Women overtake men in winning places at Cambridge for the first time in history

A higher proportion of women than men were awarded places at the top tier university, but Cambridge still receives criticism for lack of diversity

Students at Cambridge have been advised not to wear academic gowns at several points in history, following century-old divisions between 'town and gown' (Student.com)

More 18-year-old women are securing places to study at Cambridge and Oxford than men for the first time in history, latest UCAS figures have revealed.

Despite 855 fewer women applying to the University of Cambridge than men last year, female candidates received only 30 fewer offers than their male counterparts, equating to a 6.5 per cent higher offer rate as a result.

By contrast, figures from Oxford University show that although the same number of offers was given to women as men, fewer had applied than men of the same age.

At other Russell Group universities, successful female applicants outnumbered their male counterparts, but were still found to be underrepresented at science- or economics-focused institutions including Imperial College London and the University of Warwick.

The equality data report, which was updated this month to account for the end of the last UCAS cycle, suggests the Brexit vote and higher tuition fees have not deterred young people from further education, as universities received more applications overall than ever before.

Oxford University received its highest number of applications in over five years, however Cambridge saw numbers drop to lower than that recorded in 2012.

Both institutions have been criticised repeatedly for failing to recruit proportionate numbers of ethnic minority pupils – a widespread issue across top tier universities in the UK.

White students received the most offers last year, with applications over three times greater than those of BME students combined for both Oxford and Cambridge.

Responding to the figures, education leaders welcomed the increased number of applicants from the European Union, but warned the climate could change dramatically within the next few years.

Sally Hunt, General Secretary of the University and College Union said: “It is of course encouraging that the UK was seen as a popular destination for EU students last year.

“However, these figures are from before the vote to leave the EU. We are not alone in raising concerns about the damage being caused by Brexit and the type of rhetoric being used by politicians on immigration.

“It is naive to believe that those comments do not make their way around the world or have any impact on how we are viewed abroad.”

Her comments follow warnings from leading academics that Brexit could be the "biggest disaster" for UK universities in years, with universities already failing to recruit top researchers as a result.