Oxford colleges have encouraged more state school applicants

Despite efforts to attract candidates from the maintained sector, the proportion of places won by them fell from 54.3% to 51.7%.

The Higher Education Funding Council has set Oxford a target of 69%, while colleges have run visits and road shows to attract state school pupils.

A university spokesman said admissions were "transparent and fair".

'Merit and potential'

The number of applicants for undergraduate degree courses for entry in 2003 was 11,793, the highest ever and a rise of 6% on the previous year.

Of those given an offer, 54% were set a target of three grade As at A-level.

Nearly 90% of those accepted achieved at least that.

The director of the Oxford Colleges Admissions Office, Jane Minto, said: "For entry in 2003, we had the highest total number of applicants ever recorded.

"This was made up of a 9% rise in the number of applications from the independent sector, compared with a 3% rise from the maintained sector.

"We are continuing with our efforts across the university to encourage bright applicants from all backgrounds and we are absolutely committed to ensuring our procedures are transparent and fair.

"Ultimately the selection of students is on merit and potential alone."

At 3,281, the total number of acceptances was slightly lower than in the previous year. This followed an unusually high number of undergraduates accepted in 2002.

Ms Minto said: "We are encouraged to see that our outreach work with schools and colleges across the country is getting the message across to young people that Oxford welcomes applications from bright students irrespective of background.