This was a top comment on a Reddit thread in response to a recent article by the Guardian titled ‘Oh my Gosh, they’re all from London and Cambridge’: York University Northerners fight back’ which discussed the formation of a Northern society at the aforementioned university.
On the assumption that the anonymous individual behind this comment was from the South, we are provided with an insight into the southern perception of Northern communities at prestigious educational institutions in the UK. Although this disdainful and divisive view, echoed in other comments such as ‘It’s really interesting how students keep managing to find new ways to be completely and utterly pathetic wet wipes’, cannot be said to reflect all Southerners, as a student at the London School of Economics (LSE) where the vast majority of domestic students are from London or the South, it is unfortunately not too dissimilar to my day-to-day experience.
As a Northerner from Bolton in Greater Manchester, I am no stranger to being the odd one out at university; having my accent mocked or being subjected to a stereotype beyond my control. This is where Northern societies come in.
My MagNorth colleague Vivienne Hall recently authored an article on being a Northerner at Oxford University and proposed the idea that when your “Northernness” becomes the subject of Southerner’s jibes, you have three choices…to accept, defend or loose it. My conclusion would be to wholeheartedly defend it, a commitment demonstrated by my role as president of the LSE Northern society. At a university with a 70% international student body, I have a first-hand appreciation of the importance of diversity in an increasingly polarised world, yet, when you are part of an under-represented group that can often feel isolated, the value of spending time with people who share a similar background and culture should not be overlooked.
You may be wondering, what does a Northern society actually do? Perhaps LSE Northern Soc’s tagline can be of some help in answering this question …‘Ey up duck! Do you miss the friendly chit-chat of the North? If so, join our Society for guaranteed Northern hospitality.’ Undoubtedly, there is some truth behind this; we will most definitely have a natter and a laugh whether that be over pints at the pub or a Greggs sausage roll, however, Northern societies also have a more serious role to play.
1 Boring_Potential7933. Comment on “ ‘Oh my gosh, they’re all from London and Cambridge’: York University’s northerners fight back.” Reddit, r/unitedkingdom. September 2025.
2 Vinter, Robyn. “‘Oh My Gosh, They’re All From London and Cambridge’: York University’s Northerners Fight Back.” Guardian, January 4, 2026.
3 Anony_mouse202. Comment on “ ‘Oh my gosh, they’re all from London and Cambridge’: York University’s northerners fight back.” Reddit, r/unitedkingdom. September 2025.
4 Hall, Vivienne. “A Northerner in Oxford.” Mag North, September 21, 2026.
https://www.mag-north.com/posts/a-northerner-in-oxford.
The Guardian article, mentioned previously, highlights the work of the Cambridge University Northern Society in this regard. The society not only provides its students with a ‘home-away-from-home’ but also arranges Northern speakers throughout the year ‘who are successful in their respective fields and are proud of the North’.
Initiatives such as this are vital considering that 41% of university students from the North of England are concerned that their accent could affect their ability to succeed in the future, compared to just 21% from the South (excluding London). Although these statistics, taken from a Sutton Trust study, (a charity which uses education to improve social mobility), focus on accent, through conversations with Northerners at LSE, I discovered that anxieties about future success surpass just the way we speak.
They instead lie in the deep-rooted, preconceived prejudices that Northerners are less sophisticated, cultured or well-connected, simply due to our birthplace. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that there is a resurgence of Northern Societies, with 50% of the prestigious Russell Group universities now having one active, including universities in traditional Northern strongholds such as Durham.
On the question as to whether Southerners should be allowed to join Northern societies, Lucy Morville of the York University Northern Society confidently asserts that, ‘it’s not the space we want it to be if there’s people from the south there’.
Although I agree with her sentiment, I also appreciate that some people born in the south may have northern parents or a genuine interest in life above Birmingham! For a society established on a foundation of inclusion and community, I personally believe it would seem hypocritical to have a policy of exclusion. In addition, how can we assuredly determine who qualifies as a Northerner? After all, the geographical ‘North-South’ dividing line has been long debated and never universally settled (a topic my next article will delve into deeper).
With our new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, leading the way with his devolution agenda and Number 10 North, energised Northern students up and down the country feel it is time to champion our culture and create a platform for our proud voices to be heard.
5 Ainsworth, Elise. ‘The Northern Society (University of Cambridge)’. “Presidents Welcome”.
https://northernsociety.wordpress.com.
6 Levon, Erez, Devyani Sharma, and Christian Ilbury. “Speaking Up: Accents and Social Mobility.” Sutton Trust, November 3, 2022.
https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/speaking-up-accents-social-mobility/.
7 Cartwright, Jennifer. “Greggs Picnics, Pub Crawls, and History Quizzes: How Northern Societies Are Helping Students Find Each Other.” Yorkshire Evening Post, November 27, 2025.
8 Vinter, Robyn. “‘Oh My Gosh, They’re All From London and Cambridge’: York University’s Northerners Fight Back.” Guardian, January 4, 2026.
As such, when I was sat behind the Northern Society stand at the freshers fair promoting a community I know has the power to be a force for good, I chose to ignore the people who walked past with a wry smirk followed by a mocking giggle, and reassured myself that I’m not a Northerner with a chip on my shoulder, but a Northerner eager to be at the forefront of the change I want to see.
