As 2025 comes to a close, Varsity is reflecting on the biggest stories it has covered about Cambridge this year, ones that will likely continue to develop in the new year.

#1: Divestment decisions

The largest Cambridge story this year is without doubt the continuing saga over the University’s divestment from arms companies as well as other companies involved in the conflict in Gaza.

In May, King’s became one of the first Oxbridge colleges to commit to divesting from arms companies and firms engaged in “illegal” activities, following sustained student campaigning. Yet in June, Trinity stalled on a divestment review after an encampment was set up outside the College in the previous month.

This year, various College groups, including at Clare, John’s, and Girton, also called for their Colleges to divest – but the University chose to delay its vote on divestment until February 2026.

#2: Vet victory… for now

Another topic that has dominated Varsity’s headlines this year is the future of Cambridge’s vet school. In March, the University decided not to pause undergraduate admissions for Veterinary Medicine after a 2024 report by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) found that the course failed to meet 50 of its 77 standards.

Then, in November, it was announced that the school had been granted accreditation by the RCVS for another 12 months after making significant progress. However, in the following month, the Council of the University’s School of the Biological Sciences voted 11 to zero to recommend ceasing the course, on the basis that “there was no viable long-term solution” for the “sustainable delivery of clinical services” within the school. The University Council is due to discuss the proposal in January.

#3: Cambridge chooses a new chancellor

In July, Cambridge elected a new chancellor, Lord Chris Smith. Smith was the former Culture Secretary and Master of Pembroke College, and he won the chancellorship in a close battle with broadcaster Sandi Toksvig and Queens’ College President Mohammed El Erian.

In an exclusive interview with Varsity in November, Smith said that his “number one priority” would be protecting free speech, but insisted that Cambridge had “been right to seek very specific injunctions to protect the ability of all students to be able to take exams”.

#4: Trouble on the track: trans exclusion from sports divisions

After the Supreme Court ruled in April that the legal definition of “woman” in the Equality Act is based on biological sex, trans athletes have been excluded from several women’s divisions of Cambridge sports clubs this year. This includes college rowing after college boat club captains voted in October to align with British Rowing guidelines on gender divisions in competitive rowing.

Colleges also cut support for a trans-inclusive football league, leaving the future of trans inclusion in the sport uncertain. The captain of CUAFC, told Varsity that “there has been a disappointing lack of consideration by the colleges for the trans and queer community of Cambridge – and at the same time a very distinct focus on legal risks”.

#5: Kirk comes to Cambridge

In May, the American political activist Charlie Kirk went viral on social media after his appearance at the Cambridge Union. During his debate with student speakers, he claimed that “lockdowns were unnecessary,” “life begins at conception,” and the Civil Rights Act was a “mistake”.

Many students including former Union President Sammy McDonald also went viral for challenging Kirk, with McDonald telling Kirk that his answers reflected “the morality of a child”.

Cambridge was one of the final universities that Kirk spoke at before he was assassinated at Utah Valley University on 10 September.

#6: Reform reaches Cambridge

In November, Varsity revealed that senior university leaders, including some Russel Group vice-chancellors, have been holding secret talks with Reform UK figures to prepare for a ‘Trump-style’ overhaul of the sector if the party wins power. Cambridge’s vice-chancellor told colleagues that “the very, very, very short headline on Reform is that what they seem to want to do is differentiate in the sector between the high-quality providers and low-quality providers. That will be challenging in a variety of ways, and exactly what that will mean, and exactly the basis on which that distinction will be made.”

This followed news in October that Dr James Orr, Associate Professor at the University of Cambridge, had been appointed as a senior adviser to Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK.

#7: Cofnas cleared

Over the summer, the University concluded that it would take no disciplinary action against controversial former philosophy fellow Nathan Cofnas.

In a blog titled ‘A Guide for the Hereditarian Revolution’, Cofnas claimed that race was linked to academic ability. He went on to argue that under a true meritocracy, black people would “disappear from almost all high-profile positions outside of sports and entertainment” and that the number of black professors at Harvard would “approach zero”.

The news came as a shock to some students. The Cambridge SU Liberation and Welfare Officer told Varsity: “Cambridge University’s decision to preserve Nathan Cofnas’ freedom of speech, despite the significant psychological harm his views have caused Black heritage students, demonstrates a failure to show its duty of care to marginalised students.”

#8: Rowing rows

Another sports story that both captured Varsity’s headlines and gained national attention in March was the decision to ban three Cambridge rowers from the Boat Race. This was due to a ruling that prevented PGCE students from competing.

The news was met with condemnation from Cambridge and beyond, with Olympic champion rower and rowing commentator Martin Cross telling Varsity: “I know just how demanding PGCE courses are with all the academic work, lesson preparation and teaching. It’s a wonder that any student could do this and manage to find time to train for the Boat Race.”

#9: Cambridge gets a new society

Debates over transgender issues reentered the headlines in October, as the Cambridge University Society of Women was formed. Membership of the society is restricted to those defined as “female at birth”, and one of its founders has called ‘transgender ideology’ “the most regressive, homophobic, sexist, crucially misogynistic thing to exist in a very, very long time”.

The society received plenty of backlash, with the Cambridge University Labour Club (CULC) calling it “the latest assault on the trans community at Cambridge”. Yet it also received over £13,000 in donations, including £3,000 from Britain's twentieth richest man, and was reluctantly registered by the Students’ Union at the end of this year.

#10: Gardies is gone!

Finally, one of the saddest stories covered by Varsity this year was the closure of the beloved kebab shop, Gardies. Gardies had shut in May, but it was not until October that its landlord, Gonville & Caius College, confirmed that it had permanently closed.

One student told Varsity: “I’m gutted that Gardies has shut. I have many fond memories of going there with friends and always ordering the chips with chili and tzatziki. Gardies was always reliable and the best place to go after a night out, or even if you felt hungry in the late afternoon.”

What will 2026 bring?

That’s a wrap on the biggest Varsity stories of the year. While there have been plenty of concerning and gloomy headlines, there’s hope that 2026 might bring some better news.

Ongoing developments around Cambridge’s investments and the future of the vet school are likely to continue into the new year, while Varsity will continue to work tirelessly to shed light on every new story that emerges at Cambridge. To follow all the latest developments, we strongly recommend that you keep reading Varsity!