Cherwell is the independent student newspaper for the University of Oxford. Founded in 1920, it is one of the oldest and largest student publications in the UK. 

The paper is published five times per term and is delivered to the vast majority of Oxford colleges, as well as other notable locations in the city. Our award-winning website and social media channels are updated daily with breaking news, analysis, features, culture, sport, and lifestyle content. 

A reference point for Oxford history and University life, our articles are read by tens of thousands of undergraduates and postgraduates, alumni, academics, and prospective students from across the country and beyond. 

A particular advantage we have is that we are one of very few student newspapers to have complete editorial independence from a student union or other body. Owned by Oxford Student Publications Limited (OSPL), a student publishing house with no ties to the Student Union or University, we are funded through common room subscriptions and advertising. 

In 2025, OSPL became the first and only fully student-run media organisation to become regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), a mark of our dedication to professionalism and high editorial standards. 

Our history 

In 1920, two Balliol students who had both served in WW1, Cecil Binney and George Edolphus Edinger, founded a publication with an earnestly radical political ethos: pro-feminism and against pre-War conservatives values. Early editions of Cherwell were also distinctly literary, with unedited contributions coming in from (among others) Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, Cecil Day-Lewis, W. H. Auden, John Betjeman, and L. P. Hartley. 

The paper’s first editorial suggested that “the [river] Cherwell personifies all that is most truly Oxford – it is all our own, the Undergraduates river. That is why we take its name for our Undergraduate paper”. It goes on to make fun of The Isis, both the river and publication, a tradition that has continued over the century-long history. 

In the 1930s, Cherwell decried Oswald Mosley’s fascists, who attempted to organise in various rooms around Oxford. Our offices were also destroyed by a fire in 1932, which the publication fortunately managed to survive. We attempted to keep publishing during the Second World War, but were eventually forced to go on a temporary hiatus due to paper shortages.

It wasn’t until the 1950s that Cherwell moved away from its literary style and became the fully-fledged newspaper it is today. Starting in the 60s, Cherwell led various campaigns, from admitting women into the Union to the creation of a representative body for students and central student facilities. 

It was also in the 60s that our satirical column John Evelyn (Jevelyn) was started, and it has run almost continually since then.

In the summer of 2001 Cherwell (and the rest of OSPL) almost went bankrupt, due to a prodigal and careless managing director, but after desperate efforts by many students, the paper was saved from collapse. 

Since then, we have been on more financially-sound foundations, and endeavour to keep creating more history indefinitely. 

Recent editors

Michaelmas 2025 – Éilis Mathur and Morien Robertson
Trinity 2025 – Laurence Cooke and Phoebe Davies 
Hilary 2025 – Selina Chen and Georgia Campbell
Michaelmas 2024 – Eden Kilgour and Julia Amann
Trinity 2024 – Adam Saxon and Oliver Sandall
Hilary 2024 – Anuj Mishra and Bintia Dennog
Michaelmas 2023 – Thomas Bristow and Suzanne Antelme