David Cameron’s Oxford college admits fewest state school applicants

Brasenose, the historic Oxford college where David Cameron once studied, has the poorest record of admitting state school pupils who apply there, with just one out of every 10 winning a place, according to a new report published on Thursday.

The Brasenose figure features prominently in a report by the Sutton Trust educational charity, which also calls on Oxford and Cambridge to streamline their admissions procedure with a single application process controlled by the university, rather than the current system of applications to individual colleges, which it says is “intimidating and complex”.

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An embattled Oxford University meanwhile strongly disputed the Sutton Trust conclusions, pointing out that all applicants to Brasenose have a relatively low success rate – just 12% of all applicants win a place – simply because the college is small and oversubscribed. The acceptance rate for independent school students is 13.5%.

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Sir Peter Lampl, Sutton Trust chairman, agreed there had been improvements in state school admissions to Oxford and Cambridge in the past two decades. “Over the last two decades we at the Sutton Trust have worked very closely with both Oxford and Cambridge to increase the proportion of state school students.

“This and other outreach initiatives have resulted in 20% more state school students. However, more should be done. Our surveys and experience suggest that many bright state school students are put off by the application process which is both intimidating and complex.”

The report appeals for greater transparency in the much-feared interview process and wants the two elite institutions to review the usefulness of any tests used in the admissions process. Earlier this week Cambridge provoked criticism with the announcement that it was introducing written tests for all applications in response to the scrapping of AS-levels.

Sir Peter continued: “The numbers of additional exams and tests should be reviewed, again to avoid advantaging those who gain from extra tuition and support.

“More should be done to consider contextual admissions, recognising how much harder it can be for a bright student in a tough inner city school than in a successful private or state school.”

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