A higher proportion of pupils from QE go to Oxford or Cambridge than from any other state school in the country, a leading education foundation has reported.
The Sutton Trust, in its recent report entitled Degrees of Success, also named QE as the country’s top state school for sending pupils to the UK’s 30 leading universities.
Nearly a quarter (22%) of QE boys who went on to higher education over the three years during which the research was carried out gained places at Oxford or Cambridge – a total of 88 boys. In the list of Top 100 Schools whose pupils progress to a ‘highly selective’ (top 30) university, QE was ranked 13th – the only state school in the top 37.
In terms of total numbers sent to Oxbridge, QE was ranked behind only two state schools, including Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge. However, both have more Sixth-Formers than QE and they performed less strongly in percentage terms, both for pupils progressing to Oxbridge and for those going to the top 30 universities.
“I am delighted that the recent Sutton Trust research into top university placements ranks Queen Elizabeth’s so highly,” said Headmaster John Marincowitz. “The School’s position as top state school and 13th in the country including Independent Schools, is best appreciated in the context of QE’s socio-economic profile. Ofsted ranks Queen Elizabeth’s as average for England in terms of social deprivation, yet the Sutton Trust found that 87% of the School’s boys go on to the most selective universities. This is a truly resounding confirmation of Queen Elizabeth’s contribution to social mobility.”
The Sutton Trust was founded in 1997 by Sir Peter Lampl with the aim of promoting social mobility through education. It has funded a wide range of access projects in early years, school and university settings, with a focus on research, policy and innovative practical projects with a system-wide relevance.