“Cambridge was always my dream,” says student Hridita Rahman Khan (Oxbridge bonanza: How one school beat the odds to compete with Eton, 19 January). Forty-one successful applications is great news, but as Sol Gamsu wrote (Journal, 3 January) our obsession with Oxbridge is not correcting the inequalities that exist in the higher education system as a whole. Unique as Oxford and Cambridge may be, it cannot be said they are better in every respect than all the other universities in the UK – there are about 130 of them – and Oxbridge will not suit everyone.
Oxbridge will be genuinely beyond the wildest dreams of most sixth formers, but the problem here is the number of disadvantaged teenagers who do not have dreams. They are not inspired by the preoccupation with Oxbridge that appears in the media and, regrettably, in many a sixth-form college prospectus. Hridita’s experience shows what a selective academy can do for motivated students. The challenge facing our education system is to convince the unmotivated that the other universities have something truly valuable to offer them.
Richard Evans
Winchester
• Reading the excellent news about the high standards at Brampton Manor school confirms my belief that we will never have a level playing field until all private schooling is abolished. Brampton Manor makes no bones about encouraging elitism; indeed, it has specially appointed mentors who fill the gaps in the otherwise deprived backgrounds of many of their pupils.
This involves giving the high-fliers experiences many middle/upper-class pupils take for granted, such as museums, art galleries, and exhibitions. Would that all youngsters had access to this.
While Brampton Manor is to be applauded for both its efforts and its results, it is still a long way from equality of opportunity nationally.
By the way, there are other universities apart from the two mentioned.
Ann Gordon
Romford, Essex
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