More state school pupils at Cambridge
The proportion of Cambridge University places going to state school pupils has risen again this year despite a drop in applications from the sector.
The figures, published today, help counter the charge of elitism levelled against Oxbridge after Laura Spence, a top Tyneside state school pupil, failed to win a place at Magdalen College, Oxford.
Chancellor Gordon Brown described her rejection as an " absolute scandal" which reflected an "old boy network" at Oxford and Cambridge - an accusation vigorously rejected by both universities. This year's figures show the proportion of state school pupils winning places at Cambridge is back at 53 per cent, after dipping last year by one percentage point. The increase came even though applications from the state sector fell from 59per cent to 58 per cent.
The university said the trend reflected the even-handedness of its applications process and its efforts to "attract the most able students to Cambridge whatever their backgrounds".
However, a head teachers' leader said this year's figures showed that admissions to Cambridge from the independent sector - 47 per cent - were still disproportionately large, resulting from 42 per cent of applications from the sector. Only 29per cent of A-level students achieving three Agrades - effectively the minimum entry requirement - come from independent schools.
David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said the university "needs to do more in the inner cities if they are to attract bright pupils from poorer families" but admitted that "the fault also lies with low expectations amongst some teachers".
