If you eavesdrop on the many tour groups that pass by our colleges for long enough, it will become clear that for many visitors to Cambridge, the University is as British as Buckingham Palace or Big Ben. Indeed, Cambridge has traditionally been part and parcel of the British establishment, an integral step (along with the Other Place…) on the path to the upper echelons of power, as well as the incubator for the intellectuals and creatives who help to put Britain on the map.
How does this status affect our national identities as students? Recent studies have shown that, at a time when patriotism has become a particularly thorny issue, teenagers are prouder to be British than their parents. The notion of ‘positive patriotism’, a palatable alternative to its nationalist counterpart, has become a buzzword among politicians. It’s a concept which risks feeling rather naive, or even misguided – given the alarming rise in ethno-nationalism, paired with a general decline in pride in Britain over the past couple of years. But where do Cambridge students stand on the issue?
A Varsity survey of students from across the university found that the majority of respondents did consider themselves to be patriotic. This can be compared to the 41% of Gen-Z respondents to a national survey in early 2025 who described themselves as proud to be British. For most respondents, this was British patriotism, though some did describe themselves as proud to be Welsh, English, or as primarily patriotic for a specific region of Britain. Just under half of respondents reported becoming more patriotic while at Cambridge, while the rest stated their level of patriotism hadn’t changed; notably, there was no decrease.
“Englishness comes with a slightly negative, hostile connotation”
Students who considered themselves to be patriotic tended to name similar aspects of Britishness which made them proud. “The great British countryside” was a popular answer, as was queuing, politeness, and “world-beating cuisine”. Culture also loomed large: one student described “Anglican choral music, and being a part of a choral music appreciation group on Facebook” as a source of pride, while another mentioned an appreciation of our literary tradition, which has led her to “love Burns Night as a non-Scot”. While aspects of Britain’s political heritage, such as the unwritten constitution, the Queen, and our “respect for institutions and the word of law” did come up, the sources of pride students described were largely cultural. Contemporary politics was conspicuously absent.
Strikingly, the sources of shame students cited felt deterred them from patriotism were almost entirely political. Brexit, Reform UK, and attitudes towards immigration more generally were popular answers, embodied through “the horrible racist co-option of our flag”. There was also a prevalent sense of shame over Britain’s history, including imperialism and an awareness that “so much of our wealth nationally has been obtained through the exploitation of others”. For Addy, it’s impossible to be patriotic at the moment because “it has been subsumed by a nationalistic and racist ideology,” making it “hard to go around saying I’m proud to be British without people assuming you mean in a right-wing way”. This seemed to be a common sentiment among students who do not identify as patriotic.
The rise of far-right politics as a deterrent was particularly pronounced in the case of English patriotism. One student described feeling “very ashamed” by the use of “the term ‘British’, and often more specifically ‘English’, with exclusionary intentions, all while covering this up as a sense of pride”. For Peter*, the choice to describe himself as British rather than English reflects being “a believer in the union,” and feeling “Englishness comes with a slightly negative, hostile connotation”. By contrast, Lily* would rather be British due to the right-wing connotations of the Saint George’s flag, as well as her “close affinity with Wales and Scotland and Northern Ireland”. This aligns with a sense of Englishness as a more restrictive identity linked to family heritage and ethnicity among the general public. On the other hand, Addy described herself as “probably more likely to say I’m English than British,” because “I think British has a more colonial identity than English – the Welsh are Welsh, the Scottish are Scottish, the Irish are Irish, and the British brand feels slightly demeaning to the actual relationship between the countries.”
“It feels strange to be proud of something I have no control over”
Regional identity and having parents of different nationalities further complicated students’ sense of patriotism. Tom* has felt an increasing sense of patriotism for the Midlands since coming to Cambridge. “As someone who comes from an area outside of London” who “doesn’t know many people from the Midlands here, I feel more of a regional identity”. By contrast, Harry identified as a Londoner more than British or English, because he likes “the diversity of London”. Katie, who grew up in Wales but has English parents, is more likely to identify as British than Welsh because of her parents’ heritage, but is more patriotic about Wales and feels “there is more Welsh pride than British pride”. This was different to Kira*, who grew up in England but is half-Spanish, and said: “I feel comfortable with my Spanish and British identities co-existing,” and described this as reflective of the diversity of Britishness.
Ultimately, students’ varied levels of patriotism reflected not so much a political divide as differing interpretations of the concept of patriotism in itself. The sense that “it feels strange to be proud of something I have no control over,” as one student put it, was a common sentiment. For Harry: “In some ways it feels silly to be proud to be British because I’m only British by happenstance.” However for Nell*, a Canadian student studying at Cambridge, the experience of living abroad has caused her to reflect on her patriotism. She describes the relationship a person has with their home country as “like the relationship you have with a parent - you could have a monstrous parent, but you’d still love them”. She confides: “When I came to England, I wanted to cease to be a Canadian,” but now realises that “you can’t choose your place in history”. She describes this as an “irrefutable relationship” with your home country, even though “your country isn’t explicitly better than any other country”.
“For many people at Cambridge ‘patriotism is performative’”
But what about the relationship between patriotism and Cambridge specifically? Kira feels that for many people at Cambridge “patriotism is performative,” which is “linked to an image of the establishment”; though she concedes this “partly stems from feeling excluded from the establishment”. Charlie* doesn’t “think of Cambridge as being tied to British pride … I never would have connected the two.” For Peter, on the other hand, going to Cambridge “extends my Britishness” because of the “incredible amount of heritage and tradition”. Sophie agreed that Cambridge “makes me feel more connected to certain British traditions and history,” but “not particularly patriotic because due to Cambridge’s selective nature, these traditions are exclusionary.” Cambridge’s position in British history and traditions, then, appears to be a double-edged sword.
Cambridge students’ views on patriotism appear to reflect general trends in British society. While there certainly isn’t one perspective at the University, the whole discussion is overshadowed by the rise of the far-right and the nationalism it can breed. How can we reconcile a love of our country based on the much-loved cultural staples which students cited as sources of pride with a growing sense that patriotism is synonymous with exclusion, causing a sizeable cohort to reject the concept altogether? It forces us to question what the place of patriotism is in modern Britain, and indeed, whether it has a place at all.
*Names changed to protect anonymity
