Tompkins Table


The Tompkins Table is an annual ranking that lists the Colleges of [the University of Cambridge] in order of their undergraduate students' performances in that year's examinations. Two colleges—Darwin and Clare Hall—do not have undergraduate students and do not feature in the list. It was created in 1981 by Peter Tompkins, then a third-year undergraduate mathematics student at Trinity College, who compiled it for many years. It was formerly published by The Independent. Since 2016, it has been published by Varsity, a student newspaper of the University of Cambridge. It is not an official University of Cambridge table. It does not take account of students who are not candidates for Honours degrees, or those who have failed to gain a degree. It was not published in 2020 or 2021 as a result of the restrictions to the examination process brought about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also not published in 2023.

Rankings

Current rankings

Initially, it only included final year exams but since 1997 has covered all exams for which grades are allocated. The table allocates 5 points for a First Class degree, 3 points for an Upper Second, 2.5 points for a Second Undivided, 2 points for a Lower Second, 1 point for a Third and no points for someone only granted an allowance towards an Ordinary Degree. The scores in each subject are then weighted to a common average, to avoid the bias towards colleges with higher proportions of students entered for subjects which receive higher average grades. The result is expressed as a percentage of the total number of points available. The differences between the highest places on the table are usually very slight. Christ's College was the top college in 2019, after coming top in 2018 following seven years in which Trinity College came top. The rankings are not officially endorsed by the University. Since Darwin College and Clare Hall admit only graduate students, they do not feature in this undergraduate ranking. Some of the mature colleges, including St. Edmund's College, Hughes Hall, and Wolfson College, tend to perform relatively poorly in the Tompkins Table, but have significantly more graduate students than undergraduate students, so the results here are not representative of the majority of the student population of each of these colleges.
Below is the table for 2025, using the following scoring system: five points for a 1st, three for a 2:1, two for 2:2, one for a 3rd. Score shown is a percentage of total points available.:
PositionCollegeScore Change in Rank
1Trinity74.580
2Christ’s72.960
3Selwyn72.782
4Churchill72.432
5Queens’71.482
6Downing71.045
7Emmanuel71.012
8St John’s70.346
9Clare70.23
10Peterhouse70.165
11Gonville and Caius70.13-1
12St Catharine’s69.69-4
13Wolfson69.689
14Jesus69.364
15Corpus Christi69.28-12
16Pembroke69.15-12
17Magdalene68.82-1
18Sidney Sussex68.552
19Trinity Hall67.650
20Robinson66.65-3
21Fitzwilliam66.590
22Lucy Cavendish66.421
23Hughes Hall66.196
24St Edmund’s65.98-11
25Newnham65.632
26Murray Edwards64.720
27King’s64.72-3
28Girton64.210
29Homerton62.28-4

Past rankings


College200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202220242025Mean
Christ's College8131269891432111226.93
Churchill College673105563115758646.27
Clare College13181141111815181316241212913.40
Corpus Christi College9101312316182210121511931512.00
Downing College121515172012119122020231311614.07
Emmanuel College22122454469711975.07
Fitzwilliam College21212221192019202321191720212120.14
Girton College22202122222123242724232025282823.93
Gonville & Caius College44111316171519191114167101112.40
Homerton College25252626272624272428272626252926.07
Hughes Hall26262727262727252926252523292325.73
Jesus College711168764117146144181410.20
King's College191714201314141814851222242716.60
Lucy Cavendish College28292929292829292618282929232227.40
Magdalene College58991515102916181818161712.40
Murray Edwards College24232322242426232529261927262624.13
Newnham College23242524232322212123222224272523.20
Pembroke College1061054225242354165.47
Peterhouse1816181818101268104415151012.13
Queens' College16121714127776713610759.80
Robinson College17191919212220162225242117172019.80
Selwyn College1367618131215911814538.87
Sidney Sussex College14221816171917171617171316201817.27
St. Catharine's College11591110921131719109381211.13
St. Edmund's College29282828282928282822212828132426.40
St. John's College201420151413161053815614812.07
Trinity College3121111111322111.40
Trinity Hall1594383381315121019191910.33
Wolfson College27272425252525262027292721221324.53


Similar league tables

Baxter tables

Certain Colleges of the University of Cambridge commission similar tables called Baxter Tables from Martin Baxter who is a financial analyst specialising in mathematical modelling and who developed the Electoral Calculus website. Baxter tables rank colleges' undergraduate students by their year and subject separately and are delivered in July or August. They are compiled using published Class Lists, which do not include students who are not candidates for Honours degrees, or those who have failed to gain a degree, or those whose names the Council have determined should be withheld from public display. They are meant for internal use of Colleges but not the University, being distributed to the Senior Tutors of the Colleges, with the full tables not being published publicly or outside of the Colleges, and some students being unaware of their existence. However, the rankings of Colleges in the Baxter Tables are sometimes referred to by Colleges in publicly available literature, and the methodology used to compile the Baxter Tables is also available. There is also a 'value-added' table, which shows how students' results improve over the course of their years at Cambridge, and is intended to give a measure or indication of the quality of teaching at the different Colleges. However, with such small sample sizes, the amount of meaningful information which can be extracted from these tables is questionable.

Norrington table

The corresponding ranking for Oxford colleges is the Norrington Table. Since 1986, when the University of Oxford adopted split second-class degrees, the Norrington Table has adopted the same method of scoring as the Tompkins Table, but without the weighting attached to individual subject scores.

Oxbridge College League Table

Starting in 2020, The Telegraph compiled an, drawing on both academic and other factors, including accommodation, lifestyle and wealth.