Participants attend courses in a particular subject area (Biology, Economics, Engineering, Physics, English, Law or Mathematics) to gain a taste of first year university level study. They stay in a College and enjoy a range of social activities.

The Engineering Department will be hosting those students who choose Engineering as their preferred subject area. Activities include building a robot, stripping an engine and breaking steel at the temperature of liquid nitrogen. The students will also experience typical first year lectures and a supervision based on two of these lectures.

The event is sponsored by the Sutton Trust, which was founded in 1997 by Sir Peter Lampl, with the aim of providing educational opportunities for able young people from non-privileged backgrounds.

A similar scheme for students with strong academic records is offered by the Royal Academy of Engineering, each summer. CUED also hosts around thirty-six such students each year, on the Headstart scheme, so that they can experience what it would be like to study for a degree in Engineering at Cambridge.