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Awards And Prizes
At various points during the year, the College distributes a number of awards and prizes to students who have performed conspicuously well in University or College examinations, or have excelled in some of the artistic or sporting pursuits, for which Cambridge offers so many opportunities. We can also help fund research and travel with grants of up to £500 p.a., and have a hardship fund to assist students who get into short-term financial difficulties. Our principal student awards are:
Sports (Blues and Half-Blues) Awards;
Every year, a number of Travel Awards for the summer ahead are advertised in February, with a deadline for applications at the beginning of the Easter Term, and awards approved by Council, on the recommendation of the Tutors. Students are informed by email and through notices in the Screens and on the College Website; the awards vary in amount from £100 to several hundred pounds. The awards listed below are open to all undergraduate members of the College unless otherwise specified; preference will be given to undergraduates in their second year. In making these Awards, the College will take into account the financial circumstances of applicants, prior travel experience, prior College financial support received, their record of academic industry and progress, disciplinary record, and the interest of the proposed travel plan. It is a condition of accepting a Travel Award that an illustrated report be provided by the end of the summer, and that the College be entitled to use such reports in its Annual. The following Awards may be made:
- Six College Travel Awards of up to £150 each.
- A Tristan Barber Award to assist clinical medical students at the College in undertaking their elective or similar hospital-based experience, with preference to applicants whose elective will develop their knowledge and/or practical experience in any field related to the treatment of HIV/AIDS.
- Two Gérard Boulton Travel Awards of £100 each to an undergraduate member of the College studying Engineering, Economics, Geography or any form of Environmental Studies for travel in France or Greece.
- One Lillian Althea Hamlyn Travel Prize of £250 for travel to Africa, with preference to East Africa.
- One Hentsch Travel Award supported by the fonds du Sidney Sussex College to the value of 1800 Swiss Francs. This award will enable one of the College’s members to study at the University of Geneva either during term or at special courses given in the summer vacation, or to make special studies in Geneva.
- Ten Parry-Dutton Travel Scholarships of £500 each for travel to the USA.
- One Wilkinson Travel Award of up to £200.
- Three Ratcliffe Awards each of £250.
- Two Otto Smail Travel Awards of up to £250 each.
- One Mark Wainwright Memorial Award of up to £200.
- Eight or more Gladstone Memorial Trust Awards of up to £600 each. Please see the College Notices for further details.
Details of the application procedure and a single application form will be made available later this term. Interested students will submit a single application for a Travel Award, and the Tutors will allocate the most appropriate award to each successful application.
External Travel Awards
- Gladstone Memorial Travel Awards have been able to assist a tremendous variety of enterprising projects for undergraduates in their first or second years. They cannot be directly connected with a course of study and they are usually not grand enough to attract funding from the usual sources of grants (each award will be up to £600 each). That is what makes the award valuable and popular. Please check the College Notice in November when the grants are advertised. The deadline for applications is mid February.
Music Awards
While not one of the “traditional” musical Colleges, Sidney is proud of its long-standing commitment to musical excellence, which it supports in its students through a variety of schemes.
- Choral Scholarships of £100 per annum, normally tenable for three years, are offered each year, for all voices. The award includes free singing tuition. Holders of Choral awards form the nucleus of the Chapel Choir. Members of the Choir are expected to attend all rehearsals and services, participate in periodic concerts, recordings, tours, etc, and take an active part in the general musical life of the College.
- Instrumental Awards of £75 per annum, renewable annually, are offered every year for certain instruments. For details, see the current Cambridge Admissions Prospectus [PDF 629KB] .
- Organ Scholarships of £300 per annum, normally tenable for three years, are offered in two out of every three years. The awards include free organ tuition. The Organ Scholar's responsibilities include playing for Sunday morning services and any other non-Choral services and assisting the Director of Music in the preparation of all choral services and practice. The Scholar is expected to take a leading part in the musical life of the College, to conduct and to arrange concerts in consultation with the Director of Music.
- The Lester Brough Prize is awarded annually for contributions to the musical life of the College.
- The Pritchard Kennedy Choral Composition Award was established by Mr Matt Pritchard (1996) and Mr John Kennedy (1996) in November 2006 to encourage University students to develop their creative skills through musical composition and thereby to build a body of music written specially for Sidney Sussex College and its choir.
- Established in 2007, the Charles Larkum Fund for Music is the latest commitment by the College to support the development of its students’ musical talents, and the enjoyment of music by all College members.
The College also participates in the general awards scheme run centrally through the University. The College has a junior and senior Organ Scholar, so that there are two student organists in residence in any given year. Outside the Choral Scholarships competition, we also welcome applications from graduate students. For further information, please contact the Osborn Director of Music, Dr David Skinner (director.music@sid.cam.ac.uk, Tel. +44 1223 7 61563), or visit the websites for the University Choral Awards and University Organ Scholarships.
The information on this page is being updated: please check later
With the support of their Director of Studies or Tutor, students can also apply for book grants of £50 towards the cost of learning materials recommended for their course of studies. If you require support, please speak to your Tutor.