Six Oxbridge Offers in 2026

Six students from Solihull Sixth Form College are celebrating offers from the prestigious Universities of Oxford and Cambridge this year.

Four of the learners are currently completing their final year of A levels at the College, while two are former students. Gab Galletes, Molly Leatherbarrow Morcillo and Sarah Yousafzai have all secured offers from Oxford, and Faye Woodcock has received an offer from Cambridge. Ex-students Jawariyah Yaqub and Sophie da Silva have also been offered places at Cambridge.

Gab Galletes, a former Lode Heath School pupil, has been offered a place to study Human Sciences at Hertford College, Oxford. To take up her place, she will need to achieve strong grades in her A level subjects: French, Music and Sociology.

Gab commented:

"I wanted to take the opportunity to be around the best academics and students in the country by being at Oxford; it was very much like wanting to be in a bigger pond with bigger fish. I chose Human Sciences because it’s the broadest undergraduate degree at Oxford, with opportunities to study topics from a wide variety of disciplines, which reflects the same attitude I had in choosing my A levels. I enjoy looking at how everything is connected to each other, which was a theme I emphasised a lot in my application."

Also hoping to go to Oxford is Molly Leatherbarrow Morcillo, who is hoping to read French and Beginners' Russian at St John's College. She is currently studying A levels in Spanish, French and Politics.

Molly commented:

"I decided to apply after the open day I went to, as I found the libraries at St John's beautiful and so historic and also its location was great as it is directly in the town centre. I decided to study languages as it is my passion to learn about other cultures, to travel and to understand people and connect with them at a deeper level, and I knew that this would be greatly enriched at Oxford. Getting an offer was quite surreal, but something that gave me a lot of relief and pride in myself for the whole process that I had worked for."

The third student with an offer from the University of Oxford is Sarah Yousafzai. The former Queensbridge School learner is hoping to study Biochemistry (Molecular and Cellular) at Oriel College, after she finishes her studies in A level Biology, Chemistry and Geography.

Sarah commented:

"I was incredibly proud to get the offer, because it felt like everything I’d been working towards my entire life was finally paying off. The application was fairly stressful, mostly because when writing my personal statement I wanted it to be perfect, and it’s really easy to go the wrong way when writing it or comparing yourself to others. I think the best part was having an opportunity to research topics that interested me to make my application more interesting. I had two interviews, each with different colleges. Both had very different atmospheres, but they were slightly nerve wracking. Overall, it felt more like a judgement of who I was a student than anything else, so getting an offer is a massive achievement for me."

Hoping to progress to Gonville and Caius College at the University of Cambridge is Faye Woodcock. Her offer is to study Psychological and Behavioural Sciences and she is hoping for high grades in A level Biology, Mathematics and Psychology in order to take up that place.

Faye commented:

"When I was first thinking of applying, I didn’t think I stood a chance at getting an offer, but I spoke to my teachers, who thought it was worth applying. I went to the summer open day for Cambridge, and I had a great time, and I loved seeing the enthusiasm for the course from different professors. Then when I did the Caius Explore challenge, I realised essays for Psychology might not be as difficult as I thought they might be, which was holding me back a little, and that was the final thing that made my decision. I’m still quite shocked I got an offer, especially from my chosen college, as it’s a competitive course, but am excited to have achieved this."

Jawariyah Yaqub is also hoping to go to Cambridge. She completed her two years at the College last year and achieved all A* grades in Criminology, History and Psychology. She is currently studying A level Sociology in her Gap-year and hoping to take up a place at Gonville and Caius College to study History.

Jawariyah commented:

"I applied to Cambridge because I enjoy challenging myself and pushing my academic abilities. I have a genuine love for learning, and Cambridge represents the highest level of academic excellence, where I knew I would be constantly encouraged to grow intellectually. Although I had already left the College when I applied, the staff were always responsive whenever I called or emailed and were more than willing to assist with my application. The College also offered key guidance throughout the process, which made a significant difference and was greatly appreciated. I felt elated to receive the offer, given how competitive the process is, it was incredibly rewarding to see my hard work pay off."

Sophie da Silva left the College in 2023 and after working as a Student Development intern for 6 months she moved to America to study at Christ For The Nations Institute in Dallas. She has since applied to Cambridge and now has an unconditional offer to study Modern and Medieval Languages.

"I loved my time at the College. I was taught by some outstanding A level teachers who gave me amazing support in bridging the gap between GCSE’s and A Level, through their professional learning techniques. I was excited to study in America, because studying overseas is always a great experience and it helped me decide what I wanted to do in the future."

College Principal Martin Sullivan added:

“I was delighted to meet with our Oxbridge hopefuls recently. I know what a tremendous amount of hard work has gone into their applications and I’m thrilled for them that all that hard work has been rewarded. While two of the students already have their offers, Gab, Molly, Sarah and Faye still have exams to sit and I wish them the very best of luck with those. We have hundreds more students still waiting to hear if they have Higher Education offers, as more than 900 students have made applications this year and I look forward to hearing about their offers in due course too.”

6 February 2026