Oxbridge rivalry
The University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, collectively known as Oxbridge, are the two oldest and most famous universities in England. They are generally ranked highly among universities around the world.[1] Both were founded around the 11th to 13th centuries, and between them have produced a large number of Britain's most prominent scientists, writers and politicians. The competition between Oxford and Cambridge also has a long history, dating back to the days when Cambridge was founded by dissident scholars from Oxford.
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Similarities between Oxford and Cambridge
Both universities have a collegiate structure: each has over 30 autonomous colleges, which provide a social environment for groups of students to live, work and sleep in. The colleges are all part of the greater university however, and students studying the same subject are given lectures together, irrespective of their college. Choice of college at Oxford is more important than at Cambridge, since no Oxford college admits students to study every single subject available at the university, whereas most Cambridge colleges do give their students the option to study any subject.
Colleges within each university regularly compete with each other in a variety of tournaments (e.g. rugby, rowing and chess), but will happily pool their talent to form university teams for competitions against the greater "enemy" (Oxford or Cambridge as the case may be). This attitude is reflected in the fact that Oxford and Cambridge both refer to each other as "the other place".
Differences between Oxford and Cambridge
The city of Oxford is slightly larger, busier and more industrial than Cambridge. Oxford is associated with the motor industry (BMW currently produce the Mini in Oxford), whereas Cambridge has aeronautical engineering and more high-technology manufacturers.
Oxford is more often featured in the cinema; recent films with scenes shot in Oxford include the Harry Potter movies, and there are plans to use Oxford for the movie His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass. The well-known British detective series Inspector Morse was also filmed there. Although Oxford appears more popular with makers of movies and television programmes, Cambridge also has a number of major tourist attractions, including the King's College Chapel, one of the most famous buildings in England, and punting, which is a more popular activity in Cambridge than Oxford because of the proximity of more university colleges to the river.
There are differences in the language used at the two universities. For example, the undergraduate student body is referred to as the "JCR" in both universities, but in Oxford this stands for Junior Common Room, whereas in Cambridge it is Junior Combination Room. Cambridge calls its student kitchens in the halls of residence "gyp rooms", whereas Oxford simply calls them "kitchens". Another difference in terminology involves the terms used for the direct contact time that students have with faculty members of their subject. In Oxford, students have a "tutorial" with their "tutor", whereas Cambridge students attend a "supervision" with a "supervisor". At Oxford, the three terms of the academic year are called Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity, whereas at Cambridge they are Michaelmas, Lent and Easter. Finally, the squares of grass found in most colleges are referred to as "courts" in Cambridge and "quads" in Oxford.
Traditions also vary between the two universities. For example, it is still compulsory at Oxford to wear formal dress to all university examinations, although this is not the case at Cambridge. However, traditions and the seriousness with which they are taken tend to vary widely amongst the different colleges in each university, more so than between the two universities as a whole.
Indirect competition between the two universities
There has been much direct and indirect competition between the two universities for a number of years. Indirect competition can perhaps be measured by the success of the alumni of each university. Oxford has a greater political heritage: all but two of the British Prime Ministers since Winston Churchill have been Oxford graduates (the exceptions are James Callaghan and John Major, both of whom did not receive university educations). Former US President Bill Clinton attended Oxford, as did his daughter Chelsea. Oxford is also famous for its dictionary, which is generally regarded as the definitive guide to modern English.
Cambridge's reputation is much more impressive in the sciences and technology: it has been associated with the majority of Britain's most famous scientists, including Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and James Clerk Maxwell. Cambridge alumni have been involved with developing some of the most important scientific ideas of the last few hundred years, including the theory of gravity, the theory of evolution and the structure of DNA, as well as technological innovations, including the construction of the EDSAC (one of the world's first computers), and Frank Whittle's jet engine. Although its dictionaries are less famous than Oxford's, Cambridge is better known internationally for its EFL qualifications.
It is easy to stereotype the two institutions as having different strengths, and specifically associate (for example) Oxford with politics and Cambridge with science. However, Cambridge has also produced distinguished politicians like Prime Ministers Balfour, Baldwin and Campbell-Bannerman, and Oxford graduates include noted scientists such as Edmond Halley, Robert Hooke and Richard Dawkins.
There is of course no winner of the "alumni battle", as graduates from both universities have been successful in many different walks of life (not just politics and science, although these are two areas where Oxbridge graduates have traditionally dominated Britain). This is only to be expected from institutions so old, and many students have been associated with both Oxford and Cambridge in any case.
Direct competition between the two universities
Many annual competitions are held between Oxford and Cambridge. The most famous of these is the Boat Race: a rowing event that started in 1829, although for various reasons it has not been held on every single year. It was first won by Oxford, but Cambridge currently lead the series with 78 wins to Oxford's 72, with one dead heat in 1877. Recent races have become extremely intense: Oxford won by the shortest ever margin of 1 foot in 2003. Cambridge won the 150th Boat Race in 2004, with the umpire turning down an Oxford claim of a foul arising from an incident early on in the race, in which Oxford steered into Cambridge resulting in a clash of oars and the unseating of Oxford's bow-man. Oxford won the Boat Race in 2005.
The other major Oxbridge competition is the Varsity Match, a rugby union game played annually at Twickenham. Cambridge currently have 57 wins, Oxford have 52, and 14 games have ended in draws. All other significant sports have their own varsity match at some point during the year. The vast majority of varsity matches (in particular those of minor sports) are played on the same weekend in mid-February, under the title of 'The Varsity Games'. The results of all the varsity matches in The Varsity Games are aggregated and each year one university wins the Varsity Games title. Recently however, 'The Varsity Games' has had problems raising necessary funds.
A lesser known aspect of direct competition is the annual chess match, where colleges compete against their counterparts and the number of accumulated wins/draws determines which of the two universities is the winner. Cambridge currently lead with 54 wins to Oxford's 49 (18 matches have resulted in draws).
League tables
Over the last few years, British universities have been subjected to the increasing popularity of university league tables, which rank universities based on the inspected quality of their teaching and research, as well as other criteria, such as spending on facilities and dropout rates. Oxford and Cambridge have been a constant presence at the top end of the tables, never appearing outside the overall top five, but their dominance in individual subjects is often challenged by other institutions, notably specialist ones such as the London School of Economics and Imperial College London.
Cambridge has topped more league tables than Oxford since they were first published in the early 1990s, although Oxford has nudged Cambridge into second place in a few of the recent tables. The accuracy of many of these tables is disputed however. Some rely on research assessments that are several years old; others have rankings which fluctuate rather wildly because of differences in the way the rankings are calculated each year.
Inter-university insults
Over the years, students at both institutions have coined a variety of insults for each other. Oxonians (Oxford people) refer to Cambridge as "the Fenland Polytechnic", whereas those from Cambridge refer to Oxford as "Cowley Polytechnic" (Polytechnics in Britain were considered to be an inferior higher education institution; the surrounding countryside of Cambridge is fenland, and Cowley is an industrial area of Oxford).
Oxford students refer to their Cambridge counterparts as "Tabs", short for Cantabrigians (Cambridge people), and sing a number of songs, such as "Who Let the Tabs Out" (a parody of the song "Who Let the Dogs Out" by the Baha Men).
In turn, Cantabrigians refer to Oxford as being "a complete dump" (a line from a Blackadder episode, uttered by Stephen Fry, himself a Cambridge graduate). Cambridge has no widely-accepted term for Oxonians that parallels the popularity of "Tabs", although "scum" is sometimes used. A popular song at Cambridge features the chorus, "We'd rather be at Oxford than St John's", whose title is meant to insult both Oxford University and St John's College in Cambridge, which is a sporting rival of many of the other Cambridge colleges.
The official colour of Oxford is dark blue, whereas Cambridge's is light blue. Since Cambridge is younger than Oxford, Oxonians sometimes refer to Cambridge as a "pale imitation of the real thing" while Cantabrigians refer to Oxford as "the Dark Side".
Oxbridge cooperation
Despite the impassioned rivalry between the two universities, there is also much cooperation when the need arises. Most Oxford colleges have a sister college in Cambridge (but because Oxford has more colleges than Cambridge, not all Oxford colleges have a "sister"); Oxford and Cambridge have several colleges with the same name, and some of these are sisters: for example, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and Corpus Christi College, Oxford, Jesus College, Cambridge and Jesus College, Oxford. However, Trinity College, Cambridge is the sister college of Christ Church, Oxford, while Trinity College, Oxford is the sister college of Churchill College, Cambridge, so namesakes are not always paired up.
An old Oxbridge myth about the individual colleges' wealth has it that one can walk from Oxford to Cambridge without leaving land owned by either Trinity College, Oxford or Trinity College, Cambridge (some versions of the myth use the two St John's colleges).
Oxford and Cambridge are both seen by many in Britain as socially elitist, and this reputation has discouraged able students from applying. The two universities have worked together on public relations exercises to dispel their snobbish reputation, with the aim of increasing the number of state school-educated students. The results of these efforts is mixed. While the overall numbers of state school pupils have remained roughly constant at about 50%, the number of schools sending pupils to the two universities has increased.
See also
External links
Categories: Oxbridge