Giraffes on the move

After being on display for ten weeks, the giraffe sculptures which made up the Cambridge Standing Tall art trail have departed the streets as they prepare for a charity auction this month. It is set to take place at the Graduate hotel and will be hosted by auctioneer Natasha Raskin Sharp from Bargain Hunt. Money raised from the trail and the auction will go towards work with young care leavers. The 31 decorated giraffe sculptures standing at 2.3 metres were each sponsored by a local business, designed by professional artists and could be seen all around town.

Pride parade takes King’s Parade

Cambridge Pride will return for its fourth year on Saturday 15th June, and is set to be bigger than ever. For the first time, the event will include a parade through the city centre, starting at Jesus Green and looping through various streets. The event will be free of charge and offers a variety of activities including live entertainment, well-being sessions, art workshops, and numerous market stalls.

Oxbridge reject-ed

For the first time, Oxford and Cambridge have been overtaken in global rankings, with Imperial College London now ranking second globally and first in the UK and Europe. The QS World University Rankings for 2025 highlight Imperial’s strong focus on sustainability, which has contributed to its rise. MIT remains the top university worldwide, with Oxford at third and Cambridge at fifth.

Vintage Venn strikes again

Engineers at the University of Cambridge have successfully rebuilt a wooden bowling machine originally designed by mathematician Dr. John Venn in the early 1900s. Venn, known for the Venn diagram and as former president of Caius, created the machine, which famously bowled out an Australian international cricketer four times during a 1909 visit to Cambridge. Prof Hugh Hunt gave the University’s engineering department the challenge of rebuilding the machine using limited historical resources. Cambridge student Alice Bebb, a fifth year medic and opening batswoman for the University’s women’s cricket team, tested the machine: “It’s like no bowler I’ve ever faced before.”