ accommodation. Although my partner’s parents help us and my parents help us, we are really scraping the barrel.

“The university should really look a t putting some money towards childcare. The costs are enormous; you have to have childcare when you’re at lectures, and to keep a nursery place you have to use it all year round, so you’re paying all through the holidays too. If I had my choice, Freddie wouldn’t be going into childcare, but it will be better for all of us in the long run if I finish my degree. My fiancée and I went to look round the University Nursery in August and we both absolutely hated it. It was appalling. I really felt sorry for the babies in there. They were just rolling around on the floor. I couldn’t stand the thought of Freddie being there. So, although it’s incredibly expensive, we will have to try and put all our money into something else, maybe a nanny.

“I don’t feel like I’m being supported. I get a childcare newsletter every week, which has stuff like who’s selling a pram, but I would like to have someone to talk to who knows my situation or is going through the same thing. At times it’s been difficult. I definitely don’t think there’s enough contact between people. I’m sure there&rsq uo;s someone else in my position.

“I don’t have a student life at all; I’m doing my course, and that’s it. I see the friends I made in first year sometimes but I can’t go out or anything like that. I can’t imagine how anyone could do a degree and be a single parent at Cambridge. If it had just been me, I couldn’t have coped. Emotionally it must be absolutely draining.

“I could do with more financial support, and other, small things would make a big difference, like having all my essay titles at the start of term so I can plan ahead. I’d really like to have someone who checks how you’re getting on, even just twice a term; someone to talk to specifically about being a student parent. There’s only one university childcare officer and she looks after the whole University. It would just be nice to know of someone in the same boat.”