Bright futures: Tonbridge boys head to leading universities 

Tonbridge School’s talented Upper Sixth students are starting to look forward to the next phase of their education at many of Britain’s leading universities.

A total of 18 Tonbridge pupils have recently been offered places to study at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Subjects they will be reading include Architecture, Economics, Engineering, English Language and Literature, Maths, Maths and Computer Science, Modern Languages, Natural Sciences, Oriental Studies, PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) and Physics, which means that many of the school’s departments have played a key part in this success. 

The total is made up of nine offers from the University of Cambridge, and nine offers from Oxford. With competition from national and international candidates stronger than ever, it is a great achievement that Tonbridge students have received no fewer than 162 Oxbridge offers since 2015. 

Each year Tonbridge leavers also take up places at other elite universities, such as Imperial College, London School of Economics, University College London, Edinburgh, St Andrews, Durham, Bath, Bristol, Manchester, York, Warwick, Leeds and Exeter. The large majority of the Upper Sixth 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, some students will be securing places on world-leading degree courses in less traditional subjects, which will give them a head start in their chosen careers. These sought-after courses for 2020 include Real Estate, Aerospace Engineering, Earth Sciences, Sports Management, Marine Biology and Marine Zoology. 

The school’s Headmaster, James Priory, said: “Securing a place at a leading university, in a highly competitive field, is a fine achievement, requiring hard work and dedication. I look forward to following our students’ progress at university and in their subsequent careers, and I am extremely grateful for the contribution they continue to make to the intellectual, pastoral and co-curricular life of the school.” 

A proportion of Tonbridge leavers also choose to study abroad and progress to leading universities around the world, particularly in the USA. Recent destinations have included Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, New York University, Rice University, the United States Air Force Academy, the University of Toronto and Hong Kong University.

The 2019-20 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 won by Tonbridgians for entry to Oxford or Cambridge in 2020 or 2021:

University of Oxford    
English Language and Literature (Merton College)
Mathematics and Computer Science (University College)
Modern Languages (Lincoln College)
Modern Languages (St Hilda’s College)
Modern Languages (St Hugh’s College)
Oriental Studies (St John’s College)
PPE (Lady Margaret Hall)
Physics (St Peter’s College)
Physics (University College)

University of Cambridge
Architecture (Clare College)
Economics (Queens’ College)
Engineering (St Catharine’s College)
Engineering (St John’s College)
Engineering (Trinity Hall)
Mathematics (Queens’ College)
Natural Sciences (Gonville & Caius College)
Natural Sciences (Robinson College)
Natural Sciences (Trinity Hall)

Above: Some of the Tonbridge Sixth Formers who have won places at Oxford and Cambridge, pictured in the Barton Science Centre.

Below: The recent Lower Sixth Universities Evening and Careers Fair at Tonbridge.