Oxbridge offers reach double figures at Sheffield secondary school

Tapton School, in Crosspool, are celebrating the success of ten students who have secured places to study at Oxford or Cambridge universities from September 2020.

The offers were for a wide range of courses in both the sciences and the humanities, including law, natural sciences, chemistry, maths, medicine and history and politics.

The success follows the school’s record-breaking year of 2018 where 16 students received offers, putting Tapton among the most successful sixth forms in the country that application round.

Head of Sixth Form, Andrew Wright, said: “Over the last three years our students have received 34 offers from Oxford and Cambridge, which is a remarkable achievement for a comprehensive school in the north of England. The breadth of offers is especially pleasing, reflecting the broad interests of our students and the expertise of our staff. We are also delighted that two students from Bradfield received offers.”

Sixth-form students at Tapton have continued to benefit from the ‘Early Applicants Support Programme’ which focuses on building aspiration and developing subject knowledge, independence and oracy.

In addition, they were given access to bespoke UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) preparation, which saw them take part in university outreach, work experience opportunities and super-curricular activities – designed to prepare students for their chosen careers and allow them to demonstrate their passion for the subject - were made available to them.

The programme also saw students engage in work experience in hospitals and universities across the region, attend university summer schools throughout the country, compete in competitions and take part in application workshops led by teaching staff and school liaison officers.

All students received trial interviews related to their chosen subjects conducted by current and former parents along with university staff.

One student said the weekly sixth-form newsletter had been one of the most helpful resources for her, allowing her to take part in a number of legal and debating competitions, talks and taster days.

She said these experiences gave her the confidence to apply for Oxford and even formed the basis of her personal statement.