In an act of transformative philanthropy, the University of Cambridge has accepted a record £190 million donation from the British billionaire hedge fund manager Chris Rokos, a gift believed to be the largest single donation to a UK university in modern times.
The funds will establish the Rokos School of Government, intended to rival the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford, which was controversially funded by Ukrainian-born billionaire Sir Leonard Blavatnik. Rokos, a mathematics graduate of Oxford who attended Eton on a scholarship after a state primary education, stated the school’s planning began years ago with the aim of adapting government for a changing world. The school is slated to open in autumn 2026, initially from temporary facilities before moving to a new building in Cambridge’s West Innovation District. The donation consists of an initial £130 million, with a further £60 million to be matched by the university.
A Philanthropic Divide Widens an Existing Gap
While such generosity to a world-leading institution is notable, it underscores a profound and growing inequality in university fundraising. In the 2024-25 academic year, donations and endowments accounted for only about 2% of UK universities’ total income, a slight decrease on the year before. The nation’s wealthiest universities, however, attract a disproportionate share. Analysis of financial accounts shows donations to the 24 Russell Group universities fell by 16% to £546.3 million in 2024-25—the lowest level in three years—yet this concentrated philanthropy still serves to widen the chasm between the oldest, most selective institutions and the rest.
Chris Rokos, founder of Rokos Capital Management with an estimated net worth of £2.3 billion, has a history of supporting causes including Amnesty International, WaterAid, and academic scholarships. He previously donated approximately £2 million to the Conservative Party between 2009 and 2015, but has not done so since 2018. His latest gift, he has said, is motivated by a desire to “give something back to Britain” after his own transformative education.
The Precarious Financial State of the Sector
Beyond the rarefied world of record-breaking gifts, the UK’s higher education sector is facing severe financial strain. According to projections, 43% of English institutions were in deficit in 2024-25, a figure expected to rise to 45% in 2025-26, with Coventry University reporting the largest deficit of £60 million in 2024. The causes are multifaceted: the real-terms value of spending per student in England has fallen by 18% since 2012, operational costs and inflation are rising, and international student numbers fell by 6.1% in 2024-25.
Government policy is adding further pressure. While domestic tuition fees in England have risen from £9,250 to £9,535 for 2025-26—the first increase since 2017—this does not cover inflation. From August 2028, a new levy of £925 per international student per year will be charged to providers in England to fund maintenance grants, with an allowance for the first 220 students. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has acknowledged the student loan system is “broken,” but stated reform is not a current priority, focusing instead on child poverty and NHS waiting lists. Her decision to freeze the Plan 2 loan repayment threshold at £29,385 has faced criticism.
Demographic shifts compound the worry, with the number of 18-year-olds set to fall after 2030. Although applications from this age group were slightly up in 2024-25, a changing student lifestyle is evident: the proportion of UK students living at home while studying has risen to 31%, from 22% a decade ago.
No Shortage of Reform Ideas
In this context, a range of proposals for systemic reform are being debated. Tim Blackman, a former vice-chancellor of the Open University, has advocated for a more modular, comprehensive system with greater common standards between institutions and fewer undergraduates on full-time residential courses—a model that appears to align with the trend of living at home.
A forthcoming paper from the Higher Education Policy Institute, authored by former Department for Education adviser Tom Richmond, proposes measures to curb marketisation’s “damaging distortions.” These include a cap on growth in student numbers, stronger financial regulations to reduce risk, and controls on grade inflation. Elsewhere, some universities are finding alternative revenue, with the number of students studying for UK qualifications overseas via transnational education rising by 8% in 2024-25.
For now, the government’s plans remain unclear, with little sense of urgency following the departure of the Prime Minister’s former chief of staff, Sue Gray, for whom universities were understood to be a priority. The sector waits, while the monumental gift to Cambridge stands as a stark reminder of the uneven resources within it.
