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It was a simple letter asking for a place to study at Scotland's oldest university which helped start a
revolution in higher education. A 140-year-old letter written by a lady calling for her to be allowed to
study medicine at St Andrews University has been discovered by researchers. Written by Sophia
Jex-Blake in 1873, the seven-page document, which urged the university to allow women to study
medicine at the institution, was released yesterday on International Women's Day.
The document was discovered buried in the university archives (档案) by part-time history student
Lis Smith, who is completing her PhD at St Andrews Institute of Scottish Historical Research. She said: "We knew that Sophia Jex-Blake and her supporters, in their effort to open up university medical
education for women, had written to the Senatus Academicus (校评议委员会) at St Andrews in an
attempt to gain permission to attend classes there, but we didn't know documentary evidence existed.
While searching the archives for information about the university's higher certificate for women, I was
astonished to come across what must be the very letter Jex-Blake wrote."
In the letter, Sophia and her supporters offered to hire teachers or build suitable buildings for a
medical school and to arrange for lectures to be delivered in the subjects not already covered at St
Andrews. Although her letter was not successful, it eventually led to the establishment of the Ladies
Literate in Arts at St Andrews, a distance-learning degree for women. The qualification, which ran from
1877 until the 1930s, gave women access to university education in the days before they were admitted
as students. It was so popular that it survived long after women were admitted as full students to St
Andrews in 1892.
Ms Jex-Blake went on to help establish the London School of Medicine for Women in 1874. She
was accepted by the University of Berne, where she was awarded a medical degree in January 1877.
Eventually, she moved back to Edinburgh and opened her own practice.
1. Sophia wrote a letter to St Andrews University because she wanted _______.
A. to carry out a research project there
B. to set up a medical institute there
C. to study medicine there
D. to deliver lectures there
2. Lis Smith found Sophia's letter to St Andrews University _______.
A. by pure chance
B. in the school office
C. with her supporters' help
D. while reading history books
3. Sophia's letter resulted in the establishment of _______.
A. the London School of Medicine for Women
B. a degree programme for women
C. a system of medical education
D. the University of Berne
4. When did St Andrews University begin to take full-time women students?
A. In 1873.
B. In 1874.
C. In 1877.
D. In 1892.
