ACCESS TO ADVANTAGE - The influence of schools and place on admissions to top universities

Looking at students applying to Oxbridge both from the state and the independent sector, Lammy’s data release also showed that between 2010 and 2015, Cambridge made almost half (48%) of its offers to applicants in London and the South East, compared to just 12% to students in the Midlands and 17% from the North West, North East, Yorkshire and the Humber. [...] Similarly, in that period Oxford also made 48% of offers to students from London and the South East, but only 11% to students in the Midlands, and just 15% to students in the North West, North East, Yorkshire and the Humber.20 The majority of the differences in offers by region are due to fewer students applying to Oxbridge from some parts of the country; 44% of applications to Cambridge and 43% t. [...] Applications By comparing the proportion of applications to the Russell Group and Oxbridge from each region, to the proportion of students applying to HE overall from each region, it’s possible to examine where regions are under or over represented in applications to the two groups of institutions. [...] Although there will still be variation in exam results within each group, this allows the attainment levels of students in a school to be taken into account, to help to gain a more accurate picture of the differences in application and acceptance rates between types of school.40 Applications Looking at schools with the highest fifth of exam results, there is some variation in the proportion of HE. [...] Similarly, when looking at regional inequalities, students applying from some parts of the country are much less likely to both apply and go on to top universities, with the gap in applicants progressing to Oxbridge being particularly stark between the south and east of England when compared to the rest of the country.