This method of calculation will be found to promote Magdalen and Merton, which come surprisingly low in your Correspondent's order."
This system was devised in 1981 by Peter Tompkins, of Birkenhead, to classify the results of Cambridge colleges, and a table compiled by Tompkins on this basis was published on 28 August by The Times (28 Aug 1981, p. 10) alongside a table using the Norrington scoring system, which had been compiled by the Cambridge Evening News.
[8] The table caused some controversy, however, as a number of college bursars argued that it bore no relation to the original and further questioned its metrics.
There have been attempts to rework the original Norrington Table, specifically in light of debates surrounding access and the equality of Oxford University § Admission process.
In 2018, one article used geographical data to rank colleges based on the percentage of undergraduate students from poorer backgrounds.
In this same report, the Vice President of the Oxford University Student Union announced work was underway on an "alternative Norrington Table" which would seek to measure social mobility as well as academic success in colleges.