Most students with university aspirations have just sent off their forms and are facing the nervous wait for offers of places.

But for those dreaming of studying at Oxbridge, the deadline is much earlier and they have already found out whether the prestigious universities are interested.

The London Academy of Excellence (LAE) has seen a record number of students receive offers of places this year.

Three of its sixth formers will be hoping their grades will get them into Cambridge, with five aiming for Oxford.

The offers are all conditional, with the students having to achieve specified grades in their A-level exams this summer, but headteacher John Weeks is proud that so many students are aiming high.

“This is a brilliant and thoroughly-deserved achievement for our Oxford and Cambridge applicants and for London Academy of Excellence as a whole,” he said.

“We will continue to raise the aspirations of students in Newham – many of whom will be the first in their families to progress to Higher Education.

“We don’t want them to ask, ‘Is Oxford or Cambridge right for me?’”

The students have received offers from a variety of colleges and courses.

The first in her family to go to university, Nuzhaat Ghani is aspiring to read law at Jesus College, Oxford.

She said: “I never even imagined applying to Oxford University before I joined LAE.

“The support we get here is excellent – I was very lucky to get an interview and gain work experience at a top law firm.

“It helped me decide that Law was right for me, and I’m sure it gave me the experience I needed for my university application.”

Fellow Year 13 student Reiss Akhtar has received an offer from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, for English Literature.

He said: “I only saw Oxford and Cambridge as an impossible dream, but since joining LAE the idea of applying to the top universities has been ‘normalised’.

“We have the power to choose, and the support we receive from our teachers is incredible.”