PUPILS from across the borough have impressed university academics at both Oxford and Cambridge after being offered places to study there.

Seven sixth formers are among a group of 21 Withington Girls’ School students who have received offers to study there this year.

This number of Oxbridge offers — 13 for Cambridge and eight for Oxford overall — is a record for the school.

The borough girls holding offers for undergraduate study at Cambridge include: Sophia Arora, from Hale (Fitzwilliam, history and politics); Maya Mehan, from Hale (St Catharine’s, economics), Iyal Kannan from Sale (Gonville and Caius, mathematics); and class of 2017 leaver Tamsin Smutna, from Altrincham, who will study medicine at Downing College after having already achieved her specified A-level grades in chemistry, maths and biology.

Iyal said: “I’m looking forward to absolutely everything in my course; I just want to explore mathematics further.

“This process would have been much harder without the continuous support of my teachers at Withington, especially the dedicated mathematics department."

Offers were also made from Oxford University and include: Jasmine Basi, from Hale (Pembroke, Spanish and Arabic); and Natalie Perman from Bowdon (St John’s, English and German).

Natalie said: “I am incredibly pleased and excited to have been offered a place at Oxford and it will be awe-inspiring to study under the tutelage of world experts and one which Withington has prepared me very well for, with all its support and aid for interviews and application tests.”

Headmistress Sarah Haslam said: “We are delighted to see the girls’ passion for their subjects, willingness to engage with ideas and genuine curiosity about the world reflected in their offers to study at these leading universities.

“Their success is richly deserved and epitomises the culture of commitment to the value of learning and independence of thought we nurture and celebrate here at Withington.”