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Cambridge college bans private school children from essay contest

Newnham College's essay competition is only open to state school pupils - Matthew Power/Masons News Service
Newnham College's essay competition is only open to state school pupils - Matthew Power/Masons News Service

A Cambridge University college has limited its essay prize to state school students in the wake of a row over Oxbridge access.

Newnham College runs an annual contest for all female year 12 pupils in their first year of A-levels, to get a taste of Cambridge-style essays. However, this year, only the state sector is eligible.

The 150-year-old, women-only college’s prize – which is named after Virginia Woolf  – covers 12 subjects, including English literature, medicine, classics and biology. Previous winners have included private school pupils, with their achievement helping to make their university applications stand out to admissions tutors.

It comes as Prof Stephen Toope, vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge, raised eyebrows this month by saying it was “very, very clear we are intending to reduce over time the number of people who are coming from independent school backgrounds into places like Oxford or Cambridge”.

The winner of the Newnham essay prize gets £400, while the runner-up gets £200 and third place wins £100. The money is evenly split between the pupil and their school.

Newnham said 1,300 students entered last year and that the amount of marking was “not sustainable for us”. However, its decision to limit the entry criteria has sparked a backlash from independent schools and some alumni.

Newnham College urged to reconsider decision

Mary Beard, the renowned classicist and an alumni of the college, told The Telegraph: “I personally have some anxieties about this, but the issues are more complicated than a simple 'educational culture wars'.”

Nick Weaver, headmaster of Ipswich School, a top independent school in Suffolk, said it was “disappointing” that private schools had been “excluded” from the contest.

Mr Weaver, who is chairman of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses Conference universities sub-committee, added: “It seems odd for such a revered academic institution to be barring any pupils from an opportunity for scholarly research based on the type of school they go to, with no other regard to their personal situation.

“There would be rightful and just outrage if state-maintained schools were excluded from such a competition and so it is important that the terms of application are reconsidered urgently.”

A Newnham College spokesman said: “Because of resource constraints, the college made the decision to provide the essay prize as an outreach educational activity for students in the maintained sector, which has felt the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic significantly, and which is less resourced as a whole.

“This will allow us to offer detailed feedback on a university-style essay to the entrants, and the prizes will now be shared between the winners and their schools.”