Cambridge and Oxford places still dominated by south-east applicants

A student from University College Oxford celebrates finishing his exams. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

Undergraduate places at Cambridge and Oxford universities remain dominated by students from London and the south-east of England, according to data released to the Guardian, highlighting the country's wide gaps in educational achievement and the stubborn failure of efforts to encourage applications from more diverse backgrounds.

Surrey sent almost as many young people to study at Cambridge and Oxford last year as Wales and the north-east region of England combined. Yet 868 applications were received from Surrey, compared with 1,187 from Wales and the north-east – which between them had more than 100,000 more young people in the comparative age group.

A single London borough – Barnet – alone had 130 offers of Oxbridge places from 408 applications last year. That equates to 46 applications and 15 offers for every 1,000 16 to 17-year-olds in the borough, according to the latest census figures. Meanwhile, Dudley in the West Midlands – with a similar-sized age cohort – had just 61 applicants and 13 offers, or seven applications and 1.58 offers per thousand.

Three London local authorities – Richmond upon Thames, Kensington and Chelsea, and the City of London – sent more than 25 students to Oxbridge per 1,000 16 to 17-year-olds in 2012, compared with an average ofjust over 2.5 students per 1,000 for England and Wales as a whole.

Several local authorities sent less than one student per 1,000 young people, with Anglesey, Flintshire and Middlesbrough having the lowest acceptance rates.

The new figures, obtained via a freedom of information request, show that successful applications from just 10 local authorities in the wealthier parts of the south of England accounted for 30% of admissions to Oxford and Cambridge in 2012 – adding geography to the complex mix of race, sex, social background and schooling that have dogged admissions to the UK's elite institutions.

The top 10 authorities – Surrey, Kent, Hertfordshire, Essex, Hampshire, Richmond upon Thames, Buckinghamshire, Barnet, Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire – won more than 1,500 of the 5,100 places in 2012. When admissions are compared with the numbers of 16 to 17-year-olds in each area, it shows the 20 highest-scoring local authorities supplied 28% of accepted applications to Oxbridge, while containing only around 10% of the relevant age group in England and Wales. Of this elite 20, only one was outside London or the greater south-east region: Cambridgeshire.

The figures suggest that areas of the country may be underrepresented because young people there do not apply to Oxbridge, perhaps thinking they would not get in, or that it is not for them.

The universities argue that they have made considerable effort, with some success, in extending their welcome to applicants across the country, but that they are limited by the wide variations in educational attainment between regions.

"Attainment is a significant factor in applicant choice. There is a strong correlation between local authorities that produce large numbers of high-achieving A-level students, and local authorities that produce large numbers of Cambridge applicants," a spokesman for Cambridge University said.

"Admissions decisions are based on students' ability, commitment and their potential to achieve. The success rate of suitably qualified applicants is broadly the same regardless of where in the UK they are from."

The data is based on undergraduate applications sorted by applicants' home addresses in England and Wales, and includes those educated at state-funded, independent and private schools.A spokesperson for Oxford University said the biggest factor affecting applications was school attainment. "Last year, for example, 45 students in Gateshead achieved AAA or more at A-level, compared to 1,021 in Hampshire, reflecting both population size and differing percentages of students achieving top grades," the spokesperson said.

The combined figures show that Gateshead and Hampshire had similar Oxbridge applications rates of around 60% of qualified students by A-level grade, and similar offer rates of close to 30%. When calculated by 16 to 17-year-old population, though, Gateshead had only six applications per thousand, while Hampshire had three times more, at 18 per thousand.

Oxford and Cambridge have faced criticism for under-representation of students from state schools and minority ethnic backgrounds, though both have committed to boosting these figures as part of their access agreements with the Office for Fair Access, in return for setting their tuition fees at £9,000 a year. Oxford has a target of 62% of applicants from state schools; the actual figure in 2012 was 63%. Cambridge's target is to offer between 60% and 62% of its places to applicants from state schools, a target it matched in 2012, with just over 63% once overseas students were excluded.