Senior Tutor’s Report

Dr Penny Barton

Sometimes, in biological evolutionary terms, it takes a major disruption of the status quo to trigger new adaptions in response to the new environment, resulting in a radiation of interesting new forms of life.

I am hoping that, by analogy, there may ultimately be a positive outcome to the last ghastly year, in that it has helped us all to focus on our priorities, and perhaps freed us from some long held ‘evident truths’. Although Homerton is never a College for standing still, it might in the long run do us good to be nudged out of our comfort zone and think again about what is really important.

I would say that giving young people from all backgrounds the chance for the transformative experience of a Cambridge education is at the centre of our mission. The diversity of our student body is something we are passionately committed to, and is a higher priority for us than our exact place on the league tables. Drawing students from a wider background means that in many cases students arrive at Homerton with less educational preparation, less cultural capital and less backup from family and community. We also note that students from every background seem to be struggling more with mental health and resilience, even before the pandemic.

The generations coming of age in the next decade may be profoundly damaged by the current pandemic-induced gaps in the education system at every level, and by the economic catastrophe that will shortly become apparent. We are making great strides towards enhancing our position as a leader in drawing in students from a wide variety of social, ethnic and economic backgrounds, and our next step is to reinforce and develop the outstanding educational and wellbeing support we provide.

So, what have we learnt that we can use to do things a bit differently going forward? As well as this chance to reflect on our priorities and direction as an institution, some quite pragmatic points emerge, that may in the end change a lot of what we do and how we do it.

• Online meetings can be quite efficient –luckily, as there have been a lot of them.

• Online teaching and interviewing are similarly often quite effective, and may bring out the best in students who might otherwise not have participated so much – not being physically present certainly has some upsides as well as downsides.

• Students hardly ever read anything we send them.

• It is possible to be much more agile –changing things at a moment’s notice rather than on a ‘Cambridge timescale’ (Question:

How many Cambridge academics does it take to change a lightbulb? Answer (in outraged tones): CHANGE?)

• Students can adapt and make the best of things – they are sad to miss their hectic social lives but in most cases would still prefer to be getting on with their academic work even with all the restrictions.

• Academically, Homerton students blossomed whilst working from home last summer, and in 2020 we had our best results ever in

Arts and Social Sciences, with the emphasis moved from three-hour exams to more thoughtful and continuous pieces of work.

UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS STATISTICS 2020

201 154

INCOMING UNDERGRADUATES UK STUDENTS

47

EU AND INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

75%

State school educated

23%

from POLAR 1 and 2 postcodes

15%

were recipients of free school meals

• Our colleagues are precious and resilient and we have managed to hold each other together through the most difficult of times, working as an extended team as never before.

It has to be said that 2020 has been tough, and it doesn’t look as if 2021 is shaping up well yet, but we all have high hopes of the vaccination programme. The best part of the Senior Tutor job is talking to students, so that has been the thing I have missed most this year. In the Michaelmas term it was possible to walk right through the Cavendish building to the Combination Room to get a cup of tea without seeing anyone in a College with 700 students living in it – quite sad and disturbing. Like everyone in the world, we are all desperate to return to normal, but perhaps to a slightly kinder, more reflective and less hectic normal when it finally comes n