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In the latest news to stick two fingers up to the UK’s posh-boy governing elite, a state school in east London has outperformed private school Eton in meeting Oxbridge targets.
On Tuesday (August 10), Brampton Manor Academy in East Ham saw 55 students achieve the A-level grades needed to get into Oxford or Cambridge universities, a phenomenal achievement that surpasses the school’s 2020 record of 51. Brampton Manor bested Eton, the £42,500-per-year private school of royalty and much of our current governing elite, which only managed to get 48 of its students into the UK’s two most prestigious universities.
After lockdowns, school closures and a second year of cancelled exams, the results come at the end of a particularly difficult couple of years for students, who have persevered through remote learning and self-study. Even more impressively, Brampton Manor bucked a trend that has seen the gap widen between public and private schools. While 44.8 percent of A-level grades in England, Wales and Northern Ireland were an A or A* this year, that number was much higher in private schools (70 percent) than state schools (39 percent).
Many students at Brampton Manor are from ethnic minority backgrounds or receive free school meals. Eton, by contrast, is one of the UK’s most expensive schools, and alumni include famous toffs Boris Johnson, David Cameron and Princes William and Harry. Eton’s number of accepted Oxbridge students fell by 30 percent this year, from 69 in 2020. Recent years have seen a backlash against private school dominance in feeding students into Oxbridge and other top unis. In an effort to combat centuries of structural racism and inequality, the UK’s elite universities have been accepting greater numbers of state school students.
But that’s not to take away from the outstanding achievements of the students at Brampton Manor – and not just in terms of Oxbridge attendees. The A-level results also saw the school send 330 students to Russell Group universities.
Don’t tell Oxford and Cambridge: London is officially the best city in the world for students.
To celebrate, some things to do in London this weekend.