The state sixth form getting more Oxbridge offers than Eton: Free school set up to help disadvantaged students into top universities beats historic £50,000-a-year college

Pupils at a free school that was set up to help disadvantaged students get into some of the top universities have received more Oxbridge offers than Eton.

Teenagers at Harris Westminster Sixth Form got 57 offers from Cambridge and Oxford, whereas pupils at Eton received 51 this year.

The school, which was founded a decade ago, runs classes on Saturdays and is open from 9.30am to 6.30pm during the week.

Last year the free school, which is located in London, achieved the same number of offers as Eton, which was around 48.

Eton College charges students almost £50,000 a year to attend and parents also have to shell out another £400 for the registration fee and an extra £3,200 for the acceptance fee.

Eton College (pictured) charges students almost £50,000 a year to attend

James Handscombe, executive principal of Harris Westminster, said the pupils had received offers to study subjects such as classics, English, history of art, law and chemistry

Students at Harris Westminster Sixth Form (pictured) received 57 offers from Cambridge and Oxford

However, £500 of this is refunded when the student leaves the college, ‘subject to settlement of his final bill’.

Its famous alumni include the king in waiting Prince William, Prince Harry, former Prime Ministers David Cameron and Boris Johnson and Dominic West, who played King Charles in The Crown.

The state sixth form was established in partnership with Westminster School, which charges its students day fees of £37,500 a year and boarding fees of almost £50,000.

Nigella Lawson, AA Milne and Sir Peter Ustinov are some of Westminster School’s most notable alma mater.

Westminster School received 96 offers from Oxbridge this year, the highest in a decade.

James Handscombe, executive principal of Harris Westminster, said the pupils had received offers to study subjects such as classics, English, history of art, law, chemistry, architecture and Chinese studies.

He also studied at Oxford and Harvard himself before deciding to train as a teacher and became principal of the free school in 2014.

He told The Times: ‘I think over time the universities have got better at doing this. They’ve seen what you need to look for in order to select students with potential who haven’t had private education throughout their lives.’

Mr Handscombe made headlines last year as he introduced a ban on pupils using the titles ‘sir’ or ‘miss’ to address teachers, branding it ‘cultural misogyny’.

Prince William attended Eton College. Pictured: William in 2000 at Highgrove

Students at Harris Westminster Sixth Form received 57 offers from Cambridge and Oxford, whereas pupils at Eton (pictured) received 51 this year

Former Prime Minister David Cameron also attended Eton College

He shared an assembly that he had given to students, in which he asked them to use full names when speaking to teachers.

The assembly was titled: ‘no more sir, no more miss’.

Last summer, one-fifth of A-Levels taken at the school, which has around 300 pupils in every year, were graded at A*.

And a quarter of pupils achieved at least A*AA.

This comes amid pressure for Cambridge and Oxford to accept more students from state schools.

State school pupils made up 72.9 per cent of Cambridge’s home student intake in 2022, which is up from the previous year.

However, Oxford’s number has stayed at 68.1 per cent.