State school teachers still not pushing best pupils to Oxbridge

Oxbridge is struggling to overcome stereotypes of elitism and private school dominance even after a decade of well-funded outreach to state schools, according to a survey of schoolteachers.

The Sutton Trust found that more than 40% of state secondary school teachers rarely or never advised their brightest pupils to apply to either the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge – in some cases because they thought their students would be unhappy there – a proportion that has not changed substantially since the trust asked the same question nine years ago.

The survey also revealed stubborn misconceptions held by teachers about the background of those pupils who did gain entry to Oxbridge, with the majority of those who responded underestimating the success rate of state school applicants, many by a wide margin.

“We know how important teachers are in shaping young people’s aspirations which is why we run teacher summer schools at Oxford and Cambridge,” said Sir Peter Lampl, the Sutton Trust’s founder and chairman.

“Today’s polling tells us that many state school teachers don’t see Oxbridge as a realistic goal for their brightest pupils. The reasons are they don’t think they will get in and if they get in they don’t think they will fit in. It is vital that the universities step up their outreach activities to address teachers’ and students’ misconceptions.”

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