Anti-racism campaigners have claimed a victory after a leading figure in a far-right German political party cancelled a planned trip to the UK to address the Oxford Union. More...
Pitt Rivers museum hires Syrian refugees as tour guides
Oxford University forges intercultural understanding with anthropological treasures. More...
Oxford v Cambridge rivalry takes on a new spirit: gin
Eight months after Oxford announced the production of Physic Gin, distilled from plants in the university’s botanic garden, Cambridge has created its own spirit. Costing nearly £40 a bottle, £5 more than its Oxonian counterpart, Curator’s Gin claims to benefit from a variety of floral flavourings, and ingredients including lavender, an unusual “green ginger” rosemary and berries from the dozens of varieties of juniper grown in the garden. The final ingredient, it says, is apples from a tree descended from the one that sent fruit tumbling on to Sir Isaac Newton’s head. More...
Second parliamentary committee calls for means-tested student grants to be reinstated
Pressure is growing on the government to reverse its scrapping of maintenance grants in England, after a second influential parliamentary committee called for financial support for disadvantaged students to be reinstated. More...
Let’s have perspective in tuition fees debate
The public have become sceptical of experts. One reason is that too many have used the platform their position gives them to indulge their prejudices. By all means criticise the university funding system, but do so with argument and reason. More...
This toxic Brexit hurts universities, linking us to Trump and the rest
Brexit is rooted in the rejection of modernity and reason. Higher education cannot thrive where expertise is sneered at. More...
We won't bail out failing universities, says higher education regulator
Universities should not assume they will be bailed out from a financial crisis, according to the head of the higher education regulator in England, who likened them to overconfident banks before the global financial crisis. More...
International students are abandoning Britain – we must stem the tide
Australia, Canada and the EU are snapping at our universities’ heels as UK immigration policy is putting off talented young people. More...
Higher education reform is our priority
Our report this week is focused on skills, social justice and good graduate outcomes. The fact is we have a huge skills deficit in our country, with the manufacturers organisation, the EEF, warning that almost three-quarters of businesses are concerned about finding workers with the skills they need. More...