London state school says record 41 students have been offered places at Oxbridge

A London state school says 41 students have been offered places at Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

Many of the pupils from Brampton Manor Academy in East Ham are from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Five years ago, just one Brampton student received an offer from Oxbridge.

Brampton’s success comes just a month after it was revealed that eight UK schools are 70 times more likely to provide Oxbridge students, amid claims of elitism.

The school only opened its sixth-form in 2012 and this is the highest number of students it has manged to get into Britain’s most prestigious universities.

Sam Dobin, director of the school’s sixth form said the numbers were “amazing”.

“We are absolutely buzzing as a school. The students are amazing – I get in at 7am and there will be 80 or 90 already there working.

“That’s how they do it. It’s not some sort of miracle.”

Among those students who have received an offer is Dorcas Shodeinde, who has been in care since the age of 14.

She has been offered a place at St Catherine’s College, Oxford, to study law.

“When I was put in care, all I knew was that statistically care leavers don’t do very well. I was determined that my future would be different,” she said.

Another is Rama Rustom, who came to Britain as a refugee from Saudi Arabia just six years ago.

She said her offer also had a deeper significance.

“For me, this offer sets my family on a new path,” she said.

“In my culture, women are traditionally told to not pursue education. I’m trying to prove that girls can do it too.”

The number of Oxbridge offers is a record for the school.

Last year it received 25 offers from Oxford and Cambridge.

Executive principal Dayo Olukoshi said this year’s offers were “phenomenal but does not surprise us”.

“Our vision has always been to never put limits on what our students can achieve, and I think these offers reflect just that.”