Tuesday 7th October 2025
Blog Page 795

New College student remembered

Cherwell News
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New College student remembered

A New College first-year student has died.

Isobel Mogg, a medicine student, passed away on Friday 26 January. Her death remains unexplained, but is not being treated as suspicious.

New College JCR President, Conleth Burns, said: “Issie was the very best of New College. A medic, a rower, a net-baller and above all else a friend to so many in our College community.

“Issie brought people together with her laugh, her smile and her love for those around her. Issie touched many hearts at New College. Those hearts are sore at her passing.”

In a post on the College’s Facebook group, Burns said: “Spending time with Issie’s friends, I got to know Issie better. The Issie who loved them and who they loved back.

“Over the next few days, everyone will be affected by this devastating news in different ways. There is no ‘right way’ to take this news, for those who knew or didn’t know Issie.

“Talking about Issie has helped me in the last day, and it might help some of you too.”

A scrapbook was set up for students to remember their experiences of Issie or place pictures. This will be shared with Issie’s family as a mark of her time in Oxford.

In a message circulated to students, Miles Young, Warden of New College, said: “Issie…had entered wholeheartedly into the life of the College.

“She was loved and admired by her friends.”

Young added in a college statement: “Our deepest sympathy goes out to Issie’s family, and to all who knew her. The College has come together to help her many friends here cope with their grief. Issie was a giver. She contributed so much in her brief time here, and we are conscious that we have lost someone very special.”

Please get in touch if you would like to share your memories of Issie in Cherwell.

Local rivals worlds apart

TJ Fitzgerald
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Local rivals worlds apart

It took me a while to work out what sport was for me. I tried football, swimming and cricket, but all to no avail. Coming from an island, everyone learned to sail, but after three years I realised I spent far too much time sailing a submarine, considering how much of the time it was on its back.

Finally, I accidentally discovered a sport that I really enjoyed, so much so that I stuck at it long enough that I was no longer completely rubbish at it. Fencing.

Fencing has brought me a number of cherished memories, from the people I have met, being able to coach other, and being able to compete all over the world. The Junior Commonwealth Games in South Africa was a personal highlight.

However, the best memories come from when you beat your rivals, and I am not talking about Cambridge, as the Dark Blues lost last year. I am talking about a rival much closer to home, Jersey.

As Guernsey born and bred, there will be no greater rival than our sister island Jersey.

I have had the chance to compete against them a number of times over the years, however, the most memorable was my first ever team match against them.

I was selected as the third fencer (you have three people on a fencing team per weapon) because I won the selection competition the week before – to the dismay of my then coach who clearly had previously planned other ideas.

We travelled over on the ferry in the morning to compete at Fort Regent against our Jersey opponents. I was very nervous, being the youngest competitor on the day, just hoping not to let the team down.

My first fight was solid, just beating my opponent.

Against their top fencer in my second fight I completely capitulated dropping a number of points and compromising of the lead we had built, but managed to pull it together winning the last fight 7-1.

We went into the final match 40-33 up, hoping our anchor (the best fencer on the team you leave until the end to finish the opponent off) would do a much better job than I had done against this individual.

Thankfully, despite a very nervy comeback from Jersey, we won 42-41. With just a point in it, the relief at the conclusion was palpable, but soon turned into a feeling of jubilation.

These close matches against your rivals are very special, especially when you win, and this being my first one, especially an away match where you have the added bonus of travelling offshore to compete, are very special.

Finally, after years of searching, I had found my sport.

Don detained on rape charges

Emily Lawford
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Don detained on rape charges

CW: This article contains accounts of sexual violence, assault, and rape.

Oxford University professor Tariq Ramadan has been taken into custody by French police, following multiple accusations of rape.

Ramadan was detained on Wednesday “as part of a preliminary inquiry in Paris into rape and assault allegations”, a legal source told AFP.

Ramadan, a professor of Islamic Studies, took a leave of absence from Oxford in early November after two women made accusations of rape against him.

The Director of Graduate Studies at the Oriental Institute, Alison Salvesen, sent an email on Wednesday to all postgraduate students at the faculty.

She said: “The University is keeping the situation under review and I will keep you updated as and when more information becomes available.”

A postgraduate student told Cherwell: “At last, it seems that the French authorities are taking these allegations seriously.

“I sincerely hope that this goes to court, and justice is served to all those concerned.”
Ramadan has denied the claims and filed a complaint for slander against French author Henda Ayari, one of his accusers.

Ayari claimed Ramadan assaulted and raped her in a Paris hotel room in 2012.

She described the alleged assault in her 2016 book I Chose to be Free. In the book she describes being raped by a prominent intellectual in a hotel room after a conference.

She wrote that she was treated violently, slapped, and insulted.

Ayari said she did not name Ramadan as the attacker in her book, after receiving “threats”.

A second woman then reported Ramadan to the police, alleging that he raped her in a Lyon hotel in 2009.

She claimed he kicked away the crutches she had been using for her injured leg and violently assaulted her.

The unnamed woman alleges that she went straight to a doctor after claims to have medical evidence of the assault.

She told Le Monde that Ramadan sent her a text message after asking to see her again “as if we had spent a wonderfully romantic and tender evening together”.

When she refused she alleged she was subjected to “months of harassment and threats from men who followed me in the street; one threatened to kill me”.

Last term, following student backlash at the University’s slow response to the allegations, the University released a statement that Ramadan would take a leave of absence “by mutual agreement, and with immediate effect”.

They said: “The University has consistently acknowledged the gravity of the allegations against professor Ramadan, while emphasisng the importance of fairness and the principles of justice and due process.

“An agreed leave of absence implies no presumption or acceptance of guilt.”

The university have reiterated their statement in light recent developments.

Crewdate: the messiest night in Oxford

Joanna Lonergan
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Crewdate: the messiest night in Oxford

The crewdate. That beloved Oxford institution where if you’re not blind drunk and the whole table doesn’t know a friend of yours lost their virginity on the loo, then you’re doing it wrong.

Because we were a fashionable 30 minutes late, when we arrived the boys had already positioned themselves around the table. Admittedly, they had little choice (the staff at Arzoos are quite militant in getting everyone to just sit somewhere, anywhere), but it did mean that a few other girls and I had to climb over the guys to get to our seats. Surprisingly, being forced to shove your arse in someone’s face as you clamber across them is a pretty good ice breaker.

Everyone knows the basic ingredients of a good crewdate – copious amounts of alcohol (preferably cheap wine by the bottle), pennies, embarrassing scones, and a heavy dose of peer pressure. I was under the impression that there were certain rules when it came to pennying – someone has to have their hand on their cup, you can’t penny the person next to you etc. – but apparently, I was wrong. Moreover, when I protested at being pennied for the eighth time, I was shouted down and threatened with doing a shoe (another of those much loved crewdate traditions). Safe to say that pretty much everyone had run out of wine within the first 20 minutes of the date.

At one point in the evening, one of the boys produced a watermelon from under the table. If you’re not familiar with this game, it involves smashing a watermelon into your head, and passing it on until said watermelon actually smashes on someone’s turn – the person next to them then has to down their drink.

This watermelon was actually to blame for the crewdate ending early. On the table next to us was a chess club crewdate, decked out in their fancy tuxes.

Possibly as a result of the aforementioned peer pressure mixed with drunken overconfidence, someone (who may or may not have been me) threw half the watermelon at the chess club’s date. In my defence, the final straw for the Arzoos staff seems to have been when one of the chess guys got onto our table and proceeded to strip while dancing, perhaps by his standards, ‘provocatively’.

Besides the watermelon, there was something to do with a block of cheese, oh, and a game of ‘good pants, shit pants’. The whole date was a bit of a blur really – we were only there for an hour before being kicked out and moving on to the guys’ college bar.

Lets talk about: Homelessness

Simon Hunt
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Lets talk about: Homelessness

Homelessness has recently become a real issue in my local community in Finsbury Park in north London. Despite the virtual absence of rough sleeping a few years ago, there are now numerous, perhaps dozens of people sleeping outdoors down alleyways, under railway bridges and in camping tents in the park, all within a short walk from where I live.

Concerned about this, as part of my involvement in a local charity, I chaired a community meeting where we discussed the causes of this unfortunate situation and what could be done to improve it.

We were told by social workers and the police who attended the meeting that steps were being taken to find accommodation for the rough sleepers, but that in the mean time, we were not to pay any attention or give any money to them, as the money would only be used to finance their drug addictions.

For one attendee of the meeting, this suggestion was ill-advised. A well-dressed, highly articulate man – I presumed he was a doctor, or a lawyer – stood up and gave a rousing speech in which he protested that while indeed some had their drugs usage to blame for their homelessness, many rough sleepers arrived at their situation through no fault of their own – for many it was down to really tragic circumstances. If you were to sit down with them and hear their story, you’d discover that they were more than deserving of a few spare coins.

The man, much to the annoyance of the stony-faced social workers, had by this point won over hearts and minds in the room. He then revealed that up until recently he had in fact been homeless himself, but that he had now been able to find accommodation, had finally started receiving benefits and was beginning to put his life back together.

After a bit of persuasion we were able to co-opt him to the board of our local charity, and he is now working hard helping us with our mission to improve lives in our community.

I mention this perhaps not exceedingly exciting story, because to me it represented a turning point in the way I looked at homelessness in my local area. If there were someone as bright and talented as this guy (dare I say, as an Oxford student, that I felt rather intellectually intimidated by him?), then just think how many more people there are of his ilk: gifted, energetic people whose talents could take them so far if only they had been given a decent start in life.

I really am now prepared to sit down and talk to a rough sleeper, and do what I can to give them hope that they have a future beyond pleading for money in the street.

My local area, however, is by no means exceptional. Government estimates suggest that in the past five years, the number of people sleeping rough on the streets each night has doubled from two thousand in 2011 to four thousand in 2016. And, if the expertise of charities like Crisis is to be believed, these figures are only set to rise even further in the years to come.

But it’s easy to concentrate only on rough sleeping. This is the visible side of homelessness. But looking at this alone would be to neglect the fact that rough sleeping numbers are small in comparison to – again according to government statistics – the staggering figure that 120,000 children are living in temporary accommodation (hostels, refuges, B&Bs and hotels).

Crisis suggests that two thirds of a million people are living in overcrowded accommodation – i.e. in houses that were designed to accommodate only a fraction of the number of people who currently live in them.

Just in case you don’t think you’re lucky to be where you are right now, perhaps these figures will be a sobering reminder that you really are much more than lucky.

I don’t want to add another opinion to the debate on how to tackle homelessness in our country. There are already so many voices out there, most of which recognise the severity of the situation. But I do want to bring to the fore the humanity of the situation and challenge some peoples’ stereotypical, and incorrect, view of the homeless.

Sweet Charity review – ‘Oh Mama, welcome to the 60s!’

Ela Portnoy
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Sweet Charity review – ‘Oh Mama, welcome to the 60s!’

Sweet Charity may be based on an Italian neo-realist film from the 50s, but if you walk into the Playhouse this week you’ll find pink skies, bouffant hair and candyfloss smiles. Oh Mama, welcome to the 60s it is!

As a choice for a student musical, Sweet Charity is not an obvious candidate. Sure, the cast is female-heavy and calls for a strong female lead, but the female roles themselves are pretty dated, featuring lots of scantily-clad prostitutes. And not the strong Chicago kind of I’m-sexy-and-I’m-gonna-kill-you, but rather lots of sad-looking young women standing around and sighing every time a guy doesn’t pick them to sleep with. Still, though the story is pretty predictable, Sweet Charity is a good old-fashioned feel good through and through.

The first thing I have to mention is the dancing. Very few shows manage to have the quality chorus that this show does. And in a cast made up of professional ballet dancers to first-timers in theatre, it is no mean feat filling the playhouse stage with that swelling chorus line effect. The creative team should be applauded for their achievements, especially for the crazy 10 minute Bob Fosse dance break. The female chorus was especially strong, and though I can’t remember everyone who stood out (there were many!), notable performances came from Kristen Cope, Alicia Fisher, Olivia Charley (who did a great job with the choreography), Lydia Benazaize, and Liam Sargeant. But in general, I don’t think I’ve seen such a strong dance chorus before in Oxford, so the whole cast should be proud.

The singing was a little weaker. The cast were all good singers and some nice belting moments came from Jonny Danciger and Freddie Crowley, but in general the music was pitched at a relatively ‘safe’ level. There were, however, some brilliant acting performances. Greta Thompson was a suitably sweet Charity with a pretty voice and a flair for dancing. And I want to give a special mention to Ellie Mae McDonald in the role of Helene. There was one particular moment that stood out for me in the show, and it was Helene’s face as she stood in the spotlight in ‘Baby, Dream Your Dream’ (the lighting was spot on here too). Even though this is a musical, and even though it’s bubblegum and funny, it was beautiful just to have that moment where you see a character’s feelings without the humour.

Alex Taylor’s set is great. I liked the 60s aesthetic and the detail in the different angles and shapes of the windows. It was edgy but tongue in cheek. The flying set pieces were nice. Perhaps the one questionable bit of set was the wardrobe that charity hid in. The lighting was great, very surreal and hollywood-y when it shone from the LED tape and the windows. The 60s costumes were fun and I especially liked the rhythm of life ones. There were some mic cutouts but that’s first night issues. Generally, the sound was very nicely balanced.

The one thing that bothered me in the show was the number ‘Big Spender’. I felt very uncomfortable because it was like we were invited to objectify the actresses and it didn’t feel ironic or tongue in cheek. What made it worse was that the senile man in the seat next to me wolf whistled in the applause, and the slightly younger old men on my other side started whispering to each other.

Still, all in all, Sweet Charity is a really fun night out, and since tickets are much cheaper than most playhouse shows it’s a good deal. If nothing else, go for Alex Buchanan’s dog walking, as the sequel to his starring role in Candide.

Beautiful Thing review – ‘Ruckus Productions has certainly made some noise’

Franklin Nelson
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Beautiful Thing review – ‘Ruckus Productions has certainly made some noise’

Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing, first performed in 1993, depicts the coming-of-age of two teenage boys, Ste and Jamie, in Thatcher’s Britain and against the backdrop of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. As we begin to mark LGBTQ+ History Month, audiences would do well to remember that, over a decade after its premiere, Section 28 of the Local Government Act, forbidding “the teaching […] of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”, was still in force.

Watching the trailer for this most recent of Ruckus Productions’ runs left me, quite frankly, bemused. Knowing what I did about Jonathan Harvey’s original, I believed the acting, which seemed stilted, and the music, whose relevance I was unable to decipher, to be somewhat dissonant to the plot and the play’s themes. Whether or not it was the intention of the creative team to lead potential audience members down the garden path, so to speak, what is on offer to theatregoers at the Michael Pilch Studio for the next two nights is anything but dissonant.

Scenes of fizzing, mightily comic dialogue are interspersed with more intimate, serious ones. Opting for minimalist staging allows for freedom of movement, but also intensifies moments of awkwardness, particularly in the bedroom. Subtle lighting choices, overseen by Nandana Syam and Sophia Mara Buck, serve to clarify the mood in different scenes, whilst Niamh Calway’s shrewd sound design adds an extra layer to the production. The music that punctuates each scene, in particular the refrain that ‘you’ve got to make your own kind of music, sing your own special song’, reiterates the play’s unashamedly optimistic message, before contributing to its rousing finale. Aural symbolism aside, Chloe Doootson-Graube’s costume choices for Ste and Jamie, in contrast to the rest of the cast, are telling.

Potential abounds in Emelye Moulton and Callum Coghlan; the former’s portrayal of a sassy single parent trying to do right by her son whilst maintaining a sense of personal ambition and coming to terms with what his sexuality might mean for him, results in the frequent verbal and occasional physical outburst, delivered convincingly, whilst the latter’s faultless timing and stage presence convey Tony’s status as a dreamy and inexperienced lover and father figure. Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, whose ability was confirmed in last year’s random, is compelling as the school dropout Leah, at times sharp-tongued and at others caring, whilst Chris Dodsworth gives a strong performance as a character struggling to come to terms with his true self in such a toxically masculine household.

Those familiar with the 1996 film adaptation will soon detect the absence of Trevor and Ronnie Pearce, Ste’s brother and father respectively. However, in keeping with Harvey’s original play, Hambleton’s assured direction of Dodsworth, through whose movement and vocal urgency we discern the violence that takes place behind closed doors, renders this a nonproblem. The standout performance, however, is that of Lee Simmonds. Besides his excellent body language and timing, he carves out the intricacies of the part superbly.

Though I was impressed with the production as a whole, the best scenes are ones which feature all of the characters; it is in these scenes that it is most evident that the cast has enjoyed rehearsals as, throughout, there are wonderfully dynamic interactions, which provoke a lot of laughter. In staging this tender, thoughtful and timeless coming-of-age drama, Ruckus Productions has certainly made some noise, and for all the right reasons.

Colleges fail to pay the Oxford Living Wage

Fred Dimbleby
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Colleges fail to pay the Oxford Living Wage

No Oxford colleges pay staff the Oxford Living Wage, which is set by Oxford City Council.

Freedom of Information (FOI) requests sent by Cherwell reveal that St. Anne’s and Wycliffe Hall also do not pay the real living wage to all employees, which is currently set at £8.75 an hour by the Living Wage Foundation.

The Chair of the Oxford Living Wage Review, Councillor Mark Ladbrooke, called for all Oxford employers “to go the extra mile and pay their staff the Oxford Living Wage.”

The Oxford living wage, of £9.69 and hour, is set by Oxford City Council to account for the higher cost of living in Oxford.

Oxford is the least affordable city in the UK after London, with an average house price more than eleven times higher than the average gross earnings in the city, according to Lloyd’s Bank. Wycliffe Hall pay four staff below the living wage whilst St. Anne’s pay casual labourers at a lowest rate of £7.50 per hour, the government’s living wage.

A spokesmen for Wycliffe Hall told Cherwell: “Wycliffe Hall would love to pay all its employees the living wage, and is actively working towards being able to do so as soon as possible.”

The government’s living wage is different to the real living wage, which takes account of higher costs of living around the UK.

Last term it was revealed that only one third of Oxford Colleges were accredited by the Living Wage Foundation.

These included Jesus, Christ Church, Hertford, Somerville, Mansfield, Merton, and Queen’s.

Accreditation means that an institution has a “moral commitment” to the living wage and raises its pay levels to match those set by the foundation.

Cherwell asked colleges who are not already accredited whether they would look for accreditation.

Keble, Balliol, Teddy Hall, and Lincoln were among those who said they had no plans for accreditation, despite paying all staff at least the real living wage.

Only Regent’s Park said that they were looking to gain accreditation.

The Oxford Living Wage Campaign told Cherwell: “The Living Wage Campaign values transparency and wage security for workers, and remains committed to Living Wage accreditation in Oxford’s colleges.”

“We are currently building campaigns in several colleges and hope to see movement in this direction in the future, and onwards to an Oxford Living Wage for all workers.”

The FOIs also revealed the top level of pay for college employees. Among those who provided data, All Souls’ warden was paid the highest wage, earning £134,313 per year.

The top paid staff members of both Somerville and Balliol earned more than £100,000 per year.

Councillor Mark Ladbrooke of Oxford City Council said: “More than 40 Oxford employers are accredited by the Living Wage Foundation, and we would like to see more sign up.

“Paying staff the Living Wage helps them to live with dignity, and being an accredited employer is good for business, as it helps to improve staff motivation, retention and customer service.

“It’s often said that Oxford has London prices with Midlands wages – and in the case of housing we are more unaffordable than London.

“That’s why we pay the higher Oxford Living Wage to all our staff and agency workers, and why we require contractors with contracts over £100,000 to pay it to their staff.”

A spokesperson for St. Hilda’s College told Cherwell: “The Oxford Living Wage is set by Oxford City Council as a minimum wage for its own workers.

“It has no statistical underpinning and is arbitrarily set at 95% of the London Living Wage (as determined by the Living Wage Foundation).

“We do not believe that it is an authoritative measure.”

The Principal Bursar of St John’s, Prof Andrew Parker, said: “St John’s is committed to meeting and paying the expectations of the living wage as set by the Living Wage Foundation each year.

“Given the College’s stated commitment to following the living wage, we do not see that seeking accreditation will make an effective difference to our staff.”

Oxford Student Union said: “Oxford SU believes that people should be paid enough to live decently, and the best way to ensure this is to support a Living Wage. Oxford SU believes that employees of the University and its Colleges should be paid the real Living Wage.”

Cherwell sent FOI requests to 33 Oxford colleges and received 23 replies.

St Anne’s did not reply to a request for comment and Oxford University declined to comment.

NUS President accused of bullying

Libby Cherry
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NUS President accused of bullying

The President of the National Union of Students (NUS) has been accused of “deeply dysfunctional” and “antidemocratic” behaviour by fellow union members.

Shakira Martin has been criticised repeatedly on Facebook and Twitter, with colleagues from within the National Executive Committee (NEC) coming forward to denounce her
leadership style.

A member of the NEC, Myriam Kane, told Cherwell: “The reason why I’ve decided to speak out now about this issue is because a number of others within NUS had enough, were getting nowhere with internal procedures, and started speaking out publicly.

“The environment was becoming toxic to the point I have to mentally prepare myself before going to conferences, or NEC meetings, where Shakira will be present.

“I don’t know what the next attack will be on me (Shakira all but names me in her video posts), or how I can fulfil my duty as NEC member holding her accountable when I avoid saying her name because I’m scared if I don’t she’ll make it personal.”

A member of the NUS Postgraduate Student Campaign, Amelia Horgan, has also criticsed Martin’s manner when engaging with colleagues.

Speaking to Cherwell, she claimed that 10 per cent of NEC members had been blocked by Martin on social media for disagreeing with her.

She continued: “Martin threatened to take our phones away if we tweeted negatively about the meeting. Of course, personal attacks should not be tolerated, but the NUS President
has a problem with any kind of criticism.

“The NUS President does what she wants – from ignoring democratically-passed policy, to threatening officers, talking down to volunteers, and to blocking anyone who dares criticise her.

“Her behaviour is unacceptable and the chaos it causes is deeply damaging to the NUS.”

Martin said in a post on social media: “These 6 months I have experienced some of the worst harassment and provocation but I have stayed quiet up until this point for the sake
of needing to ‘get on with the job’.

“Not only this but I have been baited and provoked on purpose and recorded in my own workplace by those who claim to support working class black women like myself but would happily push me to the limit and watch me break.”

Aliya Yule, a former Oxford student, told Cherwell: “I was elected to NEC this year with high hopes and expectations, which were quickly shot through with the realisation of how deeply factional organising divides NUS.

“I don’t think having different groups with different political priorities – and different values – is necessarily a bad thing, but the way that it plays out is horrific.

“I think Shakira has had a really difficult time, and there have been examples in the press of deeply racist and patronising coverage of her, and I am sure that some of her behaviour is a product of how hostile NUS can be.

“But for all my time in student organising, never has it been so difficult to be able to voice opinions without fearing being blocked or yelled at in person or via Facebook live videos, and it’s absolutely hampering the ability of us to work in NUS.

“What kind of example does it set, or what kind of message does it send to people excited to get involved, that this is the kind of behaviour that’s acceptable?”

Martin will stand for election again in March at the 2018 NUS National Conference.

Oxford students will be able to vote for their own NUS delegates in the upcoming Oxford SU elections.

Martin did not respond to Cherwell’s request for comment.

Only two black finalists awarded firsts in 2017

Susannah Goldsbrough
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Only two black finalists awarded firsts in 2017

Only two black students were awarded first class degrees in last year’s final examinations, new data released by Oxford University has shown. The figures also show that men were awarded more first class degrees than women.

37 per cent of men received first class degrees last summer compared to 29 per cent of women, an increase on 2016.

The University said: “It will take time to fully understand the reasons that underlie differences in performance between individuals.”

8 per cent of black students received firsts, compared to 32 per cent of mixed race students, and 36 per cent of white students.

Femi Williams, ethnic minori- ties rep at Worcester College, told Cherwell: “I’m honestly shocked by the extent of disparity. Such a gap is evidently not a coincidence, and as such the University has an obligation to investigate and address the issues responsible.”

St Anne’s equalities rep Kir West-Hunter said: “Fundamentally, those who are most comfortable perform the best. These statistics seem to suggest that the issue of grades is just a racial one but I think this is far from the truth.

Oxford is a difficult, alien, stressful environment and this is even more true in relation to those who have never experienced anything like Oxford before.

“Assimilation into Oxford life is key to having an enjoyable and academically successful experience – as such perhaps the question shouldn’t be why black students aren’t getting firsts but rather are black students feeling welcome, comfortable and enjoying their university experience here?”

In Mathematical, Physical, and Life Sciences, the gender gap was 16 per cent, a five per cent increase on the previous year.

The difference has increased almost year on year since 2011.

In Humanities the disparity was nine per cent, and in Social Sciences it was two per cent.

In Medical Sciences, 30 per cent of both women and men received firsts, the second year in a row that the proportion of first class degrees has been gender balanced.

The disparity has increased by roughly one per cent on the previous year.

Oxford SU told Cherwell: “We are working closely with the University on reducing this gap, through improvements in feedback

mechanisms and better support for students during their course.

“Other methods are being discussed in various committees with sabbatical officer representation, such as the Student Attainment Working Gap group and Gender Equality Advisory Group.

“Last year’s increase in the disparity in certain divisions are likely to be a result of a number of different factors – which the University is working to identify and resolve.”

An Oxford University spokesperson told Cherwell: “There are a number of different factors that affect attainment in different subjects, and the solutions will vary by department.

“We have a University group looking at the factors that affect performance in examinations, with senior representation from MPLS. Detailed analysis is underway to try to get a better understanding of some of the specific determinants of this, but at this stage no single causal factor has been identified.

“There are also some local pilots and initiatives underway, including changing examination formats to offer more time for all candidates, the introduction of some more thesis projects, and more centralised revision classes.

“However it will take time to fully understand the reasons that underlie differences in performance between individuals.”

Katie Burke, Hertford women*’s officer, told Cherwell: “The eight per cent gap is a sad statistic to see, especially when men and women are coming to oxford with broadly the same academic attainment.

“There was a 2002 study by Joanna Norland on the gender gap in firsts at Cambridge which showed lower levels of self-confidence in female-identified students. It’s hard to say exactly how to solve this, but it’s clearly a long-term and ongoing problem that the University should be taking seriously as it pats itself on the back about finally starting to give as many offers to women as men.

“Gender equality in higher education doesn’t stop once you get here.”

St Anne’s Women’s Officer, Ellie Jerome, added: “I think the gender gap in Oxford students getting firsts is really worrying. It’s not that men work harder or are more intelligent.

The University needs to properly look into what’s causing this gap and do more to try to close it.”

Tabitha Oglivie, a fourth year maths student at Exeter College, told Cherwell: “all that really needs to be said is this comment from the examiners reports on third year from last exam season:

“The examiners were concerned to discover, after the class lists were agreed, that the percentage of male candidates awarded first class degrees was over double the percentage of female candidates awarded first class degrees, and that the percentage of female candidates awarded 2.iis and below was 2.5 times the percentage of male candidates in the same range.

“We would like to bring this year’s very significant gender discrepancy to the attention of the department, which we know is already well aware of this issue.

“This is however just a comparison of percentages – the issue looks even worse if you look at the raw numbers, 7 women got first compared to 45 men so I mean the issue is there and trust me no one is better at understanding numbers than the maths faculty, so if they’re worried we should all be worried.”

Last week, Ucas revealed that more women than men had been offered places at Oxford last year for the first time in history.

A total of 1,070 women were given places compared to 1,025 men in 2017.

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