Hardworking Mertonians across the country will be feeling smug today thanks to news that their college has topped the 2007 Norrington table for the second year running.
Magdalen College is runner-up in the league of undergraduate degree results, with a score of 74.81 – just under two points behind Merton's 76.63%. Harris Manchester comes bottom for the third year running, kept company by Oriel, another college all too familiar with the bottom five.
The table has been a regular feature of college rivalry since the 60s, when it was invented by Sir Arthur Norrington as a way of comparing the finals results of Oxford's colleges. A score is compiled by awarding five points for every 1st class degree obtained, three for a 2:1, two for a 2:2 and one point for a 3rd. The total is then expressed as a percentage of the highest possible score that the college could have achieved that year.
Until recently the table was compiled unofficially from publicly posted pass lists, but the fact that students can ask for their names to be withheld from these lists led to complaints that the system was unfair. In 2005 the University decided to publish its own, official version of the league.
Some critics remain, including those who feel the table gives an unfair advantage to colleges with higher numbers of science students, as subjects such as Mathematics and Chemistry usually produce a higher number of first class degrees compared to the arts.
You can view the official Norrington table here.
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