Class acts! Record 51 at inner city school head for Oxbridge
A RECORD 51 pupils at an inner city academy have received offers to study at Oxford or Cambridge.
The teenagers at Brampton Manor Academy in East Ham, East London, one of the capital’s poorest areas, were praised yesterday for their achievement.
Executive principal Dr Dayo Olukoshi, said: “I could not be happier for them.”
The number of Oxbridge offers at the model academy eclipses the 41 it received last year.
Almost all of the offer holders come from backgrounds that are traditionally under-represented.
The vast majority are from ethnic minorities and many will be the first in their family to attend university, while most receive free school meals.
Proud
Dr Olukoshi, an OBE, added: “These offers reward the academic brilliance and dedication of our students.
“They have worked exceptionally hard to achieve the outstanding results.
“I am delighted to see their talent being recognised.”
Brampton Manor’s Sixth Form opened in 2012 with the specific aim of transforming rates of entry to Oxbridge and other top universities for students from disadvantaged backgrounds in the Newham borough area. It has achieved a 10-fold increase in Oxbridge invitations since 2016, when only five students were made offers.
One of this year’s pupils, Lilien Gyabaah, 18, will be the first in her family to go to university. She told her mother about her offer to study English at Cambridge over the phone.
Lilien said: “Mum just cried. “I feel that deciding to study English was the first thing I have fully done for myself as I just love books and reading.
“The support system at Brampton has really helped me have confidence in my abilities. Even if I had not received the offer I would still have been so proud of myself to have had the confidence to try.
“It’s important that people don’t let their self-doubt be a barrier to their success.”
Another student with an offer, Owureku Kofi, 18, will also be the first in his family to go to university.
He has received an invitation to study history at Pembroke College,
Oxford. He said: “Before coming to Brampton I undervalued myself and felt quite out of place in academic environments.
“Being surrounded by other ambitious students from similar backgrounds to me has increased my confidence and made me realise how important it is that people like me do not feel out of place in prestigious institutions.”