The new Tompkins Table has been published and has been a long wait since the last update was in 2022. The new 2024 Tompkins Table brings change to the top position. Trinity College topped the table followed by Christ’s (which was the number 1 position for years). Christ’s dominance in students’ performance ended. Surprisingly, in 3rd position is Corpus Christi then Pembroke College in 4th position.
St Edmund’s made a huge jump. The performance showed a score of 68.44, which made them jump from 28 position in 2022 to 12 position in the 2o24 rankings.
Full Tompkins Table for 2024 and the best Cambridge colleges you find below.
Read more:
- The Best Cambridge Colleges
- The Best Cambridge Colleges For Medicine
- The Best Cambridge Colleges For Law
- The Best Cambridge Colleges for Engineering
- Oxbridge application
What is Tompkins Table?
The Tompkins Table is a yearly ranking report of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge in order of their undergraduate students’ performances in that year’s examinations. All 29 undergraduate colleges have their ranking.
Only Darwin and Clare Hall do not feature in the Tompkins table ranking, because they only have postgraduate programmes.
The table was created by Peter Tompkins in 1981. Tompkins was a third-year undergraduate mathematics student at Trinity College at the time of the creation of the table ranking. Tompkins Table was originally published by The Independent magazine.
Since 2016, it has been published by Varsity, a local student newspaper of the University of Cambridge. It is not an official University of Cambridge ranking.
It does not take into account students who are not candidates for Honours degrees or those who have failed to gain a degree.
How Points Are Calculated for Tompkins Table?
The table allocates 5 points for a First Class degree, 3 points for an Upper Second (known also as a 2.i), 2.5 points for a Second Undivided (A second class degree that isn’t divided into Upper or Lower), 2 points for a Lower Second (a 2. ii), 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 toward 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 is the top college in 2022, after coming top in 2018 and 2019, following seven years in which Trinity College came top.
The rankings are not officially endorsed by the University of Cambridge.
Some of the mature colleges, including St. Edmund’s College, Hughes Hall, Lucy Cavendish College, 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.
Recommended reading:
- How to Apply to Cambridge University
- Cambridge Colleges Pros and Cons
- How To Choose An Oxbridge College
The Tompkins Table 2024 Rankings
Find the results for the 2024 Tompkins table rankings below. All Cambridge Colleges ranked:
| 2024 Rank | 2022 Rank | College | Score (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Trinity | 73.48 |
| 2 | 1 | Christ’s | 73.46 |
| 3 | 9 | Corpus Christi | 72.2 |
| 4 | 5 | Pembroke | 71.12 |
| 5 | 14 | Selwyn | 70.16 |
| 6 | 8 | Churchill | 69.9 |
| 7 | 10 | Queens’ | 69.84 |
| 8 | 3 | St Catharine’s | 69.64 |
| 9 | 11 | Emmanuel | 69.62 |
| 10 | 7 | Gonville & Caius | 69.52 |
| 11 | 13 | Downing | 69.5 |
| 12 | 12 | Clare | 69.08 |
| 13 | 28 | St Edmund’s | 68.44 |
| 14 | 6 | St John’s | 68.18 |
| 15 | 15 | Peterhouse | 67.84 |
| 16 | 18 | Magdalene | 67.7 |
| 17 | 17 | Robinson | 67.42 |
| 18 | 4 | Jesus | 67.04 |
| 19 | 19 | Trinity Hall | 66.98 |
| 20 | 16 | Sidney Sussex | 65.52 |
| 21 | 20 | Fitzwilliam | 65.02 |
| 22 | 21 | Wolfson | 64.96 |
| 23 | 29 | Lucy Cavendish | 64.9 |
| 24 | 22 | King’s | 64.8 |
| 25 | 26 | Homerton | 63.8 |
| 26 | 27 | Murray Edwards | 63.78 |
| 27 | 24 | Newnham | 63.42 |
| 28 | 25 | Girton | 62.78 |
| 29 | 23 | Hughes Hall | 62.68 |
Should You Choose College Based on Tompkins Rankings?
It is hard to advise on such a thing. I don’t think Tompkins should be used for decision-making when deciding your future. There are plenty of other reasons to consider when choosing a college at Cambridge University.
Maybe you are interested in:
Cambridge Colleges Rankings FAQ
The number of applications is higher than the number of acceptances at Clare Hall, Emmanuel College, Jesus College, King’s College, St. John’s, and Trinity College. Check the full list here.
Peterhouse College has approximately 110 undergraduate students per year, making it the smallest undergraduate college at Cambridge University. Peterhouse is also the oldest Cambridge college, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham. Read Pros and Cons of Peterhouse College.
