Almost half of state secondary teachers say they would rarely - or never - advise their bright pupils to apply to Oxford or Cambridge, a new survey reveals

And a fifth of all teachers think that fewer than 20 per cent of Oxbridge students come from the state sector. In fact, the actual figure is around 60 per cent.

The survey of 1,607 primary and secondary teachers was carried out by the Sutton Trust charity.

Some 43 per cent of state secondary teachers said they tended not to advise their bright pupils to apply to Oxbridge. By contrast, only 21 per cent said they always advised their brightest pupils to apply.

Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: “Many state school teachers don’t see Oxbridge as a realistic goal for their brightest pupils. The reasons are that they don’t think their pupils will get in. And, if they get in, they don’t think they will fit in.”

The survey has been published as Oxford this week released a list of sample questions that tutors might ask in admissions interviews. The university is keen to stress that the questions are designed to help applicants show off their reasoning skills, not test specific memorisation of knowledge.

‘They wouldn’t be happy there’

Among those teachers who did not encourage their students to apply to Oxford or Cambridge, a fifth - 19 per cent - said it was because they did not think their application would be successful. Others said that they did not think their pupils would be happy at either university.

When asked to estimate the percentage of Oxford and Cambridge undergraduates who came from state schools, 22 per cent of all teachers surveyed named a figure below 20 per cent. In fact, the actual figure is around 60 per cent.

Last month, the University of Oxford announced that it had accepted the highest proportion of state school pupils - 59 per cent - in four decades.

Only 1 per cent of teachers overestimated the proportion of state-school students at the two universities.

Addressing misconceptions

“It is vital that the universities step up their outreach activities, to address teachers’ and students’ misconceptions,” Sir Peter said.

Over the past two decades, there have been increases in the proportions of state school pupils who go on to Oxbridge. However, those from private schools still tend to receive higher-quality support in their applications, according to the Sutton Trust.

There has been no change in the proportion of state-school teachers likely to advise their children to apply for the universities since the Sutton Trust first began surveying them on the subject in 2007.

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