Destinations

Most of our students go on to university. In 2025, 81% of our students went on to Higher Education (HE) with 19% progressing on to apprenticeships or employment.

The 81% progressing to HE includes those students’ postponing university and taking a gap year. The popularity of gap years since Covid is on the rise again with many students holding an offer deferring their place for a year, while others are planning to apply during their year out.

Like last year, 86% of our students progressed to their first-choice destination, outperforming the national average of 82%.

Anna Young, Director of Progression Guidance at Esher, said:

“We are incredibly proud that 86% of our students secured their first choice. We’re also thrilled that 49.3% accepted offers at High Tariff universities, an increase of 8% on last year. This demonstrates that our students are becoming more ambitious in their applications and acceptances, which is fantastic”.

 

University of Leeds Tops 2025 Destinations

We are proud to announce the top university destinations for Esher students leaving in 2025. Taking the top spot this year is the University of Leeds, part of the Russell Group and ranked 86th globally and 13th in the UK (QS World University Rankings 2026).

Anna said:

“Leeds was the top choice for 2025 leavers with 43 accepting their place. We saw a big jump in students going to Royal Holloway while Bristol, Liverpool and Nottingham Trent remained popular. Of the top 10 destinations, seven are high tariff universities.”

Top 20 University Destinations for Esher’s 2025 Leavers

1. University of Leeds
2. Royal Holloway, University of London
3. University of Bristol
4. University of Liverpool
5. Nottingham Trent University
6. University of Manchester
7. University of Exeter, University of Surrey
8. University of Sussex, Manchester Metropolitan University
9. University of Southampton, Bournemouth University
10. Oxford Brookes University
11. University of Nottingham
12. University of Warwick
13. St Mary’s University, Twickenham
14. Cardiff University, Kingston University, University of Bath, Newcastle University

View our UCAS Destinations Map 2025

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High Tariff Success

This year’s data also shows that nearly half of Esher Sixth Form College students going on to higher education, attend a high-quality university. In 2025:

• 49.3% accepted a place at a Higher Tariff provider (Russell Group + Sutton Trust list)
• 34.7% at a Medium Tariff provider
• 16% at a Lower Tariff provider

 

Top Five Course Choices for Esher’s 2025 Leavers

1. Psychology
2. Sociology
3. Design Studies
4. Economics
5. Law

This year’s course choices look a little different from last year, with Psychology pushing Design Studies off the top spot and Sociology making its debut into the top five. While the number of students accepting Economics or Law offers has doubled since 2024, reflecting national trends. Both Economics and Law courses remain highly competitive.

Did you know?

At Esher, one in five students accepted a place at university with at least one or more vocational (BTEC) qualifications.

 

Good news for Class of 2020 Leavers

New data revealed by HESA, the Higher Education Statistics Agency, reveals that 86.2% of students from Esher Sixth Form College who graduated in the 2022/23 academic year achieved a first or upper-second class honour, compared with other state (77.3%) and independent (85.8%) providers.

When looking at degree outcomes at Russell Group universities only, this jumps to 93.5% of Esher students achieving a first or upper-second class honour, compared with 86.1% in the state sector and 89.5% in the independent sector.