Updated Statement on behalf of the Council of the School of Biological Sciences concerning veterinary education at Cambridge

4 March 2026 Update

Updated statement from the General Board on the decision to continue the veterinary medicine course

24 February 2026 Update

The General Board of the University has now reviewed reports from the School of Biological Sciences and the Department of Veterinary Medicine; these documents will be made available by the University in due course.

The General Board's decision is detailed here: General Board meeting about veterinary education at the University of Cambridge 

The statement below sets out the detail underpinning the School of Biological Sciences recommendation in December 2025.

15 January 2026

Statement on behalf of the Council of the School of Biological Sciences concerning veterinary education at Cambridge

The Council of the School of Biological Sciences met in December 2025 and, following careful consideration, recommended that the University cease veterinary education at Cambridge once the final cohort of students is expected to graduate in 2032. We would like to begin by acknowledging the significant concern this recommendation has caused among Vet School staff and students, colleagues in other Departments who contribute to the course, and many other people, organisations and supporters of the University. We sincerely regret that it has not been possible to identify a viable alternative solution to the profound challenges facing the Vet School.

In this statement, we will set out some of the longstanding problems the Vet School has faced, as well as the University’s attempts to consider and tackle them. These are, in our opinion, intractable operational problems and not a reflection of staff working in the Vet School or in other departments that contribute to veterinary medicine teaching. The VetMed course is highly ranked by a number of external surveys, and performs strongly in Cambridge’s return for the National Student Survey. Nevertheless, the course’s longstanding problems have been the subject of much scrutiny and several reviews in the University, and ultimately led to the School Council considering various options for the future of the course.

Educational provision and financial sustainability

Over the past decade, the Vet School has encountered significant challenges relating to the quality of educational provision and the financial sustainability of its veterinary hospital. In November 2024, the professional accreditor, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), awarded the course ‘conditional accreditation’ rather than its previous ‘full accreditation’, identifying a considerable number of longstanding deficiencies across the accreditation standards that needed to be addressed. While good progress has been made in addressing the issues raised by the RCVS thanks to considerable work by staff in the Vet School and in the School of Biological Sciences, and the University has assured all current students and 2026 applicants of the quality of its course, maintaining high-quality clinical training long into the future will be severely challenging.

Another important factor is the financial viability of the hospital, which has been losing over £1m a year for some time, and currently has a significant and unsustainable accumulated trading deficit. Veterinary education across the sector is facing severe financial challenges. Other providers have addressed this by increasing student numbers, with most courses now having upwards of 150 students, and one provider recruiting approximately 300. Cambridge is unable to increase the number of veterinary students from around 65 per year because of the finite number of places available across its colleges. Business plans proposed by the Vet School over recent years to address the longstanding hospital financial deficit, based primarily on increased staff and clinical caseloads, have not succeeded. A review commissioned by the General Board concluded in 2024 that the business plans were not achievable.

In 2025, the General Board recognised the need for strategic choices to be made in relation to the commercial viability of the hospital and requested that the School of Biological Sciences lead in this process in collaboration with the department and other stakeholders. We established a governance structure and allocated additional staff and resources to support the department in the work needed to regain RCVS accreditation and to develop a sustainable business model for the delivery of clinical training.

Options developed by SBS, Vet School leadership and external advisers

A working group chaired by the Head of School, which included four senior Vet School staff and other colleagues, worked closely together to develop a structured appraisal of options for the future of clinical services delivery. This work drew on external expertise in veterinary medicine education and clinical services delivery, as well as detailed financial analyses. The options assessed ranged from significant cost savings, the commercial restructuring of the hospital, various external partnership models, through to stopping clinical services and veterinary education at Cambridge. Each option was evaluated against consistent criteria, including educational standards, feasibility, regulatory impact, capital implications, operational deliverability, and long term financial viability. The options appraisal was considered by the School Council at its meeting in December 2025.

The School Council had an in-depth and structured discussion of all the options, weighing them up carefully against the School's strategic vision and plan, their implications for teaching and research, financial impact, and various implementation issues and the risks. As each option was discussed, concerns were raised regarding their potential impact on student experience, educational excellence, the likely financial implications, the material impact of the changes and the extent to which there was a realistic expectation of achieving the significant change involved. The School Council took the view that there was no viable long-term solution that would address the challenges identified in the delivery of clinical training.

Recommendation and next steps

We recognise the contribution of veterinary education at Cambridge. However, given the financial, educational and operational challenges associated with current and adapted delivery models, the School Council made the recommendation that closing the course was the only responsible way forward. The School Council’s recommendation will now be considered by the University’s General Board, and the Vet School will have the opportunity to put forward its response for consideration.

We recognise that this period of uncertainty is a very difficult time for staff and students, and greatly appreciate the support that is being provided in Departments and Colleges around the University.