Record 21 Withington students celebrate Oxbridge offers

Twenty-one Withington students have received offers to study at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge,  with 19 current Sixth Formers holding conditional places, dependent upon securing required grades at A-Level, and two of last year’s leavers celebrating unconditional offers.

This year’s impressive number of Oxbridge offers – 13 for Cambridge and eight for Oxford – is a record for Withington, with 24% of this year’s Upper Sixth cohort of 80 pupils earning the sought-after opportunity to progress to the two oldest and consistently most highly-ranked universities in the United Kingdom.

Subjects the Withington Oxbridge candidates have chosen to study range from History and Politics, Modern Foreign Languages, Law, Geography and Economics to Natural Sciences, Mathematics, Psychology, Archaeology, Engineering and Medicine.

Headmistress Mrs Sarah Haslam, commented: “We’re delighted to see the girls’ passion for their subjects, willingness to engage with ideas and genuine curiosity about the world reflected in their offers to study at these leading universities. Their success is richly deserved and epitomises the culture of commitment to the value of learning and independence of thought we nurture and celebrate here at Withington.”

Offers are still arriving every day for Upper Sixth girls who have made UCAS applications and many are already holding offers to study at the UK’s top universities, including  Durham, Edinburgh, King’s College London, LSE and UCL. Their offers are for a wide range of courses, including Architecture, Fine Art, Computer Science, Dentistry, Drama, English, Economics, Law, Marketing, Medicine, Modern Languages and Optometry,  demonstrating Withington’s status as one of the top dozen gateways for entry into Britain’s best universities. As in most years at Withington, one quarter of the cohort aim to go on to study Medicine, with aspirations to qualify as much-needed doctors.

Mrs Haslam added: “All of our Upper Sixth are to be congratulated – it is a pleasure to work with these outstanding young women who not only embrace the opportunity to learn but also make such a wonderful contribution to the life of the school and the wider community.”

The School’s Oxbridge Coordinator, Dr Cristina Vilela, commented: “It has been, as always, an absolute pleasure to work with all Oxbridge applicants; I have been incredibly impressed by the girls’ commitment to their academic subjects and by their ability to work together, enjoy the challenge and support one another in this highly competitive process. I have no doubt that the skills gained during these applications will be extremely valuable to all our girls and we look forward to continuing to celebrate their successes in the months and years ahead.”

Head Girl, Sejal Karmarkar, who holds her offer from Jesus College, Cambridge, to study Medicine said: “I am so excited to meet new people and live in a beautiful college in a beautiful city! I feel very lucky because at Withington I received a huge amount of help and support not only in preparation for the daunting interviews and admissions tests but also pastoral support and  a LOT of encouragement through the stressful process. Dr Vilela and Dr Madden were phenomenal advisors in this process!”