Oxford vs Cambridge University?

Oxford and Cambridge stand at the pinnacle of the British university system. Steeped in centuries of academic prestige, boasting more Nobel laureates than most countries, these ancient halls of learning command worldwide respect. From afar, the tourist images are identical: gorgeous medieval quadrangles; students punting on idyllic summer days; quintessential postcards of England.

The term "Oxbridge" is used by the media as a convenient shorthand that merges these two pre-eminent institutions into a single beast: the epitome of scholarly excellence and Establishment privilege. How then to explain the fierce rivalry that burns between the two universities - in the varsity rugby match, the famous Boat Race and at the top rungs of the international league tables?

In fact the two cities and universities have very different personalities, shaped by history, geography and culture. This hub explains the roots of that historic rivalry and the ways in which these two magnificent cities offer contrasting yet compelling visions of England.

I should start with a disclaimer. I am an alumnus of one of these universities and there can be no such thing as neutrality. Nonetheless I appreciate the splendour and history of both great institutions and will present the facts as dispassionately as I can. 

Let the great university challenge - Oxford versus Cambridge - commence!

1. Oxford is the true original. Oxford is the oldest University in the English speaking world, dating back to the eleventh century. Its grand colleges, from Christ Church to Magdalen, are synonymous with power, history and prestige. Cambridge is a mere off-shoot dating from 1209, when some Oxford scholars fled after conflict with townsfolk and established a new University in the distant, marshy Fens. Did anyone really miss them?

2. Oxford is a finishing school for Prime Ministers. An incredible twenty six British prime ministers have been educated at Oxford. These include such influential and world-famous figures as Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. The present occupier of Number 10 Downing Street, David Cameron, is a graduate of Brasenose.

Eight of the last twelve Prime Ministers have been Oxford graduates, and the remaining four were not educated at Cambridge. Sometimes it seems its only claim to fame in the field is that it has a street called Downing Street (and a Downing College). In the recent British Labour party leadership battle, it was pointed out that a majority of the candidates had not just studied at Oxford but also read the same subject - Politics, Philosophy and Economics, or PPE. The eventual victor was Ed Miliband (PPE, Corpus Christi) who beat off a fierce challenge from his brother David (also PPE, Corpus Christi). To provide more diversity in the corridors of power, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is another Oxford man.

3. Oxford supplies the world with its leaders. Not content with populating the House of Commons, Oxford has given the world such high-profile figures as President Bill Clinton (University College), Indira Gandhi (Somerville) and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi (St. Hugh's). In total, Oxford has also gifted the world with over thirty heads of government. As if to make amends for producing so many politicians, it has also produced twelve saints. On a lighter note, where else could have produced comedian Rowan Atkinson (Queen's) and provided the cinematic archetype of the dashing Englishman in the form of actor Hugh Grant (New College)?

4. Oxford is a thriving and vibrant city in its own right. Not merely a cloistered academic enclave, it is a boisterous West Midlands town with a strong regional identity. It boasts a world-class car factory at Cowley, where the famous small Mini car is built. The size and bustle of the city means that it keeps a foot in the real world and the road and rail connections with London are excellent. It is larger than Cambridge and with 154,000 inhabitants offers a myriad of opportunities and experiences.

5. Oxford is uniquely beautiful. The signature colour of Oxford is the local honey coloured stone, with a sublime and ethereal effect that gives a lovely consistency to the city. Cambridge uses more generic building materials that never quite achieve the same effect. Oxford boasts a plethora of imposing and unique signature buildings, from the Radcliffe Camera to the Sheldonian Theatre to the world famous Bodleian Library. King's College,Cambridge may boast a famous chapel; Christ Church College Oxford has its very own Cathedral. The "other place" boasts nothing like the sheer density of stunning architecture that links Brasenose, the University Church, the Radcliffe Camera and the stunning pinnacles and towers of All Souls' College itself. This is beauty on a par with Venice or Rome.

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1. Cambridge is academically pre-eminent. The Shanghai ranking of international universities tends to award a slight edge to Cambridge - ranked #5 in the world versus Oxford's #10. Some may quibble that the list is biased towards the natural sciences, but no-one can argue with the monumental total of 88 Nobel Laureates that Cambridge University has bagged. This is more than any other institution - be it Yale, Harvard or indeed that other, brasher, rival - Oxford.

Take just one Cambridge college, St. John's, which is merely one of 31 constituent colleges in the University. Leave aside for a moment that St. John’s boasts half a billion pounds of assets, dramatic medieval quadrangles and postcard-perfect river frontage. This single College has produced as many Nobel Prizes as the entire nation of Spain (population 46 million)

2. Cambridge pioneers science. From Sir Isaac Newton to Charles Darwin, from Ernest Rutherford (who split the atom) to Crick and Watson (who decoded DNA), this university has been at the forefront of scientific development. Oxford may have produced politicians that rule one small island, but Cambridge has overseen scientific breakthroughs that have changed human civilisation. (And if anyone still cares, the first Prime Minister of all, Robert Walpole, was a Cambridge man. It has been downhill ever since).

In any event, Cambridge has hardly been absent from world events. Three signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence attended Cambridge. So did a certain controversial military ruler, the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. A certain John Harvard was a student here in the early seventeenth century. I wonder what became of his plans to set up a rival college? And William Wilberforce, who led the campaign to abolish slavery in the British Empire, was yet another Cambridge man (St. John’s).

3. Cambridge wins the poetry competition. The idea that Cambridge is the domain for egg-head physicists, and Oxford is a sanctuary for sensitive artists, is something of an exaggeration. If the Fenland Poly can produce William Wordsworth, Tennyson, Byron, Rupert Brooke, Sylvia Plath, John Donne and A.E. Housman, then perhaps the flatland bards can string a few words together after all. It may be true that the “Lord of the Rings” writer J.R.R. Tolkein was an Oxford don, but Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen) is a Cambridge man.

4. Cambridge is a leading centre of innovation. These are no mere dreaming spires, for Cambridge sits at the centre of an ecosystem of technological innovation and venture capital opportunities. The Judge Business School gained an early head-start over Oxford, before the current Said Business School was set up. The area around Cambridge is known as "Silicon Fen" and is a vital strategic business cluster.

5. Cambridge is tiny, perfect and stunning. As it nestles in a little Cambridgeshire market town with no significant industrial tradition, the University dominates the city and offers a secluded, otherworldly haven of intellectual bliss. Whereas the Cherwell and Isis in Oxford are almost afterthoughts, Cambridge is a city that thrives on and is defined by the river. The Backs are simply unparalleled and have no true Oxford equivalent (with apologies to Christ Church Meadow). In Oxford, the Bridge of Sighs crosses New College Lane; whereas at St.John's, Cambridge it is a sublimely beautiful bridge over the River Cam itself. Cambridge has a special place in the nation's heart, as evidenced by the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols held at King's College Chapel here every Christmas Eve and broadcast around the world.

Oxford and Cambridge, despite their traditional rivalry and differences of character, are very similar institutions.

Cambridge has a formidable reputation as a scientific stronghold, but is worth remembering that one of its most famous scientists (Professor Stephen Hawking) actually studied as an undergraduate at University College, Oxford. The famous inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, was also an Oxford man. He received a first class degree in physics from the Queen’s College in 1976.

Oxford is shorthand for flamboyant, cavalier and dashing; Cambridge is perfect, cerebral and flat. Oxford has always been a royalist city, close to the heart of power and patronage in England on the favoured west side of London. As such it has spawned a litany of historical giants from Victorian statesman William Ewart Gladstone (Christ Church) to the revolutionary Labour leader Clement Attlee (University College). Oxford occupies such a central place in the English national imagination, from C.S. Lewis to J.R.R. Tolkein, that is simply impossible to emulate.

Cambridge is the land of rigid, Puritan republicanism, of Cromwellian focus, earnest endeavour and scientific breakthroughs. The air is intellectually charged and this university has won more Nobel Prizes than any other institution in the world. This little Fenland market town is a quintessential slice of timeless eastern England.

Oxford or Cambridge? If that is the question, then the answer is,surely, both. It is the competition between the two universities that has kept each where they belong - at the pinnacle of the global educational system.

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