We are pleased to announce that earlier this month Somerville College joined a growing list of organisations to sign the Young Carers’ Covenant, a UK-wide programme to support young carers.

Drawn up by the Carers’ Trust and members of the Young Carers’ Alliance, the Young Carers’ Covenant launched in March, setting out ten key outcomes for improving the lives of young carers. These include supporting measures to identify young carers, ensuring young carers feel safe and secure and securing the right to education, physical wellbeing and time for themselves. You can see the full list of articles here.

There are over 600,000 young adult carers aged 18-25 in the UK in 2024, many of whom feel they are missing out on large parts of their education. At Somerville, we aim to support our students who are or have been young carers, to make sure they get the most out of their time here. In this video, Somerville’s student welfare lead Jo Ockwell, and undergraduate student Holly Cobb, who has experienced being a young carer, discuss Somerville’s decision to sign the Young Carers’ Covenant.

Somerville Signs the Young Carers' Covenant
Somerville Signs the Young Carers' Covenant
Further reading?

Esther Rantzen (1940-2026)

Learn More
01 October 2026
Esther Rantzen (1940-2026)

A Lifeline for the Humanities: Introducing Somerville’s Early Career Fund

Learn More
24 September 2026
A Lifeline for the Humanities: Introducing Somerville’s Early Career Fund

Obituary: Manel Abeysekera (1933-2026)

Learn More
12 September 2026
Obituary: Manel Abeysekera (1933-2026)