The elite and elusive Oxford and Cambridge universities have long attracted some of the world’s brightest minds, with a star-studded list of alumni including Stephen Hawking, Charles Darwin, Malala Yousafzai, and Sylvia Plath, to name just a few.
And while both institutions might’ve dropped out of The Times’ rankings of the top three in the UK for the first time in its 32-year history last week, there’s no denying that the Oxbridge name still has an immense pull factor.
Yes, Oxbridge has long been plagued by the notion that it’s just wealthy private school students who can get in – but over the last 20 years or so, both institutions have improved somewhat and taken more than half of their scholars from state schools.
Now, a new study has identified the top 30 state schools in England, Scotland and Wales sending the largest numbers of its sixth form students to either Oxford or Cambridge.
It’s worth noting that while state schools are, obviously, taxpayer-funded, that doesn’t mean that sending your child to one of the best comes without a price tag.
Data shows that the top state schools will typically be found in wealthier neighbourhoods – and there’s a suggestion that being within the catchment area for these can push up local house prices. So, yes, there’s potentially already a subtle element of privilege at play here.
But if you’re curious and reckon your child is a budding Isaac Newton or Millicent Fawcett, then The Daily Mail has found that Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge sends the most students to Oxbridge each year in England – which is no surprise, considering that Cambridge is, after all, just down the road.
The research identified the top 26 state schools in England, the top two in Scotland and the top two in Wales, looking at the number of pupils from each school who got into both Oxford and Cambridge in 2024 and combining it with the acceptance rate as a percentage of applications.
‘A focus on self-motivation and a strong social scene’
So, how does England’s cleverest state school stack up? Last year, Hills Road saw 19 brainy students accepted into Cambridge, while 38 rebelled and went further afield to the city of dreaming spires, as the famous saying coined by Victorian poet Matthew Arnold goes.
Wondering what your little prodigies will need to get in? They’ll need four 6s and four 5s at GCSE level, including Maths and English.
The prospects are certainly high here, as in 2024, 77% of Hills Road students achieved between A* and B grades at A level – and this success doesn’t stop at university, either, as in 2022, 50% of ex-Hills students went on to graduate with a first-class degree.
It’ll come as no surprise that Hills, which aims to channel a relaxed, university-style vibe in allowing students to wear their own clothes rather than a uniform, was rated Outstanding as part of its latest Ofsted inspection earlier this year.
It’s not just Oxbridge that Hills is feeding its students into, either: in 2024, 60% went to a top third-ranking university, while 87% of the student body went to university more widely.
For local brainboxes and parents alike weighing up their future choices, Hills Road has long proved popular. Posting over on the r/Cambridge Subreddit, one Hills graduate previously gushed about how much they ‘loved’ their time in CB2.
‘There was a focus on self-motivation and extracurriculars, a strong social scene, great science teachers, and you were free to go into town or home if you didn’t have lessons,’ they reflected.
‘It was good prep for uni in hindsight. The only real jump was living alone.’
Another previous student added that there’s an ‘excellent pastoral system’ in place, describing their former teachers as ‘not only great at teaching the content but also incredibly approachable and down to earth.’ Sounds ideal for an educational environment, right?
Besides Hills Road, other options which made the top 10 included Brampton Manor Academy in Newham, Queen Elizabeth’s School in Barnet, Brighton Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College, and Peter Symonds in Winchester.
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