Vet school plans causing 'enormous uncertainty' for Cambridge students, warns union
Cambridge University plans to shut down its veterinary training course
Last updated 20th Feb 2026
A union has said there's an uncertain future for students if veterinary training at Cambridge University is gone for good.
Hundreds of students took part in a rally in the city yesterday against the University's plans to stop running its vet school.
Concerns about the school’s future come as students campaign to protect the course, with supporters arguing it is critical for training vets and supporting research.
"This is creating enormous uncertainty for current and prospective students," James Clark, from the Cambridge University and College Union, said.
"That comes attached with anxiety on how will the rest of their course look and what the value of their degree will be afterwards."
Vet school closure 'would be huge'
In a statement made last December, Cambridge University's Department of Veterinary Medicine called on University authorities "to pause and reconsider a hasty, unjustified and flawed process.
"As well as lacking transparency and proper consultation about such a serious and irreversible move, closing the veterinary medicine course also has much wider implications which are not being taken into account."
Amber - a fourth year student at the University's vet school - was one of those at yesterday's rally.
"It would be huge; it would put an end to a unique veterinary education and no other university has anything quite like it," she said.
"(The rally) is very empowering; it's lovely to see such a big show of support, not just within the vet school but the local community and wider University."
Both the National Farmers' Union and the British Veterinary Association have shown their support towards keeping the school open.
While the Save the Vet School campaign - which encourages people to share their concerns - has reportedly received more than 20,000 supporters.
Mr Clark believes there would be a wider impact on local communities if the vet school closes.
"There are at least 150 jobs at risk; (the school closure) would be a real blow to how the University reacts with the wider Cambridge community," he added.
"We have a national shortage of vets; veterinary education is important for the whole country.
"I think this isn't the first time it's happened, but there is widespread anger at the potential of the closure of a department that means so much to both the University and the whole city."
Further rally
A recommendation to close Cambridge University's vet school by 2032 was made by its School of the Biological Sciences.
In a statement, the University said its General Board "asked the School Council to consider various options for the sustainable delivery of clinical services.
"All options were explored in-depth and weighed up carefully against the School's strategic vision and plan, their implications for teaching and research, financial impact, and achievable implementation, either within the University or through external partnerships.
"After careful consideration, it was concluded that there was no viable long-term solution."
A further demonstration is set to take place at Great St Mary's Church on Monday, February 23, the day a decision on the future of Cambridge University's veterinary training course is due to be made.