Impact of Giving 2025-26
As we close the 2025-26 academic year, we would like to offer our sincere thanks for your generous support of Trinity Hall.
1,194 donors raised £4.2 million to support the College and our students. Every gift no matter the size makes a huge difference.
In the updates that follow, you will see the difference your generosity has made and the impact it will continue to have in the future. These achievements, experiences, and opportunities would not have been possible without you.
Regular Donor Support
We have received £306,700 in 2025-26 from 785 regular donors towards different causes. The vast majority supported our Think Ahead Fund for areas of greatest need in the College, which was followed by Student Support. Other areas supported include Widening Participation, Buildings, Postgraduate Student Support, Teaching Supervision, Trinity Hall Boat Club (THBC), Clubs and Societies, and Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Regular donors are particularly important because their ongoing support provides a reliable source of income that the College can count on year after year. This steady funding allows Trinity Hall to plan ahead with confidence, respond to emerging priorities, and make long-term investments in students, teaching and the overall College experience.
College Discretion - Think Ahead Fund
Thanks to the generosity of donors, £194,127 has been raised for Trinity Hall’s unrestricted Think Ahead Fund. This flexible fund enables the College to respond to emerging priorities and invest in strategic opportunities where support is needed most.
This year, donor support has helped with the refurbishment of Bishop Bateman Court, a key project within the College’s Masterplan. With philanthropic support for the redevelopment now reaching £1.8 million, the project will deliver more sustainable, energy-efficient, and accessible accommodation for students while reducing the College’s reliance on fossil fuels.
Built from 1980 to 1982, Bishop Bateman Court required substantial upgrades to improve its environmental performance and accessibility. Donor support has helped make it Trinity Hall’s first de-gasified building, replacing gas boilers with air source heat pumps and improving insulation, windows, and overall thermal efficiency. A full roof replacement is also underway, addressing long-standing water ingress issues and enabling the installation of solar photovoltaic panels.
Accessibility has also been significantly enhanced through the creation of a new entrance with lift access to all floors and the addition of four accessible bedrooms. Due for completion in March 2027, the redevelopment represents a significant milestone in the College’s sustainability strategy, providing future generations of students with more accessible accommodation while improving the environmental performance and energy efficiency of the building. Donor support has been instrumental in making this transformation possible.
Images: Three different views of Bishop Bateman Court being refurbished.
Student Support
Thanks to your generosity, £74,909 has been raised to support Trinity Hall students. Whether through Postgraduate studentships, Undergraduate bursaries, and travel and research grants. In 2025-26, 78 Trinity Hall students, nearly one in three undergraduates, received a Cambridge Bursary, helping to relieve financial pressure. You can read alumna Sam Elbahja’s story and learn more about the impact of bursary support.
Donor-funded support has also enabled students to undertake ground breaking research and benefit from life-changing academic experiences. From postgraduate studentships to travel and research grants, your generosity is helping talented students achieve their full potential. Below are just a few examples of the impact your generosity has made possible.
Student Support
Herchel Smith Studentship
Donor support is contributing towards a new Herchel Smith Studentship, enabling a scholar to join the College in October 2026 to undertake a PhD in Chemistry.
Previous recipient Harry Waller, completed his doctorate earlier this year. Harry has now begun a career as a Patent Attorney, applying the expertise and skills developed during his doctoral studies to patent matters across the chemical sciences.
This grant was very important in helping with my time at Cambridge. By having funding secured, a huge financial burden has been removed which has allowed me to focus on my postgraduate studies. Thank you so much.
Harry Waller (Chemistry, 2021), Herchel Smith PhD Studentship recipient
Student Support
Postgraduate Student Support
Support from the Graduate Student Fund enabled Dr Mayumi Sato to participate in the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) World Food Forum, contribute to international research on women in agrifood systems, and share her expertise on a global stage. In 2026, she was recognised as one of the World Food Prize Foundation’s Top Agri-Food Pioneers, gaining recognition for her work as an emerging leader in the sector.
Thank you so much for all the support you give to Trinity Hall and the community. My PhD was fulfilling and rewarding, and much of it was only possible from donor support which enabled me to complement learning inside the classroom with external opportunities.
Dr Mayumi Sato (Sociology, 2021), Graduate Student Fund recipient, Gates Cambridge Scholar and Research Affiliate, University of Cambridge
Widening Participation
Thanks to the generosity of donors, £10,919 has supported Trinity Hall’s admissions and outreach work this year, helping to ensure that talented students from all backgrounds can see Cambridge as a place where they belong.
Regular donations helped fund a wide range of initiatives, including the College’s ‘You’ll Fit In’ residentials, HE+ residentials, and outreach work across Trinity Hall’s link area in the South West.
In April 2026, more than 80 students from across the UK took part in a You’ll Fit In residential at Trinity Hall. With many participants eligible for Free School Meals, donor support helped ensure that financial circumstances were not a barrier to taking part. Through academic sessions and opportunities to meet current students, participants gained first-hand insight into life at Cambridge and the admissions process.
Before this residential, Cambridge was a dream. After this residential, it has become a goal.
‘You’ll Fit In’ Residential participant, 2026
Looking ahead to 2026-27, donations will help launch a new outreach programme focused on strengthening recruitment in smaller and specialist disciplines such as Classics, Linguistics, and Music. These subjects make a distinctive contribution to the intellectual life of the College but often require additional outreach to attract prospective applicants.
Teaching Supervision
The generosity of donors also contributed £2,078 to support the supervision system at Trinity Hall, a defining feature of the Cambridge educational experience. Supervisions give students the opportunity to explore their subjects in depth through regular small-group teaching and personalised feedback. This close academic support encourages confidence, critical thinking, and intellectual curiosity, helping students achieve their full potential. By supporting College Teaching Officers, donors play a vital role in preserving the exceptional teaching environment that has long been at the heart of a Trinity Hall education.
Clubs and Societies
Donations also enrich the student experience beyond the classroom. From supporting College Clubs and Societies to providing grants for travel and competition fees, your generosity helps students develop skills outside the lecture hall, and make the most of their time at Trinity Hall. Donors generously raised £1,596 for Clubs and Societies, creating opportunities where students can flourish academically, socially, and personally.
The Aula Club Award has made a huge difference to my year: being able to go on tour with the University Orchestra was amazing and only possible because of this award. Moreover, because of this award, Trinity Hall was the only College to have more than one player amongst the principal desks of the string section (I am the co-principal of the second violin section). Being able to represent Cambridge and Trinity Hall abroad was a joy and I am hugely grateful that I was given this grant to make it possible.
Emlyn MacFarlane-Cox (Philosophy, 2024)
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Donor support enables Trinity Hall’s Wellbeing Team to deliver a wide range of initiatives that help students build the foundations for academic success, wellbeing and a strong sense of belonging within the College community. These are just a few examples of what the Wellbeing Team delivered in 2025-26:
- 130 initiatives, sessions and workshops creating opportunities for students to strengthen academic confidence, build community and develop sustainable approaches to learning.
- This included 71 regular academic wellbeing sessions, helping students establish effective study habits and routines throughout the academic year. Our flagship Write Together programme attracted an average of 51 students each week.
- A successful Clubs and Societies Fair on Latham Lawn, which welcomed 41 stalls (an increase of about 30 from previous years) and attracted more than 150 students, helping students build connections, discover new interests and develop skills beyond the classroom.
- 38 additional opportunities delivered through partnerships across the College and University, including the Cambridge Public Speaking Programme and initiatives with Trinity Hall’s Gardens Team, broadening opportunities for learning, connection and personal development.
- Piloted a range of new initiatives to strengthen students’ academic experience, including 21 opportunities to engage with Using Feedback, Reflect and Plan and Post-lunch Recharge sessions.
- Introduced innovative, evidence-informed environmental initiatives to strengthen students’ everyday academic experience, including Staircase Poetry (bringing moments of reflection and inspiration into College life), the Nutrition Project (highlighting foods that support health, energy and cognitive function), and Phase Space (using virtual reality technology to help students manage anxiety, regulate emotions and build confidence).
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends, Trinity Hall’s Wellbeing Team continued to develop innovative, prevention-focused initiatives that supports students to “be well and learn well” throughout their time at Trinity Hall.
Our approach focuses on creating the conditions in which students are more likely to flourish – strengthening academic confidence, developing sustainable academic practices, fostering belonging and encouraging students to seek support early when needed. This approach is proving successful in reducing the number of issues requiring one-to-one wellbeing support. For those who do need additional support, the service remains accessible, welcoming and effective. Since the introduction of the Wellbeing Team and its initiatives, the number of students intermitting has steadily declined over the past three to four years.
Donor support also enables the Wellbeing Team to lead strategic initiatives that are informing the College’s wider Education Strategy. Investment in student wellbeing is one of a number of factors contributing to outstanding academic outcomes, with Trinity Hall’s examination results now at their highest level in a decade.
By supporting both established initiatives and strategic innovation, donors are helping Trinity Hall develop evidence-informed approaches that integrate wellbeing with learning, enabling future generations of students to flourish academically, personally and as members of a supportive scholarly community.
Thank you for your support over the past year and for helping to shape our future.
If you wish to learn more about how you can get involved in our 675th Anniversary Campaign, please contact development@trinhall.cam.ac.uk.