White working-class students are excluded from the vast majority of diversity-focused scholarships and bursaries at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, according to an analysis published by The Telegraph.
The newspaper reported that more than a dozen scholarships, bursaries and financial support schemes at the two universities are aimed at students from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, while relatively few are available specifically to white working-class applicants.
The findings come amid growing debate over how universities should balance support for ethnic minority students with efforts to improve opportunities for those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.
The issue has gained renewed attention following the publication of the Inquiry into White Working Class Educational Outcomes, which concluded that white working-class children remain among the most disadvantaged groups in England’s education system.
According to The Telegraph, Oxford and Cambridge together offer at least 15 scholarships, bursaries or financial aid programmes that are targeted at students from BAME backgrounds at undergraduate, postgraduate or doctoral level.
Among the schemes highlighted was the Stormzy Scholarship at the University of Cambridge, launched in 2018 through the rapper’s #Merky Foundation and HSBC UK. The programme provides financial support for Black British students studying at the university.
Other schemes identified include funding packages for Black students pursuing postgraduate study at Oxford, as well as scholarships aimed at British Bangladeshi and British Pakistani applicants.
The analysis also pointed to a number of outreach programmes designed specifically to encourage applications from ethnic minority students, including residential events, taster days and mentoring initiatives.
Political criticism
The findings prompted criticism from some politicians who argue that university support should be based primarily on disadvantage rather than ethnicity.
Former Home Secretary and Reform UK education spokesman Suella Braverman said assistance should be directed towards those facing the greatest barriers regardless of race.
Meanwhile, Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott argued that financial support should focus on socio-economic disadvantage rather than ethnic background.
Their comments followed the release of the white working-class educational outcomes inquiry, which found that white British pupils eligible for free school meals were significantly less likely to achieve passes in English and mathematics GCSEs than pupils not receiving free school meals.
The report concluded that the education system was not adequately serving many white working-class families and recommended measures including an expansion of apprenticeships and greater emphasis on vocational pathways.
Representation at Oxbridge
White working-class students have long been identified as one of the most under-represented groups in higher education, particularly at elite universities.
A 2019 report by the National Education Opportunities Network found that white working-class students accounted for fewer than 3 per cent of students at Oxford and Cambridge.
By comparison, The Telegraph reported that around 30 per cent of UK students admitted to Oxford last year identified as being from BAME backgrounds, while the equivalent figure at Cambridge was 34 per cent in 2023.
Supporters of targeted diversity schemes argue they help address historic under-representation and barriers faced by minority ethnic groups. Such initiatives are permitted under the provisions for “positive action” contained within the Equality Act 2010, which allows organisations to take steps to address disadvantage or under-representation.
Universities’ position
A source at the University of Oxford told The Telegraph that students from lower-income households are eligible for a non-repayable annual bursary worth up to £6,150.
The university said around one in four UK full-time undergraduates receives the bursary, which is based on household income rather than ethnicity and is among the most generous schemes of its kind in the country.
The University of Cambridge was approached for comment by The Telegraph.
The debate comes as universities, employers and public bodies continue to face scrutiny over diversity, equity and inclusion policies, with critics arguing that support should increasingly be targeted according to economic disadvantage rather than race, while supporters maintain that ethnicity-based schemes remain necessary to tackle persistent inequalities in access and representation.
Worth reading in full here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/30/white-working-class-students-excluded-oxbridge-diversity-uk/
Everything’s wrong here because the main point is missed !
UK, like the West, has Christian values, i.e. the society is based on humanism and individualism where focus is put on people first. That’s why schools, hospitals, old age pensions, bursaries, general elections, civic and voting rights were all invented in the West. Same applies to the education system, designed before anything else for the benefit of children and students.
But humanism does NOT form part of Asian culture such that Asian students will literally thrive in such a humanism-based education system, no focus on understanding but rather on competing, passing and succeeding, taking private tuitions or having coaching by members of their community or ethnic network, etc., even if that means studying like a parrot. Even if they do get access to public universities in their home countries, Asian students migrate and study in Western countries. The exams success statistics consequently gets flawed by them who then consider those who failed, i.e. the Christians, like a sub-human race or of inferior culture or civilization or religion, being good only for manual, technical, vocational, apprenticeship and similar shit …and of course “getting drunk at pubs”, having no values worthy to justify being culturally or nationally assimilated with them.
The solution in the UK: close the borders, positively discriminate based on class and religion, and give several really massive electroshocks to the Church.
The Great Replacement is well on-going and purposeful !
London and Brussels have already fallen, time now to save the furniture.