Keystone Blog - Which Schools Get The Most Offers?

The Spectator has published its annual table showing which schools received the most Oxbridge offers last year. Over the years, both Oxford and Cambridge have increased the proportion of acceptances from state schools, which now account for 72%, up from 52% in 2000. 

Of the 80 schools considered, 29 are independent, 29 are grammar or partially selective, 17 are Sixth Form Colleges, and 5 are comprehensives or academies. 

Schools are ranked based on the total number of offers received, followed by the offer-to-application ratio. It's worth noting that any school receiving fewer than three offers from a particular university has had this data excluded, in line with UCAS's disclosure control policy. 

The top 10 independent schools are listed below (with their overall ranking among all school types in brackets): 

The top 10 independent schools were as follows:

Stand out points from the top 10 independent schools listed:   

What can we learn from this data?  

Success Rates 

• While rankings offer some insight into a school's performance, it's also important to consider the success rate. When examined more closely, this rate can reflect how effectively a school identifies the right Oxbridge candidates and supports them with course selection and preparation.
• When looking at applicant success percentages the most effective school in the top ten is St Paul’s Girls, with a 47% success rate, whilst St Paul’s School takes the second spot but with a much lower success rate of 33%.
• Schools with larger Sixth Form cohorts tend to have more candidates, which can result in a higher number of potential Oxbridge applicants. Additionally, some schools with bigger intakes may specifically focus on recruiting students for Oxbridge.

Location, Location, Location:  

• As has been consistent over the last few years, half of the schools in the top ten are located in London
• Manchester Grammar School is located further from the other schools, which are situated within 70 miles of Central London (Eton 23 miles; Magdalen College 56 miles; The Perse 60 miles; Winchester College 70 miles)

Single-Sex or Co-ed: 

• Eight of the top ten schools are single-sex, at least up to Sixth Form. This could suggest that a single-sex environment suits highly academic students. However, these schools are academically selective, meaning that the students that do attend are likely to be highly aspirational for university, regardless of the school's single-sex nature. Of the single-sex schools, Westminster, Magdalen, City of London and Winchester College take girls at Sixth Form
• Eton and St. Paul’s are the only schools in the top ten that are all-boys the whole way through
• St. Paul’s Girls is the only all-girls option in the top ten

Boarding versus Day:  

• The only fully boarding option in the top ten in Eton; with Winchester now offering co-ed day places in Sixth Form

Academic Selectivity at Entry 

• All of the top ten independent schools listed are known to be extremely academically selective at entry (whether that’s 11+/13+ or 16+)
• For those schools with significant intakes at Sixth Form, it is known that schools are often looking for very academic joiners who are looking to apply to top universities.

Stand out points from the top 80: 

Sixth Form Colleges on the Rise 

• Among the top 80 schools, Sixth Form Colleges stand out, occupying four of the top ten spots. These institutions can fully concentrate on the Sixth Form curriculum, preparing ambitious students for top universities.
• Sixth Form Colleges see a large number of Oxbridge applicants, with Hills Road putting forward 277 applications, Brampton Manor 273, Peter Symonds and Brighton Hove and Sussex both 196. However, the application success rates for these four colleges range from 18% to 28%, which is lower than any of the success rates in the top ten schools.

Decline of the Independent School  

• Independent schools like Sevenoaks and Brighton College, which have both recently featured in the Independent School top ten, have now dropped down to 17th and 19th respectively.

 Top 80 Schools for Oxbridge Offers

Source The Oxbridge files: which schools get the most offers? | The Spectator 

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