Oxford reveals state school offers

Colleges have been courting state pupils

Oxford's 30 undergraduate colleges have published for the first time the proportion of offers they have made to state and independent school pupils.

We are not complacent and will continue to encourage the brightest and best students to apply

Jane Minto, admissions office

The offers, for places starting this autumn, show that on average 53% of the places would go to state pupils, 47% to the independent sector.

That is a 3% shift towards the state sector from last year's position, when the proportion was 50/50.

Offers to state pupils range from 40.4% in the case of Oriel College to 74.6% of the offers from Mansfield College.

The offers are conditional on pupils' exam results, due out in a couple of weeks' time.

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Oxford says that almost every applicant for a place has excellent exam results. Of those who took up places last September, 75% had achieved three A grades at A-level, and 20% had two As and a B.

Nationally, two thirds of students who get three A grades come from state schools.

The head of the university's Undergraduate Admissions Office, Jane Minto, said: "By placing these figures in the public domain we are both re-emphasising the university's commitment to openness and transparency throughout our admissions system and reflecting the colleges' practice of sharing information and advice on widening access.

Offers to state pupils

1991: 48%

1992: 47%

1993: 47%

1994: 48%

1995: 48%

1996: 48%

1997: 48%

1998: 49%

1999: 50%

2000: 53%

"We hope that the select committee will be looking at this information alongside data from other institutions."

"However, we are not complacent and will continue to encourage the brightest and best students to apply, whatever their social and educational background," Ms Minto added.

The new breakdown is being supplied to the House of Commons education select committee, which has been investigating the issue of access to top universities.

Oxford has been under particular scrutiny since the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, accused it of elitism after Magdalen College rejected an application from comprehensive school pupil Laura Spence.

'Laura Spence' college

Magdalen offered only 46.2% of its places to state sector applicants, putting it towards the bottom of the table.

Magdalen's president, Anthony Smith, said he had a hunch Mr Brown's comments would curtail the rapid rise in the number of state school pupils applying to Magdalen that there had been in recent years.

"We've put an enormous amount of energy and cash into trying to attract state school pupils and we are watching this rather closely and rather nervously," he said.

"My suspicion is that a number of comprehensive school kids will have been deterred."

The table below shows the percentages of colleges' conditional offers that have been made to state and to independent school pupils:

COLLEGE	state	indep.
Oriel	40.4	59.6
St Edmund Hall	42.2	57.8
Brasenose	44.2	55.8
Trinity	44.4	55.6
Pembroke	44.9	55.1
Magdalen	46.2	53.8
Lincoln	46.4	53.6
Worcester	46.8	53.2
Christ Church	47.2	52.8
Lady Margaret Hall	47.3	52.7
New	47.6	52.4
University	48.0	52.0
St Hugh's	49.6	50.4
St Peter's	51.3	48.7
St Hilda's	53.0	47.0
Queen's	53.3	46.7
average	53.6	46.4
Corpus Christi	55.6	44.4
St Catherine's	55.9	44.1
Balliol	56.1	43.9
Jesus	56.5	43.5
Somerville	59.6	40.4
Exeter	59.8	40.2
St Anne's	60.7	39.3
Hertford	61.3	38.7
Merton	61.4	38.6
Keble	65.3	34.7
Wadham	66.2	33.8
St John's	69.9	30.1
Mansfield	74.6	25.4
Harris Manchester*	100.0	0.0
*Only takes students aged 25+ and is not included in the average

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