The universities of Oxford and Cambridge

Ø 1) Read the text and answer the questions:

a) Which university is older, Oxford or Cambridge?

b) Which university is the UK’s best university?

c) Why did Oxford grow considerably starting from 1167?

d) How was Cambridge founded?

e) The relationship between Oxford and Cambridge is cooperative, isn’t it?

f) How is the training at Oxford and Cambridge organised?

The University of Oxford is located in the English city of Oxford. It is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the world’s leading academic institutions. It was presumably founded in the 11^th century. It grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris.

After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled north-east to Cambridge, where they established what has become the University of Cambridge. The two universities have many common features and are often called Oxbridge. The two universities have a long history of rivalry with each other.

Most undergraduate teaching at Oxford and Cambridge is organised around weekly essay-based tutorials at self-governing colleges and halls, supported by lectures and laboratory classes organised by University faculties and departments.

The universities’ structure can be confusing. It comprises over forty self-governing colleges and halls, along with a central administration headed by the Vice-Chancellor at Oxford and more than thirty colleges at Cambridge. The academic departments are located centrally within this structure; they are not affiliated with any particular college. Departments provide facilities for teaching and research, determine the syllabi and guidelines for the teaching of students, perform research, and deliver lectures and seminars. Colleges arrange the tutorial teaching for their undergraduates. The members of an academic department are spread around many colleges. Most colleges have a broad mix of academics and students from a diverse range of subjects. Facilities such as libraries are provided on all these levels: by the central university, by the departments, and by colleges (each of which maintains a multi-discipline library for the use of its members).

The list of illustrious alumni at the University of Oxford and Cambridge is endless and includes many who have made major contributions to British politics, the sciences, medicine, and literature. Oxford is ranked one of the UK’s best universities, and it is in the world’s top 10. Cambridge University is more renowned than its rival for mathematics and natural sciences, and has produced 80 Nobel-prize winners (33 more than Oxford and the highest number of any university worldwide), 13 British Prime Ministers (12 less than Oxford) and 8 Archbishops of Canterbury, among others.

Ø 2) Make a five-line summary of the text.

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