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Home » News » We’re rated in UK’s Top 20 for sending students to Oxford and Cambridge

We're rated in UK’s Top 20 for sending students to Oxford and Cambridge


We are celebrating being listed in the top 20 state schools in the UK for students getting places at Oxford or Cambridge

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Published Friday 11 February 2022

We are also one of the few ‘non-selective’ state schools on the list – most other top colleges choose the students they want, whereas Truro and Penwith College accepts all students and has courses for everyone, at all levels. This makes us one of the very top non-selective state colleges for Oxbridge places in the UK.

This year the College has fifteen students going to Oxford or Cambridge, eleven from the Truro College campus, four from the Penwith College campus in Penzance. We had 20 Oxbridge offers last year.

Truro and Penwith College is the largest A Level provider in Cornwall and the only provider of the International Baccalaureate in Cornwall – both top routes into Oxbridge. The College was the first College in the UK to be awarded ‘Outstanding’ status, the highest possible rating, by Ofsted in 2006, and the first to retain an Outstanding rating, in 2016. It has also been rated the top non-selective provider of the International Baccalaureate Diploma in the UK for the last four years.

The Oxbridge league table was compiled by The Telegraph after freedom of information requests to every Oxford and Cambridge college, regarding the schools to which they have made the most offers over the last three years. With top universities now under pressure to admit more students from state schools rather than fee-paying private schools, The Telegraph found that “there are a handful of state schools which are dominating when it comes to Oxbridge offers.”

Angie Liversedge, the Oxbridge Lead at the College, said: “We are delighted that Truro and Penwith College has been recognised as being amongst the top 20 state schools in the country for students achieving a place at Oxford or Cambridge. This is testament to the dedication of our staff and to the determination, focus and energy of our students, who undergo a rigorous process to achieve an offer from one of these prestigious universities. We are immensely proud of them.”

In recent years Truro and Penwith College students from across Cornwall studied a diverse range of subjects at Oxford and Cambridge, including Medicine, Geography, Biochemistry, Philosophy, Politics and Economics, English, Law and Maths. The College offers specialised support, advice and guidance for students wishing to apply to Oxford or Cambridge, including mock entrance exams and interviews, support with applications, visits from admission tutors, talks from current Oxbridge students and visits to the universities.

Last year Joe Whitby from St. Just went to Penwith College and received an offer to study Physical Natural Sciences at Cambridge.  He said: “I had so much help from Penwith, it’s been amazing. I’ve loved the campus here, too. It’s got such a friendly atmosphere”.

Scarlett Hughes from Fowey accepted an offer last year to study Human, Social, and Political Sciences at Cambridge, having received a full-marks 45 points score on the IB Diploma, equivalent to 5 A*s at A Level. She said: “I chose Truro College because I knew it was where I wanted to be. It’s a wonderful environment to learn in. Seeing the successful past track record of the IB also inspired me.”

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