If you go to Oxford or Cambridge in September there’s a good chance you’ll meet a Brampton Manor Academy pupil after a remarkable 41 teenagers were offered a place at one of the prestigious institutions.
The Roman Road, East Ham school’s achievement is all the more impressive given that it has only been teaching A-levels since 2012.
Executive principal Dr Dayo Olukoshi praised the success of his pupils, saying: “We were delighted when last year we sent 20 students to Oxbridge, having seen the number increase gradually from just one offer in 2014.
“For this to have more than doubled again is phenomenal but does not surprise us – our vision has always been to never put limits on what our students can achieve, and I think these offers reflect just that.”
Among the pupils hoping to get the grades to take up an Oxbridge place is Dorcas Shodeinde, who received an offer to study law at St Catherine’s College, Oxford.
She has been in care since she was 14 but has not let that hold her back.
She said: “When I was put in care all I knew was that statistically care leavers don’t do very well.
“I was determined that my future would be different.
“Brampton made me believe I was good enough to go to Oxford, and I can’t believe I’ve now got an offer to study there!”
Fellow pupil Rama Rustom has received an offer to study English at St Hilda’s College, Oxford.
The daughter of Palestinian and Syrian parents, she came to the UK as a refugee from Saudi Arabia in 2013 and spoke Arabic as her first language.
She said: “For me, this offer sets my family on a new path. In my culture, women are traditionally told to not pursue education. I’m trying to prove that girls can do it too.
“Lots of people outside of school said I couldn’t do it, but my teachers always believed in me.”
Victor Idowu, who has an offer to study medicine at Selwyn College, Cambridge, will be the first in his family to go to university - like two thirds of Brampton’s Oxbridge hopefuls.
He said “This is something that I have wanted my whole life.
“It’s made my family really proud. The application process was challenging but being surrounded by other students going through the same thing made it a lot less daunting.”
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