rivalry: at what expense?

The latest admissions statistics show that there are fewer places per applicant at Oxford than at Cambridge, thereby supposedly making Oxford more competitive.

This story seems to be the latest in a never-ending stream of news relating to Oxbridge admissions, academic results, league tables and the like.

As a university, we are preoccupied with our status as one of the traditional global centres of academia.

Of course, it’s important to ensure that Oxford retains the high standards for which it is renowned in order to continue to attract the most talented students available.

But sometimes the rhetoric surrounding results seems, if not self-congratulatory, at least superficial; all league tables are calculated differently and there can be no definitive answer as to which university is “best”.

Instead of concerning ourselves with getting one over “the Tabs” (and yes, I do see the irony considering the title of this paper…) we should let Cambridge be Cambridge (complete geeks, obvs) and just get on with what we do best (boycotting college catering, “Gangnam Styling” at the Union, and hypothesising over the practicalities of sex in the Rad Cam seem to be our strong points of late – The Tab has all bases covered).

But more importantly, and jokes aside, obsession with Oxford University’s high educational standards serves to create associations of educational competence which do not apply to the city at large.

The University and a select few private schools within the confines of the city’s attractive architecture may achieve academic prowess, but the situation is bleak for many of Oxfordshire’s comprehensives.

In 2010, the proportion of students achieving 5 A*-C grades at GCSE in Oxfordshire averaged at 45%, well below the national average, and in 2011 was as low as 28% for some schools.

Moreover, the grandeur of the city centre masks the fact that a considerable proportion of the population living on the outskirts of the city live in relative poverty – 12 areas of Oxford are considered to be among the highest 20% most deprived areas in England.

A picture emerges whereby the University’s situation is harshly juxtaposed with that of the town.

The extent of homelessness in Oxford should be enough to remind us of the realities of the world outside of academic life, a world where a league table means nothing.

My point? Besides the obvious fact that Cambridge students are pretty much socially defunct, thereby invalidating comparison with Oxford in any case, it really doesn’t matter whether Oxford is better than Cambridge.

It doesn’t matter whether Oxford is better than UCL, or Durham, or Harvard.

Every Uni has its own selling points and engaging in repetitive competition does nothing but draw media attention away from issues of importance.

Keep on Tab bashing if you will, but let’s not get too carried away.

There’s a whole world out there.