White working-class students are effectively locked out of almost every race-based diversity scholarship at Oxford and Cambridge despite being among the most educationally disadvantaged groups in England, according to a new analysis.
The investigation, published in Britain’s Daily Telegraph, found that more than a dozen scholarships, bursaries and outreach schemes at the two elite universities prioritise applicants from black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, while offering little or no equivalent support to poor white British students. The findings have reignited criticism that Britain’s diversity agenda rewards race over genuine disadvantage.
According to the analysis, Oxford and Cambridge together offer at least 15 scholarships or financial aid schemes aimed specifically at BAME students, alongside at least 15 outreach programmes including residential visits, taster days, and webinars. White working-class men appear eligible for just one of those diversity schemes, while white working-class women qualify for only two.
Among the schemes highlighted are Cambridge’s Stormzy Scholarship, which provides up to £20,000 a year for black British students, Oxford’s Black Academic Futures Scholarship, and several programmes reserved for black, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi students.
The report comes just days after an independent inquiry concluded that England’s education system is “not set up to serve white working-class children and families,” finding that white British pupils receiving free school meals remain among the country’s lowest-performing groups.
Suella Braverman, Reform UK’s education spokesman, said white working-class families had been “betrayed by a system that is designed to work against them.”
“If Oxford and Cambridge want to live up to their proud history of meritocracy, they should end these racially discriminatory programmes immediately and judge people on their talents, not their skin colour,” she said.
Conservative Party shadow education secretary Laura Trott also called for an end to race-based scholarships, saying support should be targeted at the most disadvantaged regardless of ethnicity rather than “DEI targets or quotas.”
The Telegraph‘s findings were published alongside a first-person account from an anonymous white working-class student who said he had achieved straight A* and A grades but repeatedly found himself excluded from outreach programmes, scholarships and internships because of his ethnicity.
The student said he was forced to turn down a place at a leading London university because financial support available to some minority applicants was unavailable to him. He also claimed he later discovered race-restricted internships and training programmes run by organisations including MI5, MI6, the Bank of England, and major professional services firms.
Oxford declined to comment directly on the allegations but said students from lower-income households are eligible for annual bursaries of up to £6,150 regardless of race. Cambridge was approached for comment.
