A-level success stories

LONDON’s Brampton Manor Academy only opened its doors in 2012, but it already sends double the number of students to Oxford and Cambridge than Eton.

When the A-level results came out last Thursday (18), the school in Newham, one of the most deprived boroughs in the country, were hoping to try and match their Oxbridge offer of 55 places in 2021.

Instead, they received an incredible 92 offers. Eton, on the other hand, has seen its numbers dwindle from 99 offers in 2014 to 48 in 2021.

Most of the students at Brampton come from under-represented ethnic groups, more than 50 per cent qualify for free school meals and for many, they will be the first in their families to enrol in college.

Nearly 90 per cent of the students achieved straight A* or A grades, with 470 students going to one of the prestigious Russell Group universities.

Another school in the borough, Newham Collegiate, only opened in 2014. It is already ranked in the top one per cent of all state schools (including grammar schools) in the UK for student progress.

Ninety-five per cent of students this year received an offer to study at a Russell Group university.

The likes of Brampton are showing the idea that existed for so long that you had to go to a top grammar or private school to be accepted at the best universities is completely false.

Students from under-privileged backgrounds have just as much talent as their peers from more affluent backgrounds. What Brampton has shown is with the right environment and support, every child can succeed.