Statement in Response to The University of Oxford’s Annual Admissions Statistical Report 2026

The University of Oxford’s Annual Admissions Statistical Report provides a detailed overview of undergraduate admissions, including applications, offers, and admissions over the most recent five-year period. The report presents data by factors such as domicile, region, school type, disadvantage, gender, ethnicity, disability, course, and college, helping to provide transparency about Oxford’s admissions processes and student demographics. The 2026 report is now available on the University’s admissions statistics website.

At Brasenose, admission is based solely upon academic merit and potential, and we seek applications from engaged and curious students from all backgrounds. We welcome the publication of the University’s Annual Admissions Statistical Report 2026 and the opportunity it provides to reflect on our admissions outcomes and access work.

There is much for the College to be encouraged by. In particular, we continue to attract and admit a high proportion of students from the UK state sector. Between 2023 and 2025, 80.7% of Brasenose’s UK undergraduates came from state schools, compared with a University-wide average of 66.8%. This figure is close to the national proportion of high-achieving students educated in the state sector, indicating that Brasenose continues to attract and admit academically outstanding students from a broad range of educational backgrounds.

However, the report also shows scope for further progress. In the last three aggregate years, our proportions of students admitted from the most socio-economically disadvantaged areas of the UK (as measured by the Index of Multiple Deprivation) and students eligible for Free School Meals are below the University averages. Happily, data from the application and offer stages of the most recent admissions round shows that these rates are improving: 8% of our current offer holders have been free-school-meal eligible and 18% of our current offer holders come from IMD quintiles 1+2 These metrics are being used for the first time in the University of Oxford’s new Access and Participation Plan (APP), the regulatory framework that sets out the University’s objectives and targets for improving access, student success and progression among under-represented groups.

Our admissions figures should also be considered alongside the substantial investment we continue to make in outreach work. Brasenose delivers sustained-contact programmes with schools across East Berkshire, North Yorkshire and Northern Ireland (our link areas under the University’s regionalised access scheme). Many of these schools serve communities that experience significant socio-economic disadvantage, and our approach is deliberately focused on building long-term relationships. Rather than relying solely on one-off interventions, the College works with students over several years, providing a combination of in-person and online activities designed to raise aspirations and build confidence. This work is supported by a substantial financial commitment from the College and is delivered by an outreach team led by the Head of Access and Retention, Dr Joe Organ, one of the most experienced outreach practitioners in Oxford. The team has been further strengthened and rejuvenated in recent years through the appointment of an additional Outreach and Schools Liaison Officer.

We are also proud of the support we offer to students from all backgrounds once they arrive at Brasenose, with dedicated funding available for care-experienced students and enhanced book grants available to students from the most socio-economically disadvantaged areas. We are pleased that our completion rates remain very high and that, in the last complete academic year, 93% of our undergraduates achieved a First or Upper-Second Class degree.

Ultimately, Brasenose remains committed to identifying and attracting the most academically talented students, regardless of background. Brasenose’s admissions decisions will always be based on academic merit and potential, but we are equally committed to ensuring that talented students are not discouraged from applying by their circumstances. We will therefore continue to invest in outreach activities that enable the College to draw from the widest possible pool of exceptional applicants. In doing so, we seek to maintain academic excellence and to ensure that excellence is recognised wherever it is found.