YORK, February 16, 2025 – More than half of northern students at UK universities have experienced mockery or criticism due to their accents, according to a recent survey commissioned by the Sutton Trust, a charity focused on social mobility through education.
A Northern Comfort Zone: University Societies Bridging the Divide
Students from the north of England are forming societies at universities across the UK to combat accent-based discrimination and foster a sense of community.
- Students are creating societies to address accent-based discrimination.
- These groups provide a space for northern students to connect and celebrate their regional identities.
- The University of Cambridge’s Northern Society focuses on supporting students through the application process.
- The societies are also helping students learn about the diverse cultures within the north.
Lucy Morville, a student at the University of York, experienced a “culture shock” upon arriving at university, but not the one she anticipated. “I hadn’t travelled much down south before university, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re all from London and Cambridge.’ It was such a shock to me,” she said. Originally from Burnley, in east Lancashire, Morville was surprised by the prevalence of students from outside the north.
In her first year, Morville found herself among 16 students, with only one other hailing from the north. She and her friends revitalized York’s Northern Society, organizing events like a northern-themed pub crawl featuring iconic figures such as Wallace and Gromit and the Gallagher brothers. Morville herself dressed as a Pendle witch for the occasion.
This spring, the society will host a “Yorkshire Olympics,” including the event of black pudding throwing. Morville explained that the society also fosters understanding between different regions within the north, allowing students to learn about each other’s unique cultures.
Novelist and journalist Adelle Stripe, born in York, noted that the existence of these northern societies acknowledges the diverse identities within the region. “The north is not homogenous. Politically and culturally, it carries many shades. It is not just pit villages, back-to-backs and post-industrial wastelands. It is also a place of wealth, verdant landscapes and architectural beauty. Language, history and economics vary enormously, even from North to South Yorkshire,” Stripe said.
“In an elite university, you might feel under-represented, so if this fosters a sense of community for students who are experiencing isolation, then it’s to be encouraged. I don’t think northerners need a society to do that, though, we are quite capable of finding each other without such formality.”
While some societies embrace northern staples like Greggs sausage rolls – the London School of Economics Northern Society’s logo features a Yorkshire pudding – the University of Cambridge’s branch takes a more pragmatic approach.
Alongside events like punting, sponsored by an international law firm, Cambridge’s northern society states its goal is to support students navigating the application process, particularly those who may not have prior connections to the university.
One student from Newcastle recounted a negative experience during university interviews. “At interviews, I remember one boy from London asking a large group of people if they could ‘actually understand [my] accent’, which was pretty awful and not a nice first impression of university.” Others reported being asked if their parents worked in coalmines.
For Morville, the Northern Society at York is about reclaiming space. “I feel like we go to university and get fun made of our accents, so it’s time to fight back. [Southerners] always ask if they can come to the society, and I say: ‘Not really, because it’s not really the point, it’s not the space we want it to be if there’s people from the south there.’”
Despite the society’s intent, some southerners attempt to infiltrate. “There was one girl, I think she came with her mates, and she was doing a fake scouse accent the whole night. People from that area were there, and one of them clocked it. She was found out and she revealed that she was putting it on.”
