Universities
Britain’s great university rip-off
The mis-selling of higher education is one of the least remarked-upon scandals of our time, but anyone under 40 should be familiar with the concept. You’re told, at school, that… Continue reading
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US universities beat the best of British: on teaching and social mobility
The combined endowments of the three top US universities alone is more than Britain’s entire defence budget. Luckily the risk of American invasion is still one of graduate students seeking… Continue reading
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To stay in the global race, British universities may have to go private.
If the devil were to conduct an experiment into mankind’s ability to resist temptation, it would look something like Stanford University. It is built in one of the world’s most… Continue reading
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Why has Abdul Hakim Murad not been sacked by Cambridge University?
Abdul Hakim Murad is the Islamic name of a convert to Islam called Tim Winters. He is a lecturer and tutor and director of studies at Wolfson College, Cambridge University. … Continue reading
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The LSE’s anger about BBC Panorama sounds synthetic and sententious
If I were to make a list of the things I thought the BBC should be doing, then a report from inside North Korea would come right at the top.… Continue reading
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Trenton Oldfield makes about as much sense as the entrails of a chicken
I trust everybody enjoyed the boat race this weekend Last week the editors of this magazine made me go through the purgatory of speaking with the person who disrupted last… Continue reading
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A model of diversity
There’s nothing quite like diversity. Take Manchester. It has a large Muslim population and a lot of gays. What could possibly go wrong? Last week Manchester University’s Student Union played… Continue reading
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The Unbearable Self-Pity of Britain's Rich and Privileged - Spectator Blogs
Is there anything more pathetic, more risible than rich and privileged Britons whining that their cadre fails to receive a fair shake in the matter of admissions to this country’s… Continue reading
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St Andrew’s students beat ‘milking’ with ‘champagning’
The Daily Mail got very excited last month over ‘a new student craze’ called milking, where students post videos of themselves ‘pouring milk over their heads in public places’: The… Continue reading
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University personal statements under attack, but who actually writes them?
The Sutton Trust today criticised the system of personal statements for university admissions, as they favour well-connected children from private schools. Spectator readers might not be surprised by that, though:… Continue reading
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University applications fall 8%. But is that bad news?
University admissions service UCAS published figures today showing the number of students applying early for university has fallen by 8 per cent on last year, following a drop of just… Continue reading
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Blair’s babes are still braying
Under the alias ‘Director General of the Russell Group’, a certain Dr Wendy Piatt has slammed the government’s policy on student visas. In a quote to the Independent, she warns: ‘as ministers crack down… Continue reading
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The Pineapple of Hate
We have had the dreaded cartoons, films, teddy-bear and more. But I bet that until now nobody imagined we would ever see a (cue dreaded music) ‘Pineapple of Hate’. Yet… Continue reading
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Freedom undermined by termites
I have been reading a new book by Theodore Dalrymple which I highly recommend. Readers of the Spectator will need no introduction to the good doctor, his fresh prose or… Continue reading
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University Admissions Should Be a Matter of Discrimination - Spectator Blogs
Cristina Odone begins her latest oh-woe-is-Britain post most amusingly: Around the world, people have long envied Britain’s two institutions: the BBC and Oxbridge. Britons, however, (or some of them) are… Continue reading
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Not ‘the best results ever’: Good news for GCSEs
For the first year since GCSE’s came in we have not seen ‘the best results ever’. Which is, of course, a great relief. As Anthony Seldon, among others, has pointed… Continue reading
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How students are mis-sold the benefits of university
What do you say to an Arts graduate? ‘Big Mac and fries, please!’ I used to laugh at that joke until I was served a Junior Whopper by one of… Continue reading
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An endangered species
Last night the BBC aired a brilliant horror-movie (viewable on iPlayer) called ‘Young, Bright and on the Right.’ It followed two young men, one at Oxford the other at Cambridge,… Continue reading
12 Comments The good news in today’s university applications figures
A drop of 8.8 per cent in the number of students applying for university is surprisingly small, actually, when you consider the size of the hike in tuition fees. Still,… Continue reading
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Social mobility — more than a political battle over universities
Nick Clegg wants to make social mobility his big theme in office. This is an ambitious target and one unlikely to be motivated by electoral consideration given that visible progress… Continue reading
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