University
Gavin Williamson is right to call out educational snobbery
Politicians give speeches all the time, but with differing levels of significance. Can you think of a genuinely important political…
British universities are a modern-day racket
One of the great myths of Scottish higher education is that it’s free. Outside observers can be forgiven for making…
What have the Anglo-Saxons ever done for us?
It has been a while since I’ve considered the vexed question of Byrhtnoth’s ‘ofermod’. More than 30 years, in fact.…
The lessons I learned at my Oxford gaudy
I went to a gaudy last weekend. Several British universities now host these splendid events; mine was at Worcester College,…
At last, the TV-hogging space invaders have returned to university
‘Hands up which other university parents are bloody glad to have got rid of their lumpen, food-gobbling, space-invading kids…’ When…
Dear Mary: How do I cope with university flatmates who can’t cook?
Q. For many years I employed around 60 people with whom I worked in an open-plan office. I moved on from…
American universities are fuelled by amphetamines – so I tried them
New York A biography of Freud to my left, a black leather lounger to my right. We were 30 minutes…
The Ivy League’s dirty secret
New York There comes a point in a New York expat’s life when you suddenly realise that the liberal elites…
Why data doesn’t always reveal the truth
In late 1973 the graduate admissions department at UC Berkeley discovered that for the forthcoming year it had awarded places…
Letters: Judging students by achievement is a greater scourge than diversity at any cost
Harvard’s racial quotas Sir: While I largely agree with Coleman Hughes that racial quotas are counterproductive (‘The diversity trap’, 23 June),…
Jeremy Corbyn’s hat and the art of photo manipulation
Spin doctors The BBC has denied it photoshopped a Newsnight backdrop to make Jeremy Corbyn’s hat look more Russian. The…
Dire warnings of a Brexit university brain drain? They’re a myth
How to sell snake oil Ex-cabinet secretary Lord O’Donnell accused Brexiteers of ‘selling snake oil’. How do you sell snake…
Peter Hitchens: Why I climbed on my soapbox after refusing to sign a university’s ‘free speech’ contract
Where better to be than in Liverpool on a crisp autumn evening, haranguing an open-air meeting of students? I hadn’t…
Unsafe spaces
As a child in Glasgow, I learned that sticks and stones might break my bones but words didn’t really hurt.…
My Brighton’s gone all Brideshead
My town is overrun with drunken Mileses and Gileses and Violets these days. Cross these oafish students at your peril
The contagious madness of the new PC
Obsessive searching for hurt and offence will create it where once it never existed
Bisexuality is now everywhere – and nowhere
I’m not aware of knowing many bisexual people. Or indeed, off the top of my head, any bisexual people. Which…
The Master of the Universe who taught me that life is about much more than money
God it’s nauseating when an exact university contemporary of yours turns out to have become a hugely successful investor with…
Why tomorrow’s parents won’t want their children to go to university
Why being a graduate is about to lose its prestige
Dear Mary: Is there a tactful way to shorten the guest list for my 21st?
Q. I am organising my 21st birthday party at our family house in Italy. It is a fantastic location, but…
Justine Greening interview: 'It's about understanding what it's like to start from scratch'
Justine Greening says that the Conservatives will not win big until they really home in on social mobility
Haunted by Facebook, students can't now reinvent themselves at university
Facebook makes reinventing yourself at university much trickier
Why I’m hiring graduates with thirds this year
Whenever I return to my old university, I am always struck by how incredibly focused, purposeful and studious everyone seems…
