Until 2001, Cambridge had enjoyed an unbroken run at the top of The Times League Table, and even now it is practically inseparable from first-placed Oxford.

The university has the best record in the teaching and research assessments, topping far more of our subject tables than any of its rivals.

Traditionally supreme in the sciences, where it was ranked best in the world by The Times Higher Education/QS in 2006, the university has also strengthened the arts and social sciences.

Only Harvard University has finished ahead of Cambridge in the past two years of the world rankings.

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All but one of the subjects assessed in the first rounds of teaching quality assessment were considered excellent and none dropped more than 2 points out of 24 under the later system.

Cambridge students have not responded in sufficient numbers, however, for the university to be included in the first three National Student Surveys.

Almost three quarters of the academics entered for research assessment were in subjects rated internationally outstanding, and only three subjects failed to reach the next-highest grade.

Teaching

The tripos system was a forerunner of the currently fashionable modular degree, allowing students to change subjects (within limits) midway through their courses. Students receive a classification for each of the two parts of their tripos degree. More students now come from state schools than the independent sector – a trend the university is keen to continue – but the proportion of working-class undergraduates remains low, at only 12 per cent. Summer schools, student visits and, in some colleges, sympathetic selection procedures, are helping to attract more applications from comprehensive schools and further education colleges.

Applying

The application system has been simplified slightly for 2009, with candidates no longer required to complete an initial Cambridge form, as well as their UCAS form. However, they will still be sent the Supplementary Application Questionnaire, covering the applicant’s academic experience in more detail. A lively alternative prospectus, available from the students’ union, used to say there was no such thing as Cambridge University, just a collection of colleges. Where applications are concerned, this is still true, as it is to some extent socially. Making the right choice of college is crucial, both to maximise the chances of winning a place and to ensure an enjoyable three years if you are successful. Applicants can take pot luck with an open application if they prefer not to opt for a particular college. But, though the statistics show that this route is equally successful, only a minority take it.

Most teaching is now university-based, especially in the sciences, and a shift of emphasis towards the centre has been taking place more generally. The trend may accelerate if a £1-billion funding appeal to mark the university’s 800th anniversary is successful. It was two-thirds of the way there at the start of 2008, having raised £155 million in a year with 10,000 individual gifts.

Development

The university’s leading place in British higher education was underlined by its success in attracting Microsoft’s first research base outside the United States. This is one of a series of technological partnerships with the private sector, several of which benefit undergraduates as well as researchers. Cambridge was also chosen for a Government-sponsored partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to promote entrepreneurship. Such is the scale of development that almost £500-million worth of building is either planned or under construction. Although the medical school’s facilities are being upgraded at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, the university is looking to the outskirts to expand.

The West Cambridge site will take a mixture of teaching and research buildings, and there are plans for more on green-belt land further north. In the long term, up to three new colleges could be built, but there will be few extra places for undergraduates in the foreseeable future. For the moment, therefore, entrance requirements will remain the toughest in Britain. With around four applicants for each place – fewer still if you choose your subject carefully – the competition for places appears less intense than at the popular civic universities, but the real difference is that nine out of ten entrants have at least three A grades at A level. The pressure does not end there: the amount of high-quality work to be crammed into eight-week terms can prove a strain, although the dropout rate of less than 2 per cent is bettered only by Oxford.

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