Pupils in state schools across Britain are being blocked from going to Oxford University by biased teachers.

That's the claim of a new survey that shows an anti-Oxford prejudice against the Brideshead Revisited stereotype.

The news will cause alarm at the University, which has launched its own campaign to recruit more state school pupils.

Rosie Slater, co-ordinator of Oxford's Target Schools campaign, said: "The prejudice is coming from teachers. Maybe 50 years ago it was caused by Oxford but now it is trying to overcome its Brideshead Revisited image."

University spokesman Gill Sanders said: "We do encounter a lack of awareness at some schools about what Oxford is like now. We are very keen to ensure that young people in the regions do not dismiss Oxford out of hand."

The Mail on Sunday survey showed that more than 40 per cent of Oxford students come from the south-east, with just 18.6 per cent from anywhere north of the Midlands.

And of 3,000 state schools offered visits by Oxford students to tell sixth-formers what university life was like, only 250 replied.

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