Varsity

Varsity is the longest-running student newspaper at Cambridge University, with a history that dates back to 1947. It stands out as one of just three fully independent student newspapers in the UK. The paper is released every Friday during the university's term time. After being published every two weeks for three years, it returned to a weekly format in Michaelmas 2015.

Consumer, Student/Alumni

English

Newspaper

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

#134741

United Kingdom

#9091

Science and Education/Universities and Colleges

#180

Traffic sources

Monthly visitors

Articles

Pro-Palestine protesters occupy Magdelene with encampment flotilla

1 week ago | varsity.co.uk | Wilf Vall |Anuk Weerawardana

Pro-Palestine students have established an encampment outside Magdalene College, claiming that the College is leveraging “plausible deniability” in “Israeli genocide”. Activists set up tents on the College’s riverbanks at 10 AM this morning (21/06), after approaching the College on rubber dinghies to enter the grounds.
Christopher Lorde wins Union presidency in tight race

1 week ago | varsity.co.uk | Charlie Rowan

Christopher Lorde has been elected president of the Cambridge Union, after defeating opponent Jack Peters by only seven votes. Lorde, the serving secretary, had stood in the race for the Michaelmas 2025 presidency in Lent but was defeated by Ivan Alexei Ampiah. Lorde has now won the second time around by 117 votes to Peters’ 109. The president-elect ran on a platform of increased outreach, growing corporate sponsorships, and the delivery of a “termcard with gender parity”.
State school admissions fall for second year in a row

1 week ago | varsity.co.uk | Charlie Rowan

The proportion of students admitted to the University of Cambridge from state schools has fallen for the second year in a row, according to figures from the latest admissions cycle. In 2024, 71% of UK (Home) students admitted came from state-maintained schools, while 29% were educated privately. This continues a downward trend from 2023, when state school admissions dipped to 72.6, the first decline in over a decade, representing a slight drop from 72.9% the previous year.
SU overspends for second year in a row

1 week ago | varsity.co.uk | Charlie Rowan

The Cambridge University Students’ Union (SU) has recorded financial losses for the second year in a row, according to its latest accounts. In the 2023-24 financial year, the SU reported a deficit of £4,766, having spent £1,493,531 despite only receiving £1,488,765 in income. This marks the second consecutive year that the SU has spent more than it raised. In 2022-23, the Union recorded an overspend of £112,898, the first time it had gone over budget since its formation in 2020.
Academics seek to restrict University’s use of injunctions

1 week ago | varsity.co.uk | Wilf Vall

Over 150 academics have launched a rebellion to limit the University of Cambridge’s use of court injunctions to restrict protest, claiming that legal action poses a serious threat to freedom of expression. English professor and member of University Council Jason Scott-Warren submitted a grace – the means of triggering a vote on University policy – that would prevent Cambridge from extending its High Court injunctions against protest to the University Council last week.
Midsummer to May Ball

2 weeks ago | varsity.co.uk | Wilf Vall

Erika Bunjevac for VarsityAs someone who struggled with imposter syndrome coming to Cambridge, I did not expect to feel at home at a May Ball. The idea of a multi-hundred-pound, champagne-fuelled, all-night long party in a Cambridge College was a alien form of entertainment from my native Teesside nights out.
Black Country, New Road on being ‘the best band in the world’

2 weeks ago | varsity.co.uk | Anuk Weerawardana |Wilf Vall

Eddie Whelan with permission for VarsityIf you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re a Cambridge student, and if you’re a Cambridge student there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Black Country, New Road, or – if you’re like us – have been mildly obsessed with the band since their debut studio album For the first time released in early 2021.
27% of Cantabs have parents who attended Oxbridge

2 weeks ago | varsity.co.uk | Charlie Rowan

Over 27% of undergraduates at the University of Cambridge say they have an immediate family member who attended Oxford or Cambridge, a Varsity investigation can reveal. In a self-selecting online survey of 306 students currently enrolled as Cambridge undergraduates, 27.1% reported having at least one immediate family member who attended Oxbridge for undergraduate studies. By contrast, 14.4% said no one in their family had ever been to university before them.
Dropouts at Cambridge fall to five-year low

2 weeks ago | varsity.co.uk | Charlie Rowan

The number of undergraduates who dropped out of their degree at the University of Cambridge fell to the lowest level in at least five years in 2023/24, Freedom of Information requests can reveal. Just 211 students discontinued their undergraduate studies in the most recently recorded academic year, down from 295 in 2019/20, a 28% decline. The annual number of student dropouts has decreased steadily each year since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trinity stalls on divestment review despite mounting pressure

3 weeks ago | varsity.co.uk | Charlie Rowan

Trinity College has reaffirmed its arms investment policy, stalling on a comprehensive review, despite growing calls to divest from its student body and the pro-Palestine encampment. In an email sent to students on Thursday (05/06), Senior Tutor Catherine Barnard responded to “a number of questions” about arms investments raised at a liaison meeting between College Council and student representatives the day before.