All About Camvet

Camvet, also known as The University of Cambridge Veterinary School Trust, is a small charity dedicated to raising funds for the Veterinary School's teaching hospital (Queen's Veterinary School Hospital) here in Cambridge. The hospital runs on a not-for-profit basis, providing world class diagnostic and treatment services for the animals referred here and an exemplary teaching environment for veterinary medicine students and Clinical Training Scholars. Every donation, no matter how large or small, really does make a huge difference to our animal patients and the provision of future veterinary medicine.

Our History

Queen Elizabeth II Opens the Veterinary Hospital

Established in 1949, the University of Cambridge Veterinary School and the Queen's Veterinary School Hospital are at the forefront of veterinary science and produces veterinary practitioners, clinicians and researchers of the highest calibre. Several aspects of the Veterinary School's pioneering work have already been of mutual benefit to both animals and mankind. Leading veterinarians and medical clinicians work together to investigate and successfully treat problems suffered by animals and humans alike, such as inherited disease, eye disorders and snoring. The scope of the work is enormous.  Internationally renowned, the University of Cambridge Veterinary School provides crucial care for sick and injured animals, outstanding veterinary education and leading edge clinical research. Cambridge Veterinary School was officially opened by HM Queen Elizabeth II on the 20th October 1955. Her Majesty the Queen was accompanied by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

Our Achievements

The University of Cambridge Veterinary School Trust was established to support the Hospital and provide an excellent teaching environment for our veterinary students.  With your help we have achieved many milestones including:

  • Veterinary equipment totalling over £2.8 MILLION 
  • Sponsorship of over 20 clinical training scholar posts (currently sponsoring FIVE)
  • A 1.5 Tesla MRI
  • The Clinical Skills Centre including a range of interactive teaching models and equipment
  • Nine large consulting rooms and a teaching consultation room
  • Sponsorship for many teaching scholar posts, we are currently supporting FIVE
  • Europe's first Cancer Therapy Unit for animals and in 2009 including a radiotherapy machine 
  • The Small Animal Wing, Intensive Care Unit and Small Animal Surgical Suite
  • The Equine Surgical Suite and Equine Diagnostic Unit
  • The Farm Animal Medicine Centre
  • The world's first Chair in Animal Welfare
  • An Endowment Fund to support the work of the Hospital in perpetuity.

If you would like an up-to-date list of the items that we need funding for then we'd be delighted to hear from you - every contribution makes a vast difference.

Exempt Charity Status

We often get asked, what is "Exempt Charity Status?"; put simply we are answerable to and regulated by The Office for Students instead of the Charity Commission as we raise funds for a University Department.

Academy trusts, further education corporations, sixth-form college corporations and many universities are exempt charities, alongside a number of other institutions set out in schedule 3 to the Charities Act 2011.

This means that they do not appear on the Charity Commission’s register of charities.

The Office for Students is the principal regulator for higher education colleges and universities.  The principal regulator has primary responsibility for promoting legal compliance by exempt charities under its regulatory control. This means that, whilst the Charity Commission still exercises some regulatory oversight, it does so alongside a principal regulator under a memorandum of understanding.  

Exempt charities are therefore still bound by charity law (unless expressly excluded) and if you are a member of the governing body or board of an exempt charity, you are a charity trustee.

Our Exempt Charity Reference number is XO 979/83.