Stop Trinity Hall targeting elite private schools for student admissions
Stop Trinity Hall targeting elite private schools for student admissions
The Issue
Remove Trinity Hall's new admissions policy targeting elite private schools such as Eton and St Paul’s girls for student recruitment in subjects like classics, music and languages over concerns of reverse discrimination and quality of applicants.
“The move has horrified experts in social mobility and was opposed internally by a group of Trinity Hall academics who described it as “a slap in the face” for the college’s state-educated students.“
Claims and assumptions that an improved quality of students come from elite backgrounds are incredibly harmful to the existing student community as well as the community of prospective students, whereby struggles of an unequal educational playing field persist.
Universities should not rely on fee status as a measure of academic potential. As we know, students from all backgrounds possess potential, yet structural and educational inequalities continue to place a significant portion of state schooled students at a disadvantage from the start of the university admissions process.
As state school students continue to be underrepresented at Cambridge, this policy represents a step backwards, risking a return to the university’s historic, privileged and exclusive reputation.
Petition launched and supported by Trinity Hall students.
2,589
The Issue
Remove Trinity Hall's new admissions policy targeting elite private schools such as Eton and St Paul’s girls for student recruitment in subjects like classics, music and languages over concerns of reverse discrimination and quality of applicants.
“The move has horrified experts in social mobility and was opposed internally by a group of Trinity Hall academics who described it as “a slap in the face” for the college’s state-educated students.“
Claims and assumptions that an improved quality of students come from elite backgrounds are incredibly harmful to the existing student community as well as the community of prospective students, whereby struggles of an unequal educational playing field persist.
Universities should not rely on fee status as a measure of academic potential. As we know, students from all backgrounds possess potential, yet structural and educational inequalities continue to place a significant portion of state schooled students at a disadvantage from the start of the university admissions process.
As state school students continue to be underrepresented at Cambridge, this policy represents a step backwards, risking a return to the university’s historic, privileged and exclusive reputation.
Petition launched and supported by Trinity Hall students.
2,589
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Petition created on 7 January 2026