Thursday 9th October 2025
Blog Page 739

Law Faculty slammed for case list change

Matthew Roller
-
0
Law Faculty slammed for case list change

Law finalists have claimed the Faculty was “too embarrassed to admit they didn’t do a very basic proofread” after excluding headings and subheadings from a case list.

In a departure from normal practice, the case list released for the FHS Tort exam did not contain headings and subheadings.

However, in a statement, the Faculty told Cherwell: “The change to the Tort case list was intentional, and will be in place in future years.” The Faculty confirmed the change on Monday, 20 days after the list’s initial publication.

One Law student doubted the Faculty’s reasoning. “The Law Faculty’s excuse isn’t believable at all, and this – combined with the delayed statement and failing to reply to emails etc. – is very unprofessional,” they said.

The Faculty said that it “received some queries from students relating to the Tort case list, which we followed up with the Convenor and with the Chair of FHS Examiners. In the interests of fairness to all students, we decided that it would be best to clarify the situation relating to this case list for all FHS students.

“The case lists are provided in the exams as an aide memoire for students. The Faculty decided to publish the finalised case lists in advance to give students the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the format and content of the lists. This publication was the advance notice that the format of the case list had been updated from previous years.”

Students will sit the FHS Tort exam on Tuesday morning.

Magdalen JCR votes to introduce ‘gender expression’ fund

Isabel Morris
-
0
Magdalen JCR votes to introduce ‘gender expression’ fund

Magdalen College JCR has voted to introduce a ‘gender expression’ fund to support students wishing to obtain items such as binders, concealing underwear, packers, and
breast forms.

The motion noted that items such as these “can go a long way towards preventing gender dysphoria,” and can also “improve welfare for gender non-conforming students who may not experience gender dysphoria.”

The proposer of the motion, Miska Elliot, told Cherwell: “I feel that having this fund in place will show to any questioning students that Magdalen is a safe, supportive, and open environment to exist as an out LGBTQ+ person.

“These items, such as binders and breast forms, can be expensive and often have to be shipped from the US, which may discourage people who would otherwise benefit from these items form buying them. This fund represents a step in the right direction, especially in spite of the portrayal of trans* people over the past year in the press.”

Magdalen JCR LGBTQ Officer, Phoebe Spruce, told Cherwell: “I’m very pleased that this motion has been passed, as I think it will greatly benefit any trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming students who struggle with affording items that help them better fit their gender identity or that will help alleviate their dysphoria.

“This fund also helps bypass the traditional structures that students use to receive money, and trans students may feel uncomfortable coming out to a series of administrators and deans, and can instead access it through the JCR Trans rep, LGBTQ Trustee or LGBTQ officer.

“I hope that this measure will help trans students feel more comfortable at Magdalen as they can see the support available to them, even if they never have cause to use the
fund.”

The fund was the subject of some online criticism, with one student writing on Oxfess: “For such a tiny percentage of the JCR to use so much of the funding for items they can self-fund given their supposed importance for the individuals is ludicrous.

“It’s an issue that privately a number of people have taken issue with when I’ve discussed it with them, but its too difficult to challenge the use of the money in the JCR when the vote is not undertaken by secret ballot.

“On issues where there are sensitive issues/individuals involved there is too much stigma surrounding those who would vote against such motions, or even motion for a secret ballot.

“I support the cause of those with gender dysphoria but I don’t think it is the place of the JCR to deal with this type of thing.”

Elliot responded: “The fund has been criticised online as ‘obscene’, I feel that this is unfair. I feel that this is a really effective way for the JCR to show allyship to trans* members,
this fund could be really valuable to people who suffer from gender dysphoria, and the fund itself is an effective use of a small amount of the JCR’s budget.”

Campaign launched for ‘Oxford Living Wage’

Jeremiah O'Mahony
-
0
Campaign launched for ‘Oxford Living Wage’

The Oxford Living Wage Campaign has launched a new drive to pressure the University and its colleges to commit to the ‘Oxford Living Wage’, with students signing a petition calling for staff to be payed £9.69 per hour.

The petition reflects Oxford City Council’s recent commitment to pay its employees an ‘Oxford Living Wage’, which stands at 95% of the London living wage.

The petition notes that while the University has been paying its employees the National Living Wage of £8.75 per hour, it has become “increasingly clear that the National Living Wage is not sufficient for workers in Oxford, one of the most expensive cities in the country.”

Lloyds Bank named Oxford as the least affordable place in the UK to own a home last year. According to the report, the average house price is nearly eleven times the average yearly income.

Chair of Oxford SU’s Living Wage Campaign, Rebecca Durkin, told Cherwell: “Our aim with the petition is to use it as a starting point for our campaign for an Oxford Living Wage.

“In previous years, we’ve focused on campaigning for the National Living Wage, which has increasingly been adopted by colleges, as our recent table shows.

“However, we feel there’s still further to go, and we’re hoping that this petition will help to build student awareness and support for the Oxford Living Wage, which will put us in a better position to start having conversations with the university about putting this in place.”

Durkin told Cherwell that the Campaign for Living Wage has been in contact with individual councillors and is “hoping to use [the Council’s] recent review and decision to implement the Oxford Living Wage to build momentum in the University.”

The Living Wage Campaign released a Norrington Table in April, revealing that six colleges were not paying the National Living Wage.

Then-chair of the campaign, Jacob Armstrong, told Cherwell: “The Living Wage Campaign wants to change that. We have collected data on wages and conditions across colleges and private halls in the university since our inception, and decided to undertake the ambitious task of producing a comparable table based upon base wage rates across our constituent colleges and halls as they stand in 2018.

“A new conversation is desperately needed to address the lack of fair and proportionate wages for non-academic staff, particularly after the City Council has shown such leadership in its recent consultation on the Oxford Living Wage for its employees.”

The Oxford University Living Wage Campaign was founded in 2013 by Oxford students to campaign for a Living Wage for all staff within the university and its constituent colleges.

In 2015, the campaign was successful in lobbying the university to pursue accreditation to the National Living Wage as set by the Living Wage Foundation.

St. Hugh’s u-turns on prelims accommodation blunder

Cherwell News
-
0
St. Hugh’s u-turns on prelims accommodation blunder

St. Hugh’s College have u-turned on plans to move students during the prelims exam period for refurbishment works at the College.

A spokesperson for the College confirmed to Cherwell that the refurbishment works have now been rescheduled for August.

Earlier today, first year undergraduates were informed by the College’s Accommodation Manager that they would not be able to stay in their Kenyon Building rooms during 9th week.

In an email seen by Cherwell, the College’s Accommodation Manager said: “College has deemed it necessary to start refurbishment works in Kenyon Building.

“We are hoping to be able to commence the refurbishment program from Monday 18th June 2018 and complete it by Friday 29th June 2018.

“As you have applied for vacation residence during this period, you will be affected by the works and will need to move room.”

“I will email you your new room allocation as soon as possible.I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your understanding in this matter.”

After being contacted by Cherwell, a spokesperson for the College said: “The College is working on a long-term project to improve residential accommodation for our students. This has included significant refurbishment to houses along Canterbury Road.

“The work on the Kenyon building is just the latest phase of this project, but it should not have been scheduled to coincide with exams.

“The work has now been re-scheduled for August, and all students will be receiving an email shortly to this effect.”

The email from the College Bursar, seen by Cherwell, read: “I would like to extend my profound apologies for this error.

“I have now rescheduled the work so that the contractor will come in August to complete the work. The rooms will, therefore, be freshly decorated for your return in Michaelmas Term.

“You will not be asked to move during your exam period, and I do hope that your exams can now proceed with the minimum of difficulty and stress. ”

Several students expressed anger and concerns at the proposals, which were communicated to students the morning after the deadline for applying for vacation residence. All students at the College taking exams in 9th week have to apply for this extended time in accommodation.

One first-year undergraduate told Cherwell earlier: “I’m actually shocked that the college would think this is acceptable. I can’t be moving all my stuff between building the day before my first exam starts.

“It’s ridiculous, it just shows they haven’t prioritised students’ studies beyond term time. I know it doesn’t effect everyone with exams but surely this should be what the College should think about first.

Another student told Cherwell: “It’s a little distressing to be told you’re going to be uprooted the day before your first exams in Oxford, which is quite a nerve wracking process in itself.

“We’ve heard nothing about this before, and all of a sudden it’s sprung upon us the day after the deadline for applying for vacation residence passed.

“I don’t understand how the College can say we already knew about this, it’s the first I heard.”

A third-year undergraduate who previously lived in Kenyon told Cherwell: “They’ve got three and a half months between term time and yet they choose to start works whilst so many students have prelims.

“Are they putting the need for updated conference accommodation above students actually studying at the college?”

Oxford has “world-beating student experience” but unoriginal teaching, says survey

Oscar Baker
-
1
Oxford has “world-beating student experience” but unoriginal teaching, says survey

A new report has revealed that Oxford students rate their student experience significantly higher than students at other Russell Group institutions.

How different is Oxbridge? by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) reported that 59% of Oxbridge students are ‘very satisfied’ with their course, compared with only 31% of other Russell Group students.

The survey also showed that 77% of Oxbridge students say their course provide either ‘good’ or ‘very good’ value for money, compared to 46% of other Russell Group students.

The Director of the HEPI, Nick Hillman, said the report showed “Oxford and Cambridge perform almost unbelievably well.”

However, only 41% of Oxbridge students say their teachers use original or creating teaching methods ‘a lot’ or ‘quite a bit’, significantly lowers than 52% figure for all UK students.

Oxbridge students also work 43 hours a week on average, twelve hours more than the average figure for other Russell Group universities, the survey revealed.

Other findings from the report show that 82% of Oxbridge students receive feedback within one week, compared to only 13% at other Russell Group institutions.

In addition, 96% of Oxbridge students but only 36% of other Russell Group students have at least one hour per week in classes with 0 to 5 other students. This is largely due to the tutorial and supervision system in place at Oxford and Cambridge respectively.

In a statement, Hillman, who co-authored the report: “Oxbridge students work harder, are more satisfied with their lives and are more likely to say they are getting good value for money than other students.

“Our results confirm that two universities provide a world-beating student experience alongside their world-beating research.

“The data reveal an even more positive story than I expected.

“But there are good reasons for this. Oxford and Cambridge have a high level of resources, unrivalled facilities, well-prepared students, close-knit collegiate environments and diverse and experience staff from all over the world.”

Mr Hillman stressed that “it is crucial that policy makers remember the degree to which Oxbridge is exceptional rather than typical.”

“Anyone who assumes the same policy interventions will work across the board is likely to be disappointed.”

Hillman also said: “Oxford and Cambridge are different from the rest of the university sector. If we are to retain our world-class reputation for higher education, then we need to recognise this and look at the specific challenges faced by other universities too.”

An Oxford postgraduate student, Charlotte Freitag, who also co-authored the report, said: “I did not expect [Oxbridge students] to perceive their teaching to be less original than students elsewhere but that is the case.”

“I was surprised Oxbridge students are happier and more satisfied with their lives than other Russell Group university students while working twelve hours more per week.”

Fellow of New College Oxford and a board member of the Office for Students, David Palfreyman, said in a foreword to the report: “If presented with the exam question ‘What is different about Oxbridge?’, one could jot down quite a list…”

The data comes from the annual HEPI ‘Student Academic Experience Survey’ collected between 2012 and 2017.

1,625 Oxbridge students and 18,354 Russell Group university students responded as well as 60,221 undergraduate answers from all UK universities recorded responses.

Oxford MP condemns anti-semitic attack on Oxford Jewish centre

Greg Ritchie
-
1
Oxford MP condemns anti-semitic attack on Oxford Jewish centre

Police officers, firefighters, and paramedics descended on a Jewish centre in Oxford earlier today, following reports of a “shocking and deeply distressing” anti-semitic attack.

Initial reports suggested that police had discovered a suspicious substance outside Chabad Student Centre on Cowley Road.

However, it is now understood that the offenders threw “talcum powder” at the centre, with one woman at the scene telling the Oxford Mail that an offensive note was also left by the offenders.

Oxford West and Abingdon MP, Layla Moran, said in a statement: “It is shocking and deeply distressing to hear reports of an attack on the Oxford Jewish Centre. I wholly condemn this attack – we cannot tolerate anti-Semitism of any kind in Oxford.”

Pablo Neruda’s subtle patterns show us how to feel

Meha Razdan
-
0
Pablo Neruda’s subtle patterns show us how to feel

“Love is so short, forgetting is so long,” This kind of understanding of connection, of push-and-pull and cause and effect, is a quality that permeates the body of Pablo Neruda’s poetry.

His poems, originally written in his native Spanish, work to convey nebulous ideas through tangible phrases and concepts. Sensuality and love are turned from vague, intangible feelings into palpable motifs visible in real life. Under Neruda’s pen, the Chilean countryside is inextricably linked to the physicality and emotionality of the Chilean people.

The evocative strength of his poetry lies in his ability to condense amorphous feelings to the simple yet universal truths behind them. In drawing comparisons between the reliable cycles of nature and the metamorphic, often volatile intricacies of human sentiment, Neruda lends a sense of regularity and recognisability to popular poetic subjects that could so easily be treated with melodrama and hyperbole.

In an article for The New Yorker, journalist Mark Strand describes an excerpt from Neruda’s first major work, Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, by remarking on “the naturalness of these lines, their exuberant and youthful melancholy, their casual repetitions, their overall simplicity”.

The poem is this: “Tonight I can write the saddest lines. / Write, for example, ‘The night is starry and the stars are blue and shiver in the distance.’ / The night wind revolves in the sky and sings. / Tonight I can write the saddest lines. I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too. / Through nights like this one I held her in my arms. I kissed her again and again under the endless sky. She loved me, sometimes I loved her too. How could one not have loved her great still eyes. / Tonight I can write the saddest lines. To think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her”

Pablo Neruda’s singular appeal, in short, stems from his understanding of the sensuosity of simplicity. He does not rely on depictions of grandiosity, or attempt to encapsulate sweeping human experiences in their irrevocable, unattainable fullness. Instead, he chooses to emphasise the smaller, often unnoticed, patterns and connections underpinning our emotions. This renders them accessible and palpable to the reader in an unexpectedly intimate way.

Neither of his two most common subjects, love and the Chilean landscape, is treated with the broad-reaching brushstrokes one might expect. Neruda masters the art of conveying their extraordinariness by demonstrating their predictability – their regular patterns. The unpretentious clarity and straightforward parallelism which sculpts a line like “I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where” is what gives Neruda’s work its potent, omnipresent sense of ecstasy.

Neruda revels in the unchanging truth that certain experiences are near-universal, and in celebrating this universality through such touchable, recognisable means he allows his readers to revel alongside him.

The debate to ban slates shouldn’t be overlooked

Tara Sallis
-
0
The debate to ban slates shouldn’t be overlooked

The only thing that made me cringe as much the awkward interactions I’ve had with Oxford hacks this year was forking out of a few hundred pounds for the pleasure. Sometimes I question why I pay for Union membership: is this society anything more than just a cheap bar and a public school rite of passage? In the coming weeks a motion will be debated at the Union to ban slates, which are the electoral pacts formed between candidates running for election at the Union. ‘Ignite’ and ‘Reform’, last terms’ two slates, were frankly uninspiring. Their WordArt style graphics at the bottom of their grinning profile pictures were much like damp at the bottom of an aging wall: unpleasant and hard to shift. And frankly their chosen slate names would have been better suited to teams on the BBC’s Apprentice than candidates to run one of the most prestigious debating chambers in the country. But, alas, this was the shoddy choice we were offered.

The snow on the day of the election was almost like the world telling us not to bother turning up to vote at all. The expected candidates won anyway and the uncomfortable elitism of the Union survived another day. Reform had failed to win any of the key Union positions, with the ‘establishment’ slate, Ignite, managing to fend off the less well-known and experienced candidates of their opposition. Frankly, it’s ironic that people elected because of who they know then proceeded to put together a termcard filled with speakers whom nobody knows.

I, like many of the readers of this article, am unlikely ever to run for a Union position. In fact, I don’t really care much about the Union, full stop. If a bunch of bored, overdressed PPE undergraduates want to spend their time sat in poorly lit rooms, arguing about amendments to a constitution duller than my reading list, then they can go right ahead. This motion about banning slates is the only thing that has ever piqued my attention about Union politics, and that is for one simple reason: the impacts are a lot more real than they first seem.

The culture we encourage in the Oxford Union, as much as it horrifies me to admit it, actually matters. It’s the place that future politicians and corporate leaders cut their teeth. Past Presidents stay in touch and the ‘close personal friendships’ formed between debates continue long after university. Obviously, this is not the only place in Oxford that such interactions happen, but it is one route into an expansive and hugely elite alumni network.

There are people much better qualified than me to tell you why slates are good or bad, but for what its worth I think the simple act of removing “#IGNITE” and “Vote REFORM” from the manifestos pinned up in the voting booths would make the whole process much more policy focused. The real issue is that the Union elite are trying to block the members even having a debate about slates. Owing slates their own positions, they have stopped the debate twice this term already. The first time they did this, they resuscitated a rule from years ago which stated that any meeting at the Union can only take place if members have been given a few days notice. This is something that is rarely done, but it served as a suitable get out for the President, who managed to swerve the debate. The second time, a technicality about the signatures needed to put forward a motion was used to dismiss the discussion again. Whatever your opinion on slates, it is hard to argue that this sort of activity is fair, or the sort of thing we should be encouraging in a chamber that claims it exists for free speech.

If the Union is the cookie cutter of a little bit of our future world, I want the chance to debate what it looks like. As a paying member, I feel that it is patronising that I am deemed unworthy of the privilege. If in all your time at Oxford you never pay attention to another hack, you never turn up to a single Union election, and you never venture into the dark depths of our debating chamber again, the banning of slates is the one issue you should keep your eye on.

JCR presidents ‘disappointed’ by access report

Fred Dimbleby
-
1
JCR presidents ‘disappointed’ by access report

The presidents of 22 college JCRs have signed a letter saying they are “heavily disappointed” by newly released access data.

The letter calls on the University and its colleges “to take every possible step to ensure that this situation improves in the short and long-term”.

The data, released by the University on Tuesday, showed that Oxford admitted more Westminster pupils than black students in 2017.

Published today by the JCR Presidents Committee in response to the release, the letter continues: “Though there is a range of results between colleges, we maintain that what this report highlights is a systemic issue across the University. Too few BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic), socioeconomically disadvantaged, and state school educated students are admitted.

“This is due to the fact that too few students from minority or disadvantaged backgrounds apply to study at Oxford, and too few of those who do make applications are admitted. This situation must change.”

The presidents added that there were reasons to be optimistic about access at the University.

They said: “Across the student body at Oxford, people are working tirelessly to make sure that the University and College environment is as welcoming and inclusive as it can be.

“Student-led campaigns, such as the Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality (CRAE) and the Class Act Campaign, alongside societies, such as the First-Generation Students Society and the African and Caribbean Society, are university-wide organisations that are taking important strides in increasing awareness of race and class-related issues, as well as undertaking access work of their own.”

The letter also praised programmes such as the foundation year at Lady Margaret Hall for demonstrating “a commitment to improving access at Oxford”.

The foundation year, which was introduced in 2016, is based on a programme used by Trinity College Dublin to widen undergraduate admissions.

While the letter praised the University for expanding its Uniq programme, the presidents said that “much more needs to be done to develop stronger relationships between student groups, Colleges and the University, that allow for collaborative work and resourcing of more effective outreach initiatives.”

Notable absences from the letter’s signatories initially included the presidents of Trinity and St Edmund Hall colleges.

Trinity College ranked lowest for the proportion of UK state school students in the data release, while St Edmund Hall accepted the lowest proportion of UK BME students.

After the letter’s publication, St Edmund Hall’s JCR President told Cherwell: “St. Edmund Hall is strongly in favour of this joint statement and it is only through an unfortunate miscommunication that our JCR is not one of the signatures. We are staunchly committed to ensuring diversity and fairness in the Oxford admissions process and fully support the statement.”

Access denied: Oxford admits more Westminster pupils than black students

Cherwell News
-
2
Access denied: Oxford admits more Westminster pupils than black students

Oxford admitted more pupils from Westminster School than black students in 2017, Cherwell can reveal.

49 students from the London independent school accepted offers to study at the University last year, while only 48 black students were admitted.

Cherwell’s analysis of the University’s first-ever undergraduate admissions report also shows that:

  • 17 of the top 20 schools for Oxford admissions are fee-paying
  • There is still a huge disparity between colleges in terms of access data
  • BME students typically apply for the most oversubscribed courses
  • Privately-educated students apply for the most undersubscribed courses
Private dominance
According to data obtained by Varsity, 17 of the top 20 schools for Oxford admissions in 2017 are fee-paying, while the other three are prestigious grammar schools.

Westminster School topped this list: out of 98 students that applied, 54 received offers, and 49 were eventually admitted to the University.

Eton College (45 students), St. Paul’s School (37), and King’s College School (31) were the other fee-paying school to make up the top five.

Peter Symonds College (31), which is a non-selective sixth form college in Winchester, was the only non-independent school in the top five.

Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge (26) and Pate’s Grammar School (17) were the only other non-fee-paying schools to send more than 15 students to Oxford last year.

However, the University did not give a breakdown of school types other than ‘state’ and ‘independent’ in its print report, despite the University of Cambridge releasing that data earlier this month. A spokesperson said that more specific data would be released online.

Regional splits

London and the South East account for 47.9% of the University’s 2015–17 intake, despite the regions comprising just 26.6% of the UK’s population.

Meanwhile, there was a particularly disproportionately small number of students admitted from Scotland.

Students from the North East are disproportionately successful in their applications, with 24.7% of those who applied from the region between 2015 and 2017 gaining places.

Meanwhile, students from Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales were comparatively unsuccessful: pupils based at schools in those regions took up places in just 17.3%, 17.8%, and 18.4% of applications.

Demographic disparity

The report shows that the number of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) students admitted to Oxford rose from 13.9% in 2013 to 17.9% in 2017, but that black students are still underrepresented.

The number of UK-domiciled BME applicants to the University has increased by 38% in the same time.

The disparities between colleges in terms of their access data remain vast.

While BME students made up 20.3% of the total UK students admitted to Keble College between 2015–17, this figure was just 10.8% at St Edmund Hall in the same period.

Of the 120 black students admitted to the University between 2015 and 2017, only one was admitted to Corpus Christi College, while seven other colleges — Balliol, Exeter, Jesus, Magdalen, New College, Univ, and Worcester — admitted just two.

Course choices

State educated students in the UK apply disproportionately for the most oversubscribed subjects.

Between 2015 and 2017, 35% of state applications were for five of the most oversubscribed subjects at the University — Economics and Management, Medicine, PPE, Law, and Mathematics — while only 29.8% of independent applications were for the same subjects.

Conversely, 21% of applications from independent schools were for five of the most undersubscribed subjects — Classics, Music, Modern Languages, Chemistry, and English — compared with 16% of state applications.

77.8% of the students admitted for Computer Science in that time period were state-educated, while 71.1% of Classics students attended independent schools.

College splits

Mansfield College continues to blaze the trail for state school admissions, with 88.2% of its 2015–17 intake coming from state schools.

At the other end of the scale, state-educated students made up less than half of the intake at six colleges — Exeter, Keble, Magdalen, St Peter’s, Queen’s, Trinity.

Trinity was the lowest of all, with just 41.1% of its intake (81 students) attending state schools. Its state intake was 6.1 percentage points lower than at any other college.

In 2017, the college’s senior tutor and and tutor for admissions Lucinda Rumsey said: “How we got where we are is partly that we started a long time ago.

“We decided nearly 20 years ago to run a project to encourage students from further education colleges to apply to Oxford. We formed a consortium with several other Oxford colleges and extended the outreach project to sixth form colleges.”

88.2% of Mansfield’s 2015–17 intake came from state schools

Disability disparities

The number of students declaring a disability on application, and the number of those students being admitted has been increasing annually since 2013.

In 2017, 7.7% of the University’s intake had declared a disability on application, compared to 5.6% in 2013.

However, disabled students still made a much smaller proportion of Oxford’s 2017 intake than Russell Group universities and all UK universities. According to the report’s data, 13% of all UK universities’ 2015 intake declared a disability, while 11% of all Russell Group universities’ intake had declared a disability.

Reaction

In response to the report, the University has announced a 50% expansion of its Uniq spring and summer schools, which will cost £150 million.

Vice chancellor Louise Richardson said: “Uniq is a wonderful example of what can happen when bright students are given the chance to realise their potential, increase their confidence and raise their aspirations.”

The expansion will be jointly funded by the University and by a joint donation from businessman Sir Michael Moritz and his wife, novelist Harriet Heyman.

Universities Minister Sam Gyimah said: “This Government has introduced new measures that will require all higher

Universities minister Sam Gyimah said: “Data like this shines a light on those who need to do more to increase access for disadvantaged and underrepresented groups.”

education institutions to publish data on disadvantaged groups in the future including on admissions, but I welcome Oxford University’s action in pre-empting this and being transparent and open. Data like this shines a light on those who need to do more to increase access for disadvantaged and underrepresented groups.

“Next year universities will spend around £860 million on measures to improve this type of access and retention of disadvantaged students, so I want to see progress and action that goes beyond just data, particularly at our most selective institutions.

“To support this I have asked the Office for Students to work with the sector to ensure that expenditure in this area is backed by evidence, ensuring greater value for money on their spending.”

This article was edited to clarify that Peter Symonds College is a non-selective sixth form college and not an independent school.

Reporting by Oscar Baker, Fred Dimbleby, Ryan Gould, Isabel Morris, Greg Ritchie, and Matt Roller

 

1...738739740...2,525Page 739 of 2,525

Support Student Journalism

Cherwell is Oxford’s oldest independent newspaper, established in 1920. We are entirely student-run. By supporting us, you will contribute to keeping our paper in print and online. Every donation makes a difference.

Donate

Explore

Follow us

More

Oxford Student Publications Limited © 2025 - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy

Website by Jamie Ashley