Latest print edition
Join Varsity this Michaelmas!
Cambridge ranked fifth in The Times World University Rankings
Trinity tops 2024 Tompkins Table as Christ’s is toppled
Come along to our open evening on Friday evening for more information
Travel Grants
A Varsity investigation reveals which Colleges spend the most and least on travel grants
Support Varsity
Varsity is the independent newspaper for the University of Cambridge, established in its current form in 1947. In order to maintain our editorial independence, our print newspaper and news website receives no funding from the University of Cambridge or its constituent Colleges.
Read more ...
The exhibit allows visitors to speak to a dodo and a freeze-dried platypus
News in brief
A light-hearted round-up of Cambridge news last week, from TV competition controversy to protected pint sizes
Oxford took the top spot, while Cambridge has oscillated between third and sixth place since 2023
Firearms displayed at the event required a lock and ‘do not touch’ sign
The SU has called for the University to ‘handle’ sexual misconduct ‘with the severity it deserves’
8,704 students took out a tuition loan in 2022-23, while 8,774 received a maintenance one
Olympics
Imogen Grant talks perseverance, Olympic Gold and seeing the fruits of her labour manifest
Fumbles of a finalist
Alice Mainwood looks into the unglamorous heart of Cambridge
Lucie Debaig investigates the evolutionary rationale behind the ever-elusive female orgasm
Universities need to reconsider their outlook on A-Level resits
What the media get wrong about male violence against women
My college’s terrible gender imbalance has a lot to do with meritocracy
Long-distance relationships make Cambridge easier
Lili Fairclough
Gender-based violence needs responsible reporting
Evie McMahon
The disdain top UK universities have for A-Level resits is too harsh and wrongly penalises already disadvantaged young people, argues Evie McMahon
Daisy Stewart Henderson
Daisy Stewart Henderson argues that cheap holidays to the former Eastern Bloc indicates a historically unprecedented orientation to the West
Laura Malaussene
Laura Malaussene asks how the EU should respond to the success of parties like Germany’s AFD
Sam Moore
Sam Moore argues that the University’s new free speech code creates problems for itself — and for its students
Max La Bouchardiere
Being long-distance with your partner at Cambridge allows you to swap feelings of academic pressure with idealism, argues Max La Bouchardiere
Putting a ‘great teacher in the room’: meet the Cantabs training to teach
Pooled and proud: reflections
Going the distance: how Cantab Couples cope with a summer apart
Vintage Varsity: students at large
Jobs
Calum Murray speaks to Cambridge students about choosing a career in teaching
Vintage Varsity
Eleanor Dougan uncovers the light-fingered, scheming Cantabrigians of the 1950s
Pooling
Niamh Walters brings to light the misconceptions and positives to being pooled
Vintage Varsity
Resident Varsity archivist Vialli McComb reflects on past reactions to tuition fee rises
Sex and Relationships
Ria Patel speaks to those hoping to transform consent culture at Cambridge
Relationships
Isabella Steinmeyer speaks to Cantabs forced to go long-distance over summer
Vintage Varsity
Eleanor Dougan investigates the twenty-first century freshers who made Varsity headlines
Vintage Varsity
An investigation into the Cambridge student drug culture of the noughties
Commercial Feature
Commercial Feature
Commercial Feature
Commercial Feature
Commercial Feature
Commercial Feature
Commercial Feature
Commercial Feature
Commercial Feature
Commercial Feature
Alessio D’Angelo on trading Revs for the Union presidency
How to Write the Perfect Ghost Story with Playwright Aisha Zia
‘If you want it enough, you’ll find a way’: Olympic Gold Medalist Imogen Grant on balancing being an athlete and medic
Ella Howard talks all things scary with Aisha Zia ahead of her upcoming production, More Ghost Stories in Candlelight
Quickfire
Alessio D’Angelo discusses his vision for the Union and life leasons from its speakers
Quickfire
Lauren Guye chats to Corpus Christi student Hannah Le Seelleur about bringing the college together to raise money for breast cancer
Freshers' Week
Grace Cobb chats to the app creators coming to Cambridge to revolutionise the university experience
Olympics
5am starts, 10 minute naps, and Bread & Meat
Olympics
Imogen Grant talks perseverance, Olympic Gold and seeing the fruits of her labour manifest
Anti-climax? The science of the female orgasm
Cambridge alumni sweep this year’s Nobel Prizes
Maya Kunchur explains who the prize-winning scientists are, and what they were rewarded for
Global Health
Ellie Robinson explores possible contenders for the next outbreak
Not Built for This
Matthew Taylor dives into our relationship with social media and the digital world
Research Round-up
Maya Kunchur gets you up to date on some of the latest scientific discoveries
Lucie Debaig investigates the evolutionary rationale behind the ever-elusive female orgasm
Conservation
An interview with Shepreth Hedgehog Hospital
Notebook: getting portered, midnight feasts, and wishing your time away
First-class toast toppers: how to spice up your toast
Fumbles of a finalist: Venn diagrams, burnout, and the light at the end of the tunnel
Hot or not: Michaelmas 2024
Notebook
Isabella Steinmeyer learns a lesson about loneliness
Hot or not
Imaan Bilgrami tests the waters of the upcoming term to see what’s cold and what’s sizzling
Horoscope
Alex Brian turns to the stars ahead of Freshers’ Week
Dear past me
In a letter to her past self, Jessica Spearman offers some advice before the perils of Freshers’ Week
Fumbles of a finalist
Alice Mainwood looks into the unglamorous heart of Cambridge
Intermezzo review: Sally Rooney goes for broke
Lord Byron’s freshers’ week
Communion in a coffee shop
The Agonies: Spotify audiobooks, I love you, but you’re bringing me down 
Book Review
The Irish author makes some risky moves in a bid to move on from her previous successes, but they pay off 4 stars
Postscripts
Eve Connor speaks to Syna Majumder, who imagines a c-list perfume advert, in all its moth-bitten glamour
Feature
What’s the story behind the grey, brutalist buildings ?
Feature
Ben Birch looks back at the great poet’s first week in Cambridge
Feature
Amie Brian questions the slow secularisation of religious spaces in Cambridge
Postscripts
In this first instalment of term, Eve Connor discusses moving out and making space with Joe Wright
A love letter to my perm
Effortless or exclusionary? The problem with the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic
Opinion
Annia Krzoska expresses her love for this reviving hair trend
Guide
Emma Jameson-Dake offers tips on how to upgrade clothing that’s seen better days into a new formal wardrobe
Guide
Sophie Ennis explores how to master fancy dress this Michaelmas
Style guide
A Varsity style guide to mastering your matriculation wardrobe
Opinion
Ava Connors explores how the ‘clean girl’ trend may carry harmful connotations
Interview with a Vampire: a case study in clever costume design
‘I couldn’t help but wonder’… why does Gen Z disapprove of Carrie Bradshaw?
Megalopolis is a film that forces debate
The future of film festivals: the hybrid format
Opinion
Interview with a Vampire’s costuming is a lesson in aesthetic and narrative harmony
Review
Ismail Sheikh implores you to watch Megalopolis and make up your own mind
Opinion
A hybrid format is a win for independent filmmakers
Student Film
The best ways to get involved with the Cambridge film scene
Watchlist
Foreign-language films are a way to expand your cinematic worldview, argues Salome Gakwaya
Opinion
Sex and the City isn’t hitting the same for Gen Z
A cut above: The Smile heads away from Radiohead
The Cure’s comeback: ‘Alone’ offers cautious optimism
Album Review
The Smile cuts ties with Radiohead’s shadow in Cutouts, writes Lara Pennell
‘Alone’ is a gloomy prelude to the band’s first album since 2008
Playlist
Alice de Groot soundtracks the moods of a recently moved in student
Interview
Ava Fitzhugh in insightful conversation with Joan Armatrading on individuality, limits, and the power of love in music
Jack Marley narrates the challenges and joys of his summer spent busking in Cambridge
Head to head
Has pop music got a new buzz, or has it finally lost its hit?
An ode to underperformed playwrights
What’s on in Cambridge theatre this Michaelmas
CAST’s Julius Caesar must be seen by friends, Romans and countrymen alike
Jaysol Doy reflects on the work of the much-neglected writer Robert Holman
What's on
A new year, a new term, and a new flurry of Camdram shows to sink your teeth into
Review
This year’s CAST play speaks, strikes, and redresses our hiatus from Cambridge theatre
Freshers Guide
Eloise Davis gives you the run down of all the roles available behind the curtain
Feature
Lily Butler looks ahead to a new term of Camdram, hoping it brings fresh faces and new and improved kinds of theatre
Camdram diaries
Elsie Hayward has finally bagged a show for next term – only to begin work from the isolation of the long vacation
Old Girls match marks historic moment in the recording of women’s caps
Women's Rugby
Anouk Waller-Sargent writes about the Blues women’s rugby Cap Project
Report
Barney Blackburn speaks to some of Cambridge’s leading athletes who had the opportunity to compete in Japan last month
Captain's Corner
Romilly Norfolk talks to Trampolining co-president Millie Heathcote
Blues Football
Romilly Norfolk breaks down the world of BUCS football and previews Blues fixtures for Michaelmas term
Sport
Romilly Norfolk provides a comprehensive explanation of the odd structure of Cambridge sport
Golf
Will Jonas explores the petrifying mentality of Donald Trump, and how his nasty politics can be seen in his golf game
Cambridge’s new free speech code is a return to the culture wars
Sam Moore argues that the University’s new free speech code creates problems for itself — and for its students