More state-educated pupils from London go to Oxbridge while provincial kids miss out

State schools in London have joined Eton as feeder schools for prized places at Oxford and Cambridge, research published Tuesday has revealed.

While a prized place at Oxbridge is seen as the pinnacle of academic success, they remain out of reach to most young people in the provinces of Britain.

A new study showed the number of students from the north and midlands regions of England winning places at "Oxbridge" still lags behind the national average. But more state school educated teens in London and the south east are striking lucky.

Research headed by Sol Gamsu, a final year PhD student at King' s College London, has discovered that a number of elite state-run schools in London and the southeast of England have become feeder schools to Oxbridge.

They are beginning to establish the same symbiotic relationships with Oxbridge as elite private schools, such as Eton, said Gamsu.

Most are grammar schools, state-run sixth form colleges and comprehensive schools.

While it may be good news for state-educated pupils in Britain' s capital and the neighbouring home-counties, students in the provinces of northern and midland areas of England are still under-represented at Oxford and Cambridge, the study showed.

Using the latest official data from the government's Department for Education, Gamsu has examined the variations in access to England's two top universities between regions.

"It's known that certain elite state schools have over the last 20-30 years come to compete with the private sector. What is less well-known is that these elite feeder schools are largely concentrated in London and the southeast of England."

"The capital's rapid economic and social change lies behind the rise of these schools. London's housing market has resulted in the price of accessing sought-after comprehensive in gentrified neighbourhoods rising beyond the means of many less affluent residents," said Gamsu.

Figures revealed that while schools in inner London send almost double the average number of students to Oxford, in northeast England is less than half of the national average.

"What we're seeing is a rise in inequality between schools," said Gamsu.

The study showed that some of state-run schools in the London area now send more of their students to Oxbridge than some fee-paying private schools in the provinces.

Gamsu's research is to presented at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Annual International Conference which will start in London on Aug. 30.

(APD)