AN east London state school on Tuesday (10) outperformed Eton in securing Oxbridge offer as 55 of its pupils, seven more than Eton's 48, scored A-level grades that are needed to study at UK’s top two universities, stated media reports.
Brampton Manor Academy is a state school in the London borough of Newham.
The majority of pupils at Newham's state school are from ethnic minority backgrounds, in receipt of free school meals or will be the first in their family to attend university, reports said.
While 55 pupils from Brampton Manor Academy secured an Oxbridge offer- up by four from last year, Eton saw a drop from 69 last year to 48 this year. The 581-year-old boarding school boasts of a star-studded alma mater including prime minister Boris Johnson as well as former prime ministers David Cameron and Winston Churchill.
Additionally, two pupils from Brampton Manor Academy in Newham will be flying off to Harvard and Stanford Universities in the US on full scholarships after scoring top A-level grades.
Started in 2012, the school was open with the aim of transforming progression rates to Oxford, Cambridge and other elite Russell Group universities for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds in Newham.
In 2014, just one student from Brampton received an offer for Oxbridge.
Sam Dobin, Brampton’s sixth form director, said he is “delighted” that 55 of its students are now set to study at Oxford or Cambridge University this year, which is more than many leading independent schools.
In all, 350 students took their A levels at Brampton Manor Academy this year, with 330 getting into Russell Group universities, including the 55 who got into Oxbridge.
The first in her family to go to Oxford, Nyat Aron-Yohannes, 18, who got three A*s and will study philosophy, politics and economics at the prestigious university, told Mail Online that there was “black excellence in this building”, on the fact that many of her classmates will be joining her in Oxford.
“There are lots of people going to Oxford and Cambridge and I am not surprised because you would expect it when you see how hard everyone here works. Once they had their university offers, there was a new fire in them to study to make sure they got the grades to go,” the media outlet quoted Kenny Ikeji, 18, of Dagenham, Essex, who got the three A* grades and is planning to pursue computer science at Harvard.