It feels remarkably serendipitous that the Faculty is embarking on its centenary year with Andy Burnham, an English Faculty graduate as Prime Minister. Appearing on the podcast 'How to Fail', the Prime Minister recalls how he had to persuade his engineer father to support his degree choice and how it contributed to his success.
It feels remarkably serendipitous that the Faculty is embarking on its centenary year with Andy Burnham, an English Faculty graduate as Prime Minister. Appearing on the podcast 'How to Fail', the Prime Minister recalls how he had to persuade his engineer father to support his degree choice and how it contributed to his success.
What persuaded his father, was bringing him the poem 'V' by Tony Harrison which begins with a quote by the trade unionist Arthur Scargill: 'My father still reads the dictionary every day. He says your life depends on your power to master words.' The Prime Minister believes that English was a 'good choice' and that it contributed to his success, teaching him the power of language, giving him the ability to get his point across, and to inject emotion into what he does and says.
Lord Chris Smith, the Chancellor of the University and another alumnus of the English Faculty, has previously written in the Telegraph that 'Andy Burnham is about to prove the true worth of a Cambridge English degree'. Lord Smith argues that studying English equips graduates with the human insight, empathy and critical thinking vital to facing the challenges of today. Drawing on his own experience, he calls for renewed commitment to the humanities, warning that their decline risks undermining the very skills needed to navigate and shape our shared future.
Lord Smith was previously Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, while other alumni like Dame Karen Price and Baroness Bryony Worthington have gone onto influential roles in diplomacy, campaigning and the House of Lords. You can find out more about them on our careers pages.
