As a state school receives more Oxbridge offers than Eton college, is the UK’s education system finally levelling out?

This A Level results day, it has been reported that Brampton Manor Academy is sending 55 students to Oxbridge, 7 more than Eton college. More than half of students at this school qualify for free schools meals and the majority are from ethnic minorities. This comes as reports state that there have been a record number of A and A*s awarded this year. This incredible feat shows a levelling of the UK’s educational playing field as working class and BAME Britain match up and exceed the qualifications of one of the most elite public schools in the country.

In what was a year where we anticipated fall out and failure from the immense disruption the pandemic caused, parents and children have worked harder than ever to get the qualifications they deserve. As kids spent more time at home, it may have been this access to one on one learning and support with their parents that may have helped. Leading EdTech platform MyTutor has comissioned nationally representative research to dissect how this type of learning has affected students through the pandemic. The results have found that 48% of working class parents now value tutoring where before they had felt it was unnecessary. In addition to this, 41% of working class parents have stated they will continue to invest in it post-pandemic as they can see the results it has achieved.

Key Stats:

48% of working class Brits think tutoring was unnecessary but since the pandemic they now think it’s really valuable
41% of working class parents will continue to invest in online tutoring for their children post-pandemic
32% of BAME communities would like to engage with private tutoring, compared to a national average of 17%
Bertie Hubbard, CEO of MyTutor comments on the difficulties faced by school children during the pandemic:

“The last 18 months have been unbelievably tough year on teens and parents alike with months out of school, exam cancellations, not seeing friends and worrying about Covid-19. With schools open again, catching up on lost learning and prepping for exams this term has undoubtedly brought another set of challenges for teens.

“They’re in more need than ever for some support and reassurance with their studies, and that’s exactly what our tutors offer. Our tutors are all from UK universities, and because they’re just a few years older they can easily relate to what teens are going through. With their dedicated one-to-one support, teens get some much-needed reassurance and come out with a stronger self-belief – 88% say that lessons made them feel more confident.”