Oxford’s wine-tasting triumph

Wine connoisseurs from Oxford defeated Cambridge students in the annual Varsity blind tasting competition in February. Participants in the competition, which began in 1953, were required to taste six white and six red wines under time pressure. While Cambridge won the white wine round and put forward a better reserve player for the Reserve Match, Oxford ultimately triumphed on their knowledge of red wines. Both universities put forward a team of seven students for the event, with three undergraduates and four postgraduates on both teams. This year’s competition took place at The Photographer’s Gallery in London.

Cambridge Councils win on water

Greater Cambridge Shared Planning (GCSP) has secured £5 million from the government to install water-saving measures in council buildings. GCSP is a service linking Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council – it plans to use the money to improve water efficiency, such as by installing leak detection devices in council housing and public buildings like swimming pools. Labour councillor Katie Thornburrow said: “we anticipate saving up to 90% of water usage” across three swimming pools in the region. The programme is described as a short-term intervention to allow for “sustainable, planned development” when it comes to water usage in the long-term future.

Financial Times ranks Cambridge as UK’s top employer

The University of Cambridge has ranked first in the Financial Times’ Best Employers 2026 Survey. The ranking gathers over 200,000 anonymous survey responses from 20,000 staff working in large organisations across the UK. Participants were asked to provide feedback on areas such as salary and organisational culture, and indirectly evaluate other employers in their sector. In response to the news, Professor Kamal Munir, the pro-vice chancellor for university community and engagement, said he was “very proud of this important recognition”. 

Cambridge United Women celebrate homecoming

Cambridge United Women will play their home fixtures for the 2026/27 season in Cambridge for the first time in decades. The team, which used to play home matches 20 miles away in St Neots, is relocating to Grange Road Stadium. Cambridge United Women had been looking to establish a permanent base in the city to help grow its local supporter base and create opportunities for future growth. The stadium, founded in 1896, is jointly owned by the University’s rugby and football clubs. Cameron Holloway, leader of Cambridge City Council, called the partnership “a fantastic example of Cambridge University putting into practice its desire to do more for the civic life of Cambridge”.