Preface: Breaking the Silence on Class at Cambridge

In my three years studying at the University of Cambridge, I found class to be a surprisingly absent topic—something left unspoken, quietly tiptoed around, and carefully avoided in conversation. If someone began to raise a conversation around class, it would be met with sighs, awkward silences, or a quick change of subject, as if acknowledging it too openly would disrupt the carefully maintained facade of meritocracy.

Class would often feature indirectly, cloaked in conversations about schooling, bursary, in the North/South divide, or veiled in loose conversations about ‘privilege’. In the explosion of Skiing discourse with the announcement of the Varsity Ski Trip in Michaelmas, in the debates that ignite in Lent term around May Balls, and in the inequities around exam preparation in Easter term, class remains an ever-present undercurrent but rarely takes centre stage. 

This is not shocking. Cambridge is often presented as a great leveller: a place at Oxford and Cambridge is framed as the ultimate golden ticket propelling any lucky holder to front of the meritocratic race. Any seams between the realities of your home life and the Cambridge quintessence can be ironed out if you throw enough money at it. This limited logic serves to obfuscate the truth that, whilst students’ paths meet in the city, their journeys before Cambridge, through Cambridge and journeys beyond are grossly different. Whilst we are united under the banner of Cantabs, we mustn’t pretend there is an equal privilege in being a student, or a graduate, of Cambridge.

A recent glance to Camfess shows this myth in action quite clearly: #Camfession42929 calls for us to “chill out about the (relatively) small differences between us”, #Camfession42862 asks us to forget about private schools unconvinced by the immense advantage they provide. I pick these examples out, not to demonise these individuals or those who support these arguments, but to highlight how there is a culture that suppresses discussion around class and socioeconomic disparities and advantages.

At Cambridge, the vast majority of students will, at some point, encounter someone significantly wealthier or more privileged than themselves. This dynamic creates a distinct social tension – a sense of constant comparison and a race to the bottom. It becomes too easy for people to view themselves in the shadows of the elite and to not recognise their own privilege. Friedman, O’Brien, and McDonald (2021) examine the tendency people have to hark back to struggles of previous generations in the hope that situating themselves in ‘humble origins’ will make their achievements feel solely earned rather than aided by financial, social or cultural privilege. I witnessed this numerous times in trying to breach the conversation with those more privileged than I as they try to present their background in a light that enhanced their deservingness at Cambridge. It was only occasionally that I encountered fabricated or performed struggles, or explicit acts of elitism.

This is understandable. In an environment where many feel inadequate, out of place, or like impostors, there is often a compulsion to highlight the struggles of one’s own life, especially as efforts to diversify and widen participation drive forward the meritocratic narrative. Furthermore, the archetypal Cambridge lifestyle – when lived to its fullest – is out of reach for more people than simply those from low-income or working-class backgrounds. Consequently, the concept of privilege becomes distorted, with socioeconomic ‘privilege’ defined in much narrower terms than those recognised in broader social discourse.

After sharing my undergraduate research into the experiences of working-class students at Cambridge, Per Capita Media reached out to me about their hope of bringing together students from working-class backgrounds to share their experiences or perspectives on diversification efforts at Cambridge. The editorial team recognised the topic had not been given the attention it deserved and so wanted to bring these voices to the fore in a series of article.

The first article is based on a survey produced by Per Capita Media into aspects of the student experience at Cambridge. This survey did not only seek responses from working class students, serving as a broader proving that might uncover and illuminate broader complexities of how class is lived, experienced, and related to at the University. 

The second article is written by Maddie Wills. Maddie considers the successes and failures of access and outreach efforts and asks what more is required if Cambridge is to fulfil its pledges around diversity and inclusion.

The third article is by Han Johnson. Han gives us insight into what it means to be a Geordie in Cambridge, engaging with discussions of accents and ‘accentism’ as it experienced in Cambridge and beyond.

Finally, an article by Keane Handley considers what it means to belong in Cambridge and challenges what it means to ‘find your people’ at university.

References

Friedman, Sam, et al. “Deflecting Privilege: Class Identity and the Intergenerational Self.” Sociology (Oxford), vol. 55, no. 4, 2021, pp. 716–733, https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038520982225.