The Master of Selwyn, Roger Mosey, has responded to criticisms of Cambridge over its admissions policy – and other recent media stories about the university. In a speech to parents and students, he argued that the university has a good story to tell about the progress it is making.

Mr Mosey cited the record number of state school admissions to Cambridge: 63% of this year’s intake, rising to 71% here at Selwyn. And there is a similar picture for BME students, where 21.8% of the home-based freshers of 2017 are from ethnic minorities – compared with a UK population average of 14%.

He also criticised recent media items, such as the BBC’s Question Time programme saying that the university’s non-white numbers were “poor and decreasing” – and an article in The Guardian which claimed that ‘Oxbridge may be unfixable. Perhaps it should be abolished’. The Master said he believed Selwyn was good for its students, based on its high academic standards and strong pastoral care; and the case must also be made for Cambridge as a force for good in the world.

You can read the speech in full here: http://www.sel.cam.ac.uk/life-selwyn/the-fellowship/masters-speeches/parents-2017/

Selwyn freshers, 2017