A state school in one of London’s poorest boroughs has beaten Eton with its Oxbridge offers.

Brampton Manor Academy in Newham has a record-breaking 55 students with conditional offers.

The school opened its sixth form in 2012 and has a special Oxbridge programme for the brightest pupils.

More than half of students qualify for extra funding, and two-thirds have English as a second language.

Sixth formers are encouraged to work long hours, with a study centre open from 6am until 6pm every day.

A roll of honour board celebrating Oxford and Cambridge University places has already filled up.

Ade Olugboji, 17, has an offer at Oxford to read mathematics and philosophy.

Hard-working and straight-talking, he says this is “something I’ve been aspiring to for a long time”.

Ade wants to inspire younger students, and help them realise “these places are not closed off to us”.

Delveen Nyarko-Sakyi, 17, wants to study chemistry at Oxford.

She will be the first in her family to go to university, and describes her offer as a “very big deal”.

“I think it’s something I’ve never seen as attainable, and to be in that position to receive an offer just means so much to me,” she said.

Daniel Harry, 18, has an offer to read law at Cambridge, but he barely believed the email when it arrived after Christmas.

“It was very surreal,” he said. “I guess half my expectation was that I’d get a follow up email saying this has been a mistake, we’re sorry for this.”

Daniel hopes his experience will encourage others. “The fact we’re seeing an increase in state school students and ethnic minorities get offers shows that hard work and talent is truly being recognised,” he said.

Tasnia Tahsin, 17, is hoping to get the grades to study human, social and political sciences at Cambridge.

She was born in Bangladesh and arrived in the UK while at primary school. Like many of her classmates, she speaks English as a second language.

“I’m from an ethnic minority background, also from a working class household, and I feel that when you think of Cambridge, that’s not the first image that springs to mind.”

Tasnia says she is proud her offer might inspire people from her community.

“I think it shows to other people who look like me, who come from similar backgrounds to me, that is it achievable,” she said.

“Oxford and Cambridge are not for a set stereotype. If I can do it, anyone can.”

Related posts:

Deaths in England were almost 30% higher last month than five-year average for January ‘Teachers know us better than an algorithm’: Students support exam grades decision ‘It didn’t hurt at all’: Queen urges people unsure about COVID jab to get vaccinated COVID-19 infection rates drop again across the UK, according to ONS data Number of daily first COVID jabs in UK falls to lowest since early January Troubles amnesty will coincide with 1971 Ballymurphy shootings inquest verdict Durham professor who called students ‘pathetic’ for staging walkout steps back from some duties Quarantine hotels appeal to be launched after lawyers lose judicial review ‘A beautiful day’: Extinction Rebellion trio cleared and Insulate Britain protesters released from jail Omicron ‘exit wave’ possible in the summer, scientists say COVID cases ‘plateauing’ in London, East and South East, with hospital admissions ‘slowing’ Tory chairman ‘hopeful’ COVID restrictions can be lifted by end of January