Cambridge reverses course and will keep vet school open

The University of Cambridge has scrapped plans to close its veterinary medicine course and will continue admitting students, after its General Board rejected a recommendation from the School of the Biological Sciences to end undergraduate veterinary education. In a February 24 statement, the university said offer letters for students entering in autumn 2026 would go out imminently, and that it would pursue further analysis, with external experts, on alternative models for veterinary education at Cambridge. The move follows months of backlash from the British Veterinary Association, unions, students, farmers, and others, after the closure proposal surfaced in late 2025. (admin.cam.ac.uk)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this preserves one of the UK’s training pipelines at a time when workforce capacity, farm animal care access, public health, and One Health research remain live concerns. It also avoids an immediate contraction in veterinary student places, even as Cambridge still faces unresolved operational, financial, and accreditation pressures: the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons extended the program’s conditional accreditation in November 2025 and said Cambridge must meet remaining standards by October 2026. (bva.co.uk)

What to watch: The next key milestone is Cambridge’s work on restructuring and leadership changes, alongside the RCVS accreditation revisit scheduled for October 2026. (admin.cam.ac.uk)