Students at an east London state sixth form are celebrating after receiving a record 89 Oxbridge offers.
Brampton Manor Academy, a selective college in Newham, beat its own record of 55 offers in a single year. This means that the school has sent nearly 300 students to Oxford and Cambridge since it opened just ten years ago.
Those heading to Oxford and Cambridge include students who speak English as a second language and a significant number who are the first in their family to go to university or were on free school meals.
Dr Dayo Olukoshi, the executive principal, said the school was “exceptionally proud” of its students.
“They have shown incredible resilience and determination to ensure the disruption experienced over the past couple of years has not halted their path to success,” he said.
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“We passionately believe there is no limit to what our students can achieve with sufficient effort and determination, and I am not at all surprised that two of the world’s best universities have recognised their talent by offering them places.
“We cannot wait for the A-level exams to return this summer for the first time in two years so that these incredibly hard-working students can demonstrate their ability in meeting the offer conditions they have been set.”
Most students are from backgrounds under-represented at top universities.
Dominykas Antanaitis, who is in receipt of free school meals and will be the first in his family to go to university, received an offer to study engineering at Cambridge.
“My heart stopped when I opened the email; it took me some time to realise I had actually got in,” he said. “I called my mum straight away and she was ecstatic. I stay in school until 6pm most days to study because there is no space for me to work at home — I am so happy my hard work has paid off.”
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Mehnaz Mushafa, who holds an offer to study philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) at Oxford, will be the first in her family to go to university. Like all in her cohort, both of her sixth form years were completed during the pandemic.
She said that although learning throughout lockdowns was difficult, “I just kept remembering the end goal and why I came to Brampton”.
“It was difficult not being with my peers, but the fact that we continued with our full timetable of live lessons online, still wearing school uniform with our cameras on really did help,” she said.
Priscilla Nazziwa, who holds an offer to study archaeology and anthropology at Oxford, had never heard of the subject until she attended university taster sessions at Brampton Manor.
One student, Gabriel Fernandes, arrived in the UK aged 10 with his family and could not speak English. He had to learn the language from scratch while at school.
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He said: “Holding an offer from Cambridge has genuinely made me believe that you can achieve anything you put your mind to as long as you persevere”.
Three pupils are following older siblings from Brampton to Oxford or Cambridge. Azeez Shekoni, whose brother Harun studies PPE at Oxford, has received an offer to study medicine.
“When I got my offer it was a special moment for me and my family. Coming to Brampton taught me that everyone has the potential to achieve their goals regardless of their background with hard work and determination,” he said.
Last summer The Spectator published an index of how many pupils leading schools had sent to Oxbridge that year. The top was the private Westminster School, which got an offer for 93 students out of 186 applicants.
The next best was Hills Road College in Cambridge, a state sixth form, which received 71 offers for its pupils. Just under a third of those applying were accepted. Eton and St Paul’s were also among the top ten schools for overall Oxbridge offers, but four of the best ten were state schools. Last year Brampton ranked 12th in the country.
