The North-South divide is an age old fact of England. Being amongst the Northern minority in a university inundated with Southerners, I find these divisions clear to see on a day-to-day basis. The distinction had not previously been evident to me before I began my studies at Nottingham. The conversation starts with ‘where are you from?’ then mostly flows into a stream of the obvious – ’I’m from London’, whether they are from Slough, Buckinghamshire or any of the surrounding areas. It just sounds cooler. But when you’re amongst the minority, do you give the honest answer and watch people frown upon you, whilst cautiously questioning whether your Dad is a miner? We’ve moved on from flat caps and whippets, but the North somehow still conjures up images of impoverishment; of terraced houses with the Corrie theme tune in the background. The south, on the other hand, seems to be the land of superiority and wads of money. Of course this is not entirely accurate.
This whole Southern ruling class sentiment was echoed in some of my very own Facebook-conducted research, or more of an experiment, with my block! As expected, asking questions regarding the North vs South topic sparked some controversial anti-Northern comments:
Immediate responses from my question, were those generally reflecting the attitude of the last comment: “not many northerners – guess it’s because we’re at a decent uni”. Snobbery aside, perhaps the guy has a point. The Office of National Statistics released figures illustrating that the North East has the lowest figure for participation in higher education, with only 29% of residents having attended university. In comparison inner city London has the highest number of graduates, at 60%.
In total, an unsurprising 15 from 23 of my respondents were from the South. Disparity between where the North and South are partitioned, was a topic of discussion contested in my research. An ‘official’ map left questions as to whether the divide is an illusion created by the ruling class and to keep cities industrialised. For example Coventry, technically South of Norwich, is known as a Northern city, whereas Norwich, further East of the country is classified, in the map as the South. Many news stories have also surrounded the urban inequality between the North and South of England recently, with some describing the level of poverty in Northern regions as “shocking”, whilst others are sceptical and see it as a myth – and a distraction. But perhaps what really carves up this country is wealth and power, not Geography.
Holding a great representation of students, it is obvious that the divide at the university is not going to even out any time soon, however, Nottingham Potential scheme at the University promotes higher educational aspiration and supports the narrowing the gap between the North and the South. There is extensive debate around whether the under-represented areas of the UK are a reflection of lower socio-economic backgrounds. However, the true Northern culture besides commercial and economic interests is often overlooked and left uncelebrated.
The traditional friendliness of the North is a certain swayer for me. You can securely receive a smile from a passing stranger at some point whilst commuting in the North, yet this mistake can be fatal in London. A smile on the tube is akin to a seedy deed in London. Remotely making eye contact with someone dodgy-looking can be truly terrifying! Cars don’t beep at each other in the North just for being on the same bit of road for some length of time. Also, there’s no point listing all the amazing bands that have come from great Northern cities such as Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, and Sheffield, because you’re probably already a fan of them. We rule.
And to finalise the certainty of the winner in the North-South debate…
;)
Edited by Amelia Bauer
Sources:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/04/north-south-divide-myth-distraction
http://www.impactnottingham.com/2013/11/uon-undergrads-from-the-north/
http://www.impactnottingham.com/2009/12/vent-your-spleen-%E2%80%93-the-northsouth-divide/
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