Cambridge university college defends targeting private schools for recruitment

Trinity Hall, one of Cambridge’s oldest colleges, is targeting students from private schools to join the university.

A new policy was introduced at Trinity Hall, using a “targeted recruitment strategy” on elite private school students. Some of these schools include Eton, St Paul’s Girls, and Winchester.

This was done to “improve” the quality of students. There was a focus on arts, music, and language students.

This new policy was described as a ‘slap in the face’

The director of admissions at Trinity Hall, Marcus Tomalin, was concerned that private school students were at risk of “reverse discrimination”, thus the new policy.

50 private schools were individually approached. Regarding private schools, Tomalin believes “the best students from such schools arrive at Cambridge with expertise and interests that align well with the intellectual demands”.

He was concerned about students from private schools being overlooked, particularly valuing the way they have been encouraged to “engage critically and independently with their subjects in a way that Cambridge has historically prized”.

This new policy was described as a “slap in the face” by Trinity Hall academics.

Poorer students are already on the back foot

Prof. Lee Elliot Major, Uni of Exeter

The university has previously made attempts to make the university inclusive for all backgrounds. By 2022, nearly 73% of UK students admitted to Cambridge were state educated, but the proportion has since fallen to 71%, with 29% coming from private schools.

Many have criticised Trinity Hall for their new policy: “Claiming that that the best students come from an elite set of schools will make many of our wonderful diverse community feel unwelcome and risks returning Trinity Hall to the boys’ club culture of the past”.

Professor Lee Elliot Major concedes “Trinity Hall’s plan to target elite schools sends the message that privilege equals talents, when the reality is that the poorer students are already on the back foot”.