Oriel has topped this year’s Norrington Table, moving up from 12th place. The top five colleges, in descending order, are Oriel, Merton, Magdalen, Univ and Trinity.
In a year of substantial movement throughout the table, Merton rose significantly, from 27th back up to 2nd, while Pembroke, bottom three years in a row, rose to fourteenth. In bottom place were Queen’s, down from 25th.
Oriel’s Provost, Moira Wallace, commented, “These results are a testament to the hard work of our students. We are very proud of their achievements, and of the excellent support provided by the College’s Tutors and staff”.
In a statement on their website, Trinity College posted, “Our warmest congratulations to all our Finalists and their tutors on an excellent set of results this year, which sees Trinity placed fifth out of the thirty undergraduate colleges in the Norrington Table for 2016. Our thanks go also to all the college staff who have supported the students throughout their time at Trinity.
“Highlights of the results included some subjects (Biochemistry, Chemistry, Economics and Management, History, Materials Science, Mathematics and Physics) seeing at least half the students graduating with Firsts, and outstanding performances by several students who received prestigious University Gibbs Prizes (in English and in History). We are proud to celebrate the achievements of all the eighty-five students in this cohort, and look forward to seeing them back in Trinity for their graduation ceremony.”
Henry Shalders, an Oriel third year, told Cherwell, “Sorry, what? Oriel is top of the Norrington Table? This comes as quite a shock.”
The Norrington Table, an unofficial academic ranking of colleges, is calculated using a points system for the degrees undergraduate students were awarded in that year. A First Class degree gains the college five points, with three points for an Upper Second, two for a Lower Second and none for a Third or a Pass. The total score is expressed as a percentage of the maximum possible score, which is all Finals candidates multiplied by five.
The full table of results can be found here.
