State school pupils have won more places to study at Cambridge than since records【C1】_____, taking two thirds of spots at the university’s colleges for the first time. More people from the most deprived areas will also be【C2】__the university next month, the admissions department said, up from just over 12％ to 14％ of freshmen and further reducing the places【C3】_____to private fee-paying schools.

It means the 2019-20 student body will have 68％ from state schools in a progression that Cambridge【C4】________ as “deeply encouraging”.【C5】_____it remains unrepresentative of entrants to university courses more widely. For the last five years, close to 90％ of students【C6】_____in higher education have come from state schools.

“We have been【C7】_____different ways to identify talented students who will thrive on our courses and help to make our student population truly【C8】__,” said Sam Lucy, director of admissions for the 29 Cambridge undergraduate colleges. “This has included challenging false perceptions that put off applicants. It is deeply【C9】_____to see that our actions to provide educational opportunity for all those who have the potential to study here are paying off.”

Private schools have pointed out that some of their applicants are on scholarships and grants,【C10】_____they are not necessarily from socially or【C11】__advantaged backgrounds, but Cambridge, along with other leading institutions【C12】_____Oxford University, have faced increasing pressure to diversify their student populations.

Cambridge has pledged to admit a third of its intake from the most underrepresented and disadvantaged groups by 2035 and wants UK state educated pupils to【C13】________69.1％ of its intake by 2024-25.

“There is still a long way to go in improving representation,【C14】_____that about 93％ of pupils are taught in state schools in England compared with the 68％ admitted this year by Cambridge” said Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders. “【C15】__school pupils are also under-represented at some other high-tariff universities. These【C16】__are increasingly recognising that exam grades are a【C17】__instrument and can serve to entrench educational disadvantage【C18】__they are understood in their context,” added Barton. “They are heading in the right【C19】__in trying to address this situation and we appreciate that it is a complex process but it is【C20】_____slow.”

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