“For my first few formals, I remember having to whisper to the person next to me, “Which order do you use the cutlery?” […] Everyone else seemed to know automatically.” When Abigail first arrived in Cambridge, she knew it would be a daunting experience, but she didn’t realise just how unique the university’s traditions and customs were. “I knew Cambridge was a prestigious university, but I didn’t know the ins and outs.”

Part of Cambridge’s allure is its unique traditions. From formal hall to supervisions, every student undergoes an adjustment period when first arriving. However, many students begin with some familiarity with the customs they are expected to uphold, whether formally through private education or informally through family and friends.

“In between learning new names and faces during my induction week, I googled what a Chaucer was and practised saying Nietzche”

This is often not the case for working-class students who, upon arrival to Cambridge, begin learning not only their degree but the language of a new world they’ve just entered. The value of cultural capital becomes clear for working-class freshers navigating conversations. In between learning new names and faces during my induction week, I googled what a Chaucer was and practised saying Nietzche.

The phrase “secret language” routinely appears in conversations about how it feels to be working-class at Cambridge. This overwhelming sense of “not being made for Cambridge” isn’t just encoded in conversation but visually, too. Speaking to second-year student Peter, he told me about attending formals wearing “cheap hand-me-down boots” that are “really scuffed and stand out.” His noticeably unfitted suit, which he got for ten pounds at the charity shop, “definitely conveys a certain otherness.”

This “secret language” poses social and academic challenges for working-class students at Cambridge due to its unique supervision system. These discussion-based sessions can be daunting for those lacking prior experience. Private schools, with smaller class sizes and teaching styles similar to supervisions, better prepare their students. State-school students with experience in private tutoring are similarly better prepared. However, working-class students often have no prior experience with this format, making it especially hard to navigate.

Speaking to students with varying levels of preparation revealed just how significant it can be. When I asked Peter whether he ever felt hesitant to share ideas in supervisions, he quickly responded, “Absolutely not.” He told me that his sixth-form teacher had attended Oxford and advised him during the application process on “how he was supposed to act” during supervisions. In contrast, Abigail, a first-year student, attended a college that did not support her with her application. She said supervisions were “a very different way of teaching.” She continued, “I’ve had to unlearn the idea that disagreeing with someone means you’re being disrespectful.”

“I wanted students at the university together to better understand that they absolutely were not alone”

I spoke with Aruba Bibi, who served as the class act officer at Sidney Sussex last year. She recognised that “For many, it is common to feel very intimidated when it comes to things like language skills needed to hold conversations with academics or the correct etiquette for formals.” She said that the solution does not lie in “radically changing these traditions,” continuing, “I think there needs to be a conscious effort made by colleges to think about the Cambridge traditions and how to introduce them to students.”

Addressing the challenges faced by working-class students is not an easy or quick fix. However, a good starting point is to change the assumption that all students begin their time at Cambridge with a clear understanding of how to navigate its social and academic customs.

One way to address this disparity is to open up a dialogue about the working-class experience at Cambridge. Dr David Clifford of Homerton College aimed to do this in 2023 with his symposium, “Overcoming Class Barriers.” He told me about his motivation behind arranging the symposium: “I was aware of a considerable degree of low self-esteem, imposter syndrome, students feeling like they weren’t belonging. And I wanted students at the university together to better understand that they absolutely were not alone.” Further, he said it “was a way of saying, you know what, there’s actually lots and lots of academics here who come from backgrounds like yours.”

He stressed the importance of not just providing support to students who are currently at the university but also working on outreach to students who may not traditionally apply to Cambridge. Currently, disadvantaged students are underrepresented at the University. In 2022 students who had received free school meals comprised 9.5% of the student body compared to the sector average of 18.4%.

The solution appears to be twofold: getting more working-class students into Cambridge to ensure that being working-class no longer feels at odds with the university’s culture and making current students feel able to navigate the university’s landscape despite not having the same cultural capital as other students.

Peter argued that there should be a better explanation of the various customs and codes that exist at Cambridge, enabling all students to know what is expected: “It’s like a secret language. There’s just so much unexplained; I’m still learning things now,” he said. As Abigail put it, “Rather than changing everything, how can the University make sure everyone has the same opportunities? The unwritten rules need to be, like, written down somewhere.”

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