Almost half of state school teachers “never” or “rarely” recommend their brightest students apply to Oxbridge, according to a new poll that suggests teachers are consciously limiting their pupils’ options.

Commissioned by the Sutton Trust education charity, the research follows recent claims by Geoff Parks, the director of admissions for Cambridge colleges, that some state schools were “acting as gatekeeper for their students’ future” by turning down offers from Cambridge outreach officers to speak at their schools.