A fifth of Oxbridge students come from just FIVE counties

Youngsters from solely 5 counties within the South make up nearly one fifth of all pupils throughout the nation admitted to Oxbridge, statistics present.

Authorities figures reveal simply how a lot the 2 elite universities are dominated by pupils from the south of England, regardless of efforts to draw a extra numerous vary of scholars.

A complete of two,720 – or 18 per cent – of whole admissions in three years from England and Wales have been to pupils from the 5 native training authority areas.

A scholar walks throughout the courtyard at St Catherine's School in Cambridge

Hertfordshire despatched 695 college students to Oxford and Cambridge – the very best quantity within the nation – whereas Surrey despatched 570, Kent despatched 535, Oxfordshire despatched 475 and Hampshire despatched 445.

That is regardless of these areas making up solely 10 per cent of the inhabitants of England and Wales.

In distinction, over the identical interval – 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14 – a complete of 12 councils, principally within the North, noticed solely round 60 pupils enter the 2 universities. It means there at the moment are huge areas of the nation that ship just about no college students to the nation's elite universities.

Poor faculties, low aspirations and no historical past of attending Oxbridge are believed to be a number of the explanation why some councils find yourself with just about none of their college students moving into the highest two universities.

Keble Collage, on the College of Oxford. Considerations have been voiced in regards to the variety of scholars accepted at Oxbridge

Sir Peter Lampl, founding father of the Sutton Belief, a charity offering instructional alternatives for kids from under-privileged backgrounds, stated: 'These figures present that your probabilities of attending to an excellent college aren't only a matter of household background, but in addition of the place you go to high school.

'London has benefited from plenty of programmes and a spotlight through the years, and we'd like that spotlight to unfold throughout the nation, notably to the North and to coastal cities, if younger individuals are to enhance their probabilities of getting a very good diploma and progressing to a very good profession.'

The worst-performing native training authority areas are Knowsley on Merseyside, and Sandwell within the West Midlands, the place the quantity making it to Oxford or Cambridge previously three years 'is fewer than 5' in every case, the figures present. There have been ten different LEAs the place solely 5 pupils (figures rounded down) from every space bought a spot at both college. Seven have been within the North and Midlands: Barnsley, Halton, Middlesbrough, North East Lincolnshire, Redcar and Cleveland, Rochdale and South Tyneside.

Sir Peter Lampl, founding father of the Sutton Belief (left), has hit out on the new figures, whereas Dr Samina Khan, of Oxford College (proper) has stated the establishment is dedicated to accepting college students from a full vary of backgrounds

The others have been: the London boroughs of Islington, and Barking and Dagenham, plus Thurrock in Essex.

Dr Samina Khan, of Oxford College, stated: 'Oxford is completely dedicated to growing its consumption of scholars from deprived backgrounds by offering one of the crucial beneficiant monetary assist packages for UK college students and enterprise an enormous quantity of labor aimed toward attracting functions from brilliant younger individuals from under-represented backgrounds.'

A Cambridge College spokesman stated it has various outreach programmes which work with 1000's of state college pupils, and a summer time college for 500 chosen state college pupils.

A Division for Training spokesman stated: 'Younger individuals from deprived backgrounds usually tend to go to college than ever earlier than. However there's nonetheless extra to do.'

The Increased Training Invoice would require universities to launch extra details about their admissions course of and provides incentives for selling social mobility, the spokesman added.

 

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