The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has intervened to ban an all-male Cambridge University drinking society from staging 'sexist' female jelly-wrestling competitions.

Dr Williams, now master at Magdalene College, Cambridge, put pressure on the society after complaints from female students about 'exclusive and misogynistic' drinking clubs at Oxford and Cambridge.

The Wyverns, one of the university's most famous all-male drinking societies, had promised to bring back the wrestling at its 86th annual garden party last Sunday, where the theme was 'blazers and bikinis'.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has intervened to ban an all-male Cambridge University drinking society from staging 'sexist' female jelly-wrestling competitions (above)

The tradition, which sees female students wrestling in jelly in bikinis for a cash prize, was cancelled in 2013 after 1,000 students signed a petition accusing the organisers of sexism.

But despite the society claiming it would be opened up to both genders and that the prize would be scrapped, the wrestling did not go ahead due to pressure from Magdalene College, where the Wyverns are based.

A college source said: '[The pressure] came from the Master and the fellows of the college. It's frowned upon that we get a bad name because of this drinking society. It's to do with the reputation of the college and how we're perceived.

'The college has frowned upon this for years and the whole Wyverns Society has been a thorn in the side. It's bad – girls jelly-wrestling for the fun of the boys. It's terrible.'

The move comes weeks after Nobel prizewinner Sir Tim Hunt quit from University College London after making chauvinist comments about female scientists.

Dr Williams, now master at Magdalene College, Cambridge, put pressure on the society after complaints from female students about 'exclusive and misogynistic' drinking clubs at Oxford and Cambridge

Students at both Oxford and Cambridge have also launched a campaign called No Exclusive And Sexist Societies. The petition calls for the end to clubs such as the historic Pitt Club, which has reputedly counted Edward VII and George V as members, and Oxford's Bullingdon Club, whose alumni include Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne.

And it also asks that both universities undertake disciplinary action on any student caught taking part in the societies. Complaints include first-year female students being invited to private dinners before being given alcohol and told to 'flash' older male society members.

An anonymous male student who signed the petition wrote: 'I'm a member of an all-male drinking society, and, I could never say this publicly, but some of the behaviour is truly awful. I am embarrassed I don't have the spine to stand up to these misogynists, but it's hard.

'There's a lot of social pressure to be a 'lad' and, while I don't join in, I'm too scared to speak up. I really hope this campaign is successful.'

The Wyverns – also known as 'the Gentleman Wyverns' – have already been banned from holding events on college or university property. Magdalene has also warned students that the Wyverns' initiation ceremonies – said to involve eating disgusting foods such as raw squid – are prohibited 'wherever they take place'.

One of the petition organisers, who asked not to be named, said: 'These societies are endemic at Cambridge, and ridicule and berate women. They are connected to the imbalance of power between men and women and we want a university that takes a stand against sexism.'