Emmanuel College has claimed the top spot on the 2010 Tompkins Table, making it the fifth time in the past seven years that the College has topped the exam league table.

According to statistics published by The Independent, one-third of Emma students gained Firsts in this summer’s exams, beating last year’s winner Trinity College to the top spot.

Churchill College took third place, a significant improvement compared to previous years. According to the College, this was the "best ever set of examination results".

Churchill’s performance was made all the more special because it occurred on the College’s 50th anniversary. The College thanked Churchillians for "this 50th birthday present to [their] College."

Also performing well was Clare College, which jumped ten places to eighth position. Meanwhile, last year’s fourth place holder, Gonville & Caius College, dropped in the rankings to eleventh place.

Jack Riley, a blogger on The Independent website, has suggested a link between Caius’s relatively poor performance in the Tompkins Table in 2010 and an increase in state school admissions at the College three years ago.

According to Riley, "This year’s graduations are drawn from the 2007 intake, which had 15 per cent more state school students than the year before, and here’s the sad fact: they’ve done significantly worse than the skewed intake of the years which preceded them."

Although Caius came fourth in 2008 and 2009, it was ranked tenth in 2007, which suggests that there is no clear correlation between the altered intake and the academic success of the College’s students.

Moreover, in 2007, state sector students formed 53 per cent of Emma’s intake and 56 per cent of Churchill’s, without adversely affecting either College’s performance on the current year’s Table.

Performance on the table may, instead, be related to the atmosphere and reputation of a College. Trinity, for instance, has a reputation, which appeals to the kind of students who are attracted by both the prestige and the intensely academic environment.

The atmosphere within the College during exam term speaks for itself. As a recent First-class graduate from Trinity put it, "Everyone in Trinity gets a First because everyone from Trinity gets a First". Another Trinity student commented, "the library is more fun than the College bar and contains fewer geeks".

Such an atmosphere, whilst conducive to Trinity’s success, is not the only path to Tompkins glory. Emma, which has consistently delivered top results, is renowned for its less pressurised approach to learning.

Speaking to The Independent, Dr Richard Barnes, Emmanuel’s Senior Tutor, emphasised the importance of this atmosphere. "I feel we have good students who are relaxed enough to do well in their degrees," he said.

Dr Barnes also attributed Emma’s success to the supportive nature of the College. According to him, "What this really means is that we’re helping students to achieve their potential. It is nice to come top. The important thing is that we’re doing well for our students."

The Tompkins Table was created in 1981, by Peter Tompkins, a mathematics student. The rankings are compiled exclusively for The Independent.