Anthem dropped for Bristol’s graduations

THE University of Bristol has dropped the national anthem from its graduation ceremonies.

A student used to lead a rendition of God Save the King after certificates had been handed out to graduates. However, this has not taken place since last year, The Sun reported.

The national anthem is now only played when a representative of the Royal family is present, the university said.

Cabinet ministers said the university had caved in to “woke ideology” and should stop taking taxpayer money.

Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, tweeted: “If Bristol University are too ashamed of their British heritage, presumably they no longer want to be subsidised by [the] British taxpayer?”

Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, said: “This is ridiculous. Universities should stand up for our British values and stop giving in to woke ideology.”

Mark Francois, a former Armed Forces minister, said: “As someone who read history at Bristol University in the 1980s, they now appear to have forgotten their own. This clearly unpatriotic decision is sadly indicative of just how ‘woke’ Bristol Uni has now become.”

Students told the newspaper the anthem was not “relevant” to the younger generation, and that the tradition of singing it seemed “old-fashioned”.

Suki Yuan, 22, a computer science student, added: “Students come here from all sections of society and the university probably thinks that the national anthem may be offensive to some of them.”

Toby Young, director of the Free Speech Union, said: “Why are Britain’s most prestigious universities openly contemptuous of the country’s history and heritage?

“It’s particularly mysterious, given how financially dependent they are on taxpayers’ money. If Bristol University really hates Britain so passionately, the Government should invite it to take its begging bowl elsewhere.”

Bristol received its royal charter from Edward VII in 1909, which allowed it to award degrees and formally established it as a university.

It said in a statement: “The university routinely updates aspects of its graduation ceremonies, which included the 2020 decision that the national anthem would be played when representatives of the Royal family, such as the Lord-Lieutenant, are in attendance.”

The decision took effect for graduation ceremonies last year, as a result of Covid restrictions.