Destinations

The majority of our students go on to university after leaving Esher, with 86% progressing onto their first choice.

However, a growing proportion of our students are applying for apprenticeships (4%), art foundation and other courses (4%), or into Employment/Self-employment (6%).

In September 2024, 59% of our students went into higher education, with 23% deferring or applying during their gap year. 

Bristol is Top Destination of 2024

We are thrilled to announce the top university destinations for Esher Students leaving in 2024.  Clinching the top spot is the University of Bristol, which consistently ranks in the world’s top 100 (ranked 54th) and UK’s top 10 (ranked 9th) in the QS World University Rankings 2025.

Anna Young, Head of Progression Guidance and Careers, said, “Bristol was a top choice for our students this year. However, Nottingham and Leeds remain very popular, while Nottingham Trent is our most popular medium tariff provider. Of the top 10 destinations, eight are members of the Russell Group, which highlights a trend amongst our students to be more ambitious in choosing high tariff universities.”

Esher’s top university destinations for 2024 leavers:

1) University of Bristol
2) Nottingham Trent University
3) University of Nottingham
4) University of Leeds
5) Cardiff University
6) Kingston University
7) University of Exeter; University of Birmingham
9) University of Manchester
10) University of Portsmouth; University of Southampton
12) St Mary’s University, Twickenham
13) Bournemouth University; Bristol, UWE; University of Sussex; University of Surrey
17) Royal Holloway, University of London
18) University of Brighton; University of Liverpool
20) University of Reading; University of Sheffield; Arts University Bournemouth; Loughborough University; University of York

Follow the link to see our UCAS Destination Map 2024. ​

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 2024, 48% of students accepted a place at a Higher Tariff provider, which includes the Russell Group and the Sutton Trust’s list of 30 of the most selective, research-intensive universities. ​This is compared to 32.8% accepting a place at a medium tariff provider and 19.2% at a lower tariff provider.

The top five most popular subjects for 2024 leavers are Design Studies, Psychology, Film and Photography, History, and Sport and Exercise Sciences. This is exactly the same as 2023!

In 2024, we had nine successful applicants to study Medicine and Dentistry, and nine successful Oxbridge candidates taking up their offers.

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.