Churchill College, Cambridge
Churchill College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge[3] in Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but retains a strong interest in the arts and humanities.
In 1958, a trust was established with Sir Winston Churchill as its chairman of trustees, to build and endow a college for 60 fellows and 540 students as a national and Commonwealth memorial to Winston Churchill; its Royal Charter and Statutes were approved by the Queen Elizabeth II, in August 1960.[4] It is situated on the outskirts of Cambridge, away from the traditional centre of the city, but close to the University's main new development zone (which now houses the Centre for Mathematical Sciences). It has 16 hectares (40 acres) of grounds, the largest area of the Cambridge colleges.
Churchill was the first formerly all-male college to decide to admit women, and was among three men's colleges to admit its first women students in 1972.[5] Within 15 years all others had followed suit. The college has a reputation for relative informality compared with other Cambridge colleges, and traditionally admits a larger proportion of its undergraduates from state schools.
The college motto is "Forward", which was taken from the final phrase of Winston Churchill's first speech to the House of Commons as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, known as the "blood, toil, tears and sweat" speech in which Churchill said, "Come, then, let us go forward together".[6]
History[edit]
In 1955, on holiday in Sicily soon after his resignation as prime minister, Winston Churchill discussed with Sir John Colville and Lord Cherwell the possibility of founding a new institution. Churchill had been impressed by the United States' Massachusetts Institute of Technology and wanted a British version, but the plans evolved into the more modest proposal of creating a science and technology-based college within the University of Cambridge.[7] Churchill wanted a mix of non-scientists to ensure a well-rounded education and environment for scholars and fellows. The college therefore admits students to read all subjects except land economy and theology & religious studies (though it is possible to switch to these subjects later).
The first postgraduate students arrived in October 1960, and the first undergraduates a year later. Full college status was received in 1966.
Following the Labour government's Representation of the People Act 1969, which reduced the voting age to 18 years,[8] under the guidance of professor Dick Tizard, in 1970 Churchill's student union, the Junior Common Room (JCR), inspired by the worldwide student democracy movement, led the National Union of Students (NUS) in taking the Cambridge Town Clerk to the High Court to overturn a 19th-century precedent that won students the right to vote in their university towns.[9]
Initially all students were male. Women were accepted as undergraduates in 1972, one of the first three previously all-male colleges to do so.[10]
The bias towards science and engineering remains as policy to the current day, with the statutes requiring approximately 70% science and technology students amongst its student intake each year.[11] The college statutes also stipulate that one third of the students of the college should be studying for postgraduate qualification.
Cambridge University Radio (later Cam FM) broadcast from Churchill College from 1979 until 2011.
On 27 October 2020, the college launched Churchill, Empire and Race, intended as a year-long programme looking critically at its founder.[12] However in June 2021, the programme was abruptly terminated following a dispute with the college’s leadership.[13]