The state schools that get the most students into Oxbridge – including four that beat Eton

The good news is that loads of state schools across the UK which are are sending off students to Oxbridge each year. Oxbridge are (in theory) getting mildly less elitist in 2025 than in years gone by. Here are the UK state schools that get the most students into Oxbridge.

Last year, the ultra-prestigious (read: ultra-snobby) private school Eton College sent 48 students to Oxbridge. Four state schools actually beat that number.

The top sixth-form college managed to get 69 students into the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. That’s the same amount as Westminster School, where boarding fees are an eye-watering £20,995 per term.

The bad news is that this list isn’t a very diverse selection of state schools. Half of these schools are in London. Half are grammar schools. Only one school is in the Midlands, and one in the north of England. The rest are all in the south. Yikes.

This date comes from The Spectator, and refers to last year’s admission cycle. The “success rate” is the percentage of students who applied that got offers.

So, here are the 22 UK state schools which get the most students into Oxbridge:

=19. Winstanley College, Greater Manchester

23 offers, 21 per cent success rate

=19. London Academy of Excellence, London

23 offers, 25 per cent success rate

=19. Reading School, Berkshire

It’s a selective all-boys boarding school and looks like a castle, but it’s a state school

23 offers, 31 per cent success rate

=19. Hereford Sixth Form College, Herefordshire

23 offers, 40 per cent success rate

=17. Woodhouse College, London

25 offers, 23 per cent success rate

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=17. Dr Challoner’s Grammar School, Buckinghamshire

25 offers, 40 per cent success rate

=15. King Edward VI Grammar School, Essex

26 offers, 32 per cent success rate

=15. The Judd School, Kent

26 offers, 36 per cent success rate

14. Colchester Royal Grammar School, Essex

27 offers, 32 per cent success rate

13. Pate’s Grammar School, Gloucestershire

28 offers, 33 per cent success rate

12. Wilson’s School, London

Wilsn’s School is an all-boys grammar school in Sutton
(Credit: Suttonner)

29 offers, 31 per cent success rate

11. The Camden School for Girls, London

31 offers, 41 per cent success rate

10. Henrietta Barnett School, London

34 offers, 43 per cent success rate

9. Tiffin School, London

38 offers, 32 per cent success rate

8. St Olave’s and St Saviour’s Grammar School, London

39 offers, 35 per cent success rate

7. Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre, London

@thencs

🔥Newham Collegiate Sixth Form outshines Eton for Oxbridge application success rates! 🔥The NCS ranks among London’s best sixth forms for preparing students to make successful Oxbridge applications, with the a higher success rate than Eton College and the highest in Newham. Discover more at our bio link!

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40 offers, 29 per cent success rate

6. Peter Symonds College, Hampshire

46 offers, 47 per cent success rate

5. Queen Elizabeth’s School, London

47 offers, 44 per cent success rate

4. Harris Westminster Sixth Form, London

49 offers, 31 per cent success rate

3. Brampton Manor Academy, London

50 offers, 18 per cent success rate

2. Brighton Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College, East Sussex

56 offers, 29 per cent success rate

1. Hills Road Sixth Form College, Cambridgeshire

69 offers, 25 per cent success rate

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