The number of state school students admitted to Cambridge University in the current academic year has fallen by 1%, according to the university's latest admissions figures published today.
The proportion of home students from state schools admitted to Cambridge is 55%, a drop of 37 students on 2006.
The overall number of applications to Cambridge was almost unchanged from the previous admissions cycle. But applications from students from state schools fell by 5%, following a comparable fall last year.
The figures show increases in the number of state school students admitted for foreign languages (46% to 49%) and Asian and Middle Eastern studies (27% to 45%) and a 1% rise in the percentage of ethnic minority students to 14%. This comes after a decade of steady increases in state school numbers in response to a raft of widening participation and fair access initiatives.
Nearly all (97%) of students admitted achieved three or more grade As at A-level - 1% more than the previous year - and of those who were unsuccessful, a further 5,453 [225 more than the year before] went on to achieve three As at A-level.
Dr Geoff Parks, the university's director of admissions, said: "We are disappointed that these figures show a small drop in the percentage of home students admitted from state schools.
"We remain committed to achieving our widening participation goals. In response, therefore, the university is launching a concerted drive to regain the lost momentum, including the simplification of our admissions procedure to encourage more applicants from state schools."
Cambridge plans to appoint a director of undergraduate recruitment who will head a taskforce aimed at enhancing the university's work on fair access and widening participation, he said.
The abolition of the separate Cambridge application form and associated £10 fee and more money for bursaries as well as new publicity material to combat the myth that Cambridge is an expensive place to study is also planned.
The university is also considering axing the requirement that all applicants, regardless of the subject they are seeking to study, should have a GCSE in a modern language.