Tonbridge boys are heading to leading universities

Tonbridge School’s Upper Sixth students will be taking up places at many of the world’s leading universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, later this year.

A total of 22 Tonbridge boys have been offered places to study at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in October 2021: ten have received places at Oxford, and 12 at Cambridge.

These places were shared very evenly across subjects in the Arts and Humanities (11) and Sciences (11).Subjects boys will be reading include Classics, Engineering, English, History, Maths, Music, French and German and Natural Sciences, which means that many of the School’s departments have played a key part in this latest university success.

With competition from national and international candidates stronger than ever, it is a notable achievement that Tonbridge students have received more than 180 Oxbridge offers since 2015.

Each year Tonbridge leavers also take up places at many other top UK universities, including Imperial College, London School of Economics, University College London, Queen’s University Belfast, Edinburgh, St Andrews, Durham, Bath, Bristol, Manchester, York, Warwick, Leeds and Exeter.

The large majority of the Upper Sixth leavers achieve their first-choice destination. Last year, for instance, Tonbridge leavers had 100 per cent success rates with applications to Warwick, Manchester and York universities, and success rates of over 90 per cent for Exeter, Bristol, Nottingham, Bath and Birmingham.

As in previous years, Tonbridge boys will be securing places on world-leading degree courses in a wide range of subjects, which will give them a head start in their chosen careers. These sought-after courses for 2021 include Mechatronics and Engineering, International Relations, Experimental Psychology, Real Estate, Aerospace Engineering, Earth and Planetary Science, Sports Management, Marine Biology, and Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE).

Two of the students heading to Oxbridge this year will also be taking up the hugely prestigious role of organ scholar. Alex Trigg, who completed his A-levels last summer, has been appointed at St John’s College, Cambridge, where he will study Music, while current Upper Sixth student Ben Gardner (CH5) has been offered the role at Balliol College, Oxford, where he will be reading for a degree in Maths.

Two students have also won places to read Maths at Trinity College this year, where the course is world renowned.

The school’s Headmaster, James Priory, said: “These university offers represent a truly excellent achievement for both boys and staff, and is a tribute to the hard work and dedication that we see in all areas across the School. I am impressed with the contribution that the Upper Sixth make to the intellectual, pastoral and co-curricular life of the school, and will be exciting to see them embark on the next steps of their educational careers this autumn.”

A proportion of Tonbridge leavers also choose to study abroad and progress to leading universities around the world, most commonly in the USA. Recent destinations have included Berkeley, Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, New York University, University of Colorado Boulder, Duke University, Rice University, the University of Toronto and Hong Kong University.

The 2020-21 university offer season still has several months to run, which means that the total number of places won by Tonbridge boys at leading institutions will rise further in the coming months.

Places on the following courses were awarded to Tonbridgians for entry to Oxford or Cambridge in 2021.

University of Oxford

Classics (Balliol College)

Classics (Magdalen College)

Engineering (Wadham College)

English (New College)

French and German (New College)

German and Arabic (Pembroke College)

History (St Edmund Hall)

Maths and Computing (Magdalen College)

Maths (Balliol College)

PPE (Pembroke College)

University of Cambridge

Engineering (Downing College)

Engineering (Fitzwilliam College)

Engineering (Queens’ College)

Engineering (Pembroke College)

English (Corpus Christi College)

History and Politics (Gonville & Caius College)

Maths (Trinity College)

Maths (Trinity College)

Medicine (Trinity Hall)

Music (St John’s College)

Natural Sciences (Wolfson College) (Place deferred for a year)

Theology, Religion and Philosophy(Fitzwilliam College)