Oxbridge Explained

Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to describe characteristics reminiscent of them, often with implications of superior social or intellectual status or elitism.^[1]

Origins

Although both universities were founded more than eight centuries ago, the term Oxbridge is relatively recent. In William Makepeace Thackeray's novel Pendennis, published in 1850, the main character attends the fictional Boniface College, Oxbridge. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first recorded use of the word was by Virginia Woolf, who, citing William Makepeace Thackeray, referenced it in her 1929 essay "A Room of One's Own." The term was used in the Times Educational Supplement in 1957,^{[2] [3]} and the following year in Universities Quarterly.^[4]

When expanded, the universities are almost always referred to as "Oxford and Cambridge", the order in which they were founded. A notable exception is Tokyo's Cambridge and Oxford Society; this probably arises from the fact that the Cambridge Club was founded there first, and also had more members than its Oxford counterpart when they amalgamated in 1905.^[5]

Meaning

In addition to being a collective term, Oxbridge is often used as shorthand for characteristics the two institutions share:

• They are the two oldest universities in continuous operation in the UK. Both were founded more than 800 years ago,^{[6] [7]} and continued as England's only universities (barring short-lived foundations, such as those at Northampton and Durham) until the 19th century. Between them, they have educated a large number of Britain's most prominent scientists, writers, and politicians, as well as noted figures in many other fields.^{[8] [9]}
• Each has a similar collegiate structure, whereby the university is a cooperative of its constituent colleges, which are responsible for supervisions/tutorials (the principal undergraduate teaching method, unique to Oxbridge), accommodation and pastoral care.
• They have established similar institutions and facilities such as leading publishing houses (Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press), botanical gardens (University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Cambridge University Botanic Garden), museums (the Ashmolean and the Fitzwilliam), legal deposit libraries (the Bodleian and the Cambridge University Library), debating societies (the Oxford Union and the Cambridge Union), and notable comedy groups (The Oxford Revue and The Cambridge Footlights).
• Rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge also has a long history, dating back to around 1209, when Cambridge was founded by scholars taking refuge from hostile Oxford townsmen,^[10] and celebrated to this day in varsity matches such as The Boat Race.
• They are usually the top-scoring institutions in cross-subject UK university rankings,^{[11] [12] [13]} so they are targeted by ambitious pupils, parents and schools. Entrance is extremely competitive and some schools promote themselves based on the achievement Oxbridge offers. Combined, the two universities award over one-sixth of all English full-time research doctorates.^[14]
• Oxford and Cambridge have common approaches to undergraduate admissions. Until the mid-1980s, entry was typically by sitting special entrance exams.^[15] Applications must be made at least three months earlier than to other UK universities (the deadline for applications to Oxbridge is mid-October whereas the deadline for all other universities, apart from applicants for medicine, is in January).^[16] Additionally, candidates may not apply to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same year,^[17] apart from a few exceptions (e.g. organ scholars).^[18] Most candidates achieve, or are predicted to achieve, outstanding results in their final school exams, and consequently interviews are usually used to check whether the course is well suited to the applicant's interests and aptitudes,^[19] and to look for evidence of self-motivation, independent thinking, academic potential and ability to learn through the tutorial system.^[20]
• Membership of the Oxford and Cambridge Club is largely restricted to those who are members of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Criticism

The word Oxbridge may also be used pejoratively: as a descriptor of social class (referring to the professional classes who dominated the intake of both universities at the beginning of the twentieth century),^[21] as shorthand for an elite that "continues to dominate Britain's political and cultural establishment"^[22] and a parental attitude that "continues to see UK higher education through an Oxbridge prism",^[23] or to describe a "pressure-cooker" culture that attracts and then fails to support overachievers "who are vulnerable to a kind of self-inflicted stress that can all too often become unbearable"^[24] and high-flying state school students who find "coping with the workload very difficult in terms of balancing work and life" and "feel socially out of [their] depth".^[25]

The Sutton Trust maintains that the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge "recruit" disproportionately from eight schools (Westminster School, Eton College, Hills Road Sixth Form College, St Paul's School, Peter Symonds College, St Paul's Girls' School, King's College School, and Magdalen College School).^[26] They examined published admissions data from 2015 to 2017 and found that, out of the 19,851 places during the three years, the eight schools accounted for 1,310, whereas 2,900 other schools with historically few admissions to Oxbridge accounted for 1,220.^[27]

Related terms

Other portmanteaus have been coined that extend the term Oxbridge, with different degrees of recognition.

The term Loxbridge^{[28] [29] [30] [31]} is also used referring to the golden triangle of London, Oxford, and Cambridge. It was also adopted as the name of the Ancient History conference now known as AMPAH.^[32]

Doxbridge is another example of this, referring to Durham, Oxford and Cambridge.^{[33] [34] [35]} Doxbridge was also used for an annual inter-collegiate sports tournament between some of the colleges of Durham, Oxford, Cambridge and York.^[36]

Woxbridge is the name of the annual conference between the business schools of Warwick, Oxford and Cambridge.^[37]

When the University of St Andrews topped the 2023 UK universities ranking in The Guardian, the top three institutions were labelled Stoxbridge to reflect the new order.^[38]

Thackeray's Pendennis, which introduced the term Oxbridge, also introduced Camford as another combination of the university names  - "he was a Camford man and very nearly got the English Prize Poem"  - but this term has never achieved the same degree of usage as Oxbridge. Camford is, however, used as the name of a fictional university city in the Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Creeping Man (1923).

See also

• Armorial of British universities
• Golden triangle, sometimes referred to as Loxbridge: an unofficial grouping of Oxford, Cambridge and certain elite universities in London
• Ivy League, a grouping of eight elite universities in the United States
• Oxford–Cambridge rivalry
• Russell Group

Notes and References

1. Web site: Oxbridge. oed.com. Oxford University Press. Originally: a fictional university, esp. regarded as a composite of Oxford and Cambridge. Subsequently also (now esp.): the universities of Oxford and Cambridge regarded together, esp. in contrast to other British universities. adj Of, relating to, characteristic of, or reminiscent of Oxbridge (freq. with implication of superior social or intellectual status . 3rd . 2005.
2. News: G.D. Worswick . The anatomy of Oxbridge . . 3 May 1957.
3. News: G.D. Worswick . Men's Awards at Oxbridge . Times Educational Supplement . 6 June 1958.
4. British Universities and Intellectual Life . . 144 . Universities Quarterly . 1958 . 12 . 2 . 22 March 2009 . Turnstile Press.
5. Web site: Giro Koike . Why The "Cambridge & Oxford Society"? . 5 April 1995 . 8 September 2008.
6. Web site: A brief history of the University . 2008-03-29 . ox.ac.uk . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080411014607/http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/introducing_oxford/a_brief_history_of_the_university/index.html . 11 April 2008.
7. Web site: A Brief History – Early Records . 2008-06-27. cam.ac.uk.
8. News: Education: It's the clever way to power – Part 1 . Cadwalladr, Carole. The Guardian. 16 March 2008 . 2009-03-22 . London.
9. News: Education: It's the clever way to power – Part 2 . Cadwalladr, Carole. The Guardian. 16 March 2008 . 2009-03-22 . London.
10. Web site: A Brief History: Early records . . 2009-03-22.
11. News: University Rankings League Table 2009 . 2009-02-04 . Good University Guide . Times Online . London . Roland . Watson.
12. News: University Rankings League Table . 2009-02-04 . The Sunday Times University Guide . Times Online . London.
13. Web site: League table of UK universities . 2009-02-04 . The Complete University Guide . Bernard Kingston . 28 April 2008 .
14. Web site: Research degree qualification rates . July 2010 . .
15. Book: Walford, Geoffrey. Life in Public Schools . 202 . Taylor & Francis . 1986 . 978-0-416-37180-2 . 2009-02-02 .
16. Web site: UCAS Students: Important dates for your diary . 15 October 2008 Last date for receipt of applications to Oxford University, University of Cambridge and courses in medicine, dentistry and veterinary science or veterinary medicine. . 2009-02-02 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090201114118/http://ucas.com/students/importantdates . 1 February 2009 .
17. Web site: UCAS Students FAQs: Oxford or Cambridge . Is it possible to apply to both Oxford University and the University of Cambridge? . 2009-11-23 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091001013817/http://www.ucas.com/students/applying/faqs/eligibility/faq1 . 1 October 2009 .
18. Web site: Organ Awards Information for Prospective Candidates . It is possible for a candidate to enter the comparable competition at Cambridge which is scheduled at the same time of year. . . 2009-03-22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120822114305/http://www.music.ox.ac.uk/assets/files/Chor_Org_Downloads/OrgAwards2009.pdf . 22 August 2012 .
19. Web site: Cambridge Interviews: the facts. University of Cambridge. 2009-08-11.
20. Web site: Interviews at Oxford . University of Oxford . 2009-02-02 . 28 January 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130128115705/http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/how_to_apply/interviews/index.html . dead .
21. Book: Robert David Anderson . . 2004 . 978-0-19-820660-6 . European universities from the Enlightenment to 1914 . 135 . 2009-03-22.
22. News: Oxbridge Blues. The Guardian. Carole Cadwalladr. 16 March 2008.
23. News: Down but not out . . Eric Thomas . Eric Thomas (academic) . 20 January 2004 . 2009-08-28 . London.
24. News: The over-pressured hothouse that is Oxbridge . . Two recent deaths have brought the issue of Oxbridge students' mental health back to the surface . 21 February 2007 . 2009-02-02 . Elizabeth Davies . London . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090207064542/http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/elizabeth-davies-the-overpressured-hothouse-that-is-oxbridge-437155.html . 7 February 2009.
25. Why so many state school pupils drop out of Oxbridge . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090207084117/http://findarticles.com:80/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_200612/ai_n17191156/pg_1 . 2009-02-07 . . 2 December 2006 . Charlie Boss . 2024-01-20 . Bnet Business Network.
26. News: 2018-12-07. Oxbridge 'over-recruits from eight schools'. en-GB. BBC News. 2020-10-24.
27. Web site: Oxbridge 'over-recruits from eight schools'. BBC News. Sean . Coughlan. 2018 . 1 March 2009.
28. Web site: Anon. 2018. The Loxbridge Triangle: Integrating the East-West Arch into the London Mega-region. talks.cam.ac.uk. University of Cambridge.
29. Web site: Loxbridge Limited. Companies House. London. companieshouse.gov.uk.
30. Web site: Loxbridge tutoring. loxbridge.com. 21 January 2021. 10 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200810081110/http://www.loxbridge.com/. dead.
31. Morgan, K. J. . The research assessment exercise in English universities, 2001 . Higher Education . 48 . 461 - 482 . 2004 . 10.1023/B:HIGH.0000046717.11717.06 . 4. 4151567. 145505001.
32. Web site: AMPAH 2003: Annual Meeting of Postgraduates in Ancient History (formerly also known as LOxBridge) . 2008-04-13 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070711222341/http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/classics/postgraduate/ampah/ . 11 July 2007 .
33. Web site: Doxbridge: a chip on our collective shoulders?. Palatinate. 6 November 2014. 2017-03-10.
34. Web site: Debate: Rather be at Oxbridge than Doxbridge?. The Tab. thetab.com. 16 January 2016. 2017-03-10.
35. News: Is Doxbridge a thing? We asked Oxbridge students. 2015-10-16. The Tab. 2018-09-19. en-GB.
36. Web site: The University Sports Tour for Easter 2008 . 2008-04-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080402051845/http://www.doxbridge.co.uk/index.html . 2 April 2008 . dead .
37. Web site: Woxbridge 2011. Conference Website.
38. Web site: Forget Oxbridge: St Andrews knocks top universities off perch. The Guardian. 2022-12-09. 2022-09-24.