Analysis of 50 independent schools shows likelihood of their pupils receiving an offer drop from 39 per cent to 26.5 per cent in five years
The Oxbridge success rate of top private schools has dropped by a third in five years amid a drive to boost numbers of disadvantaged students, an investigation by The Telegraph has found.
The impact on private school pupils of targets to increase diversity at the top universities, and an overall rise in numbers of applicants, is laid bare by the findings.
Analysis of Oxford and Cambridge offer rates to 50 independent schools with the highest number of applications last year, shows the likelihood of their pupils receiving an offer has dropped from 39 per cent to 26.5 per cent in five years.
The school with the biggest fall was Harrow, whose alumni include Sir Winston Churchill and Benedict Cumberbatch. Fewer than a fifth, or 17.5 per cent, of its pupils who applied to Oxford or Cambridge in 2021 received an offer, down from almost half, or 45.2 per cent, in 2016.