Oxbridge Admissions: The Times They Are a-Changin’

Oxbridge Admissions: The Times They Are a-Changin’ featured image
8 February 2023

‘Private education is not fair. Those who provide it know it. Those who pay for it know it. Those who have to sacrifice to in order to purchase it know it. And those who receive it know it, or should.’

Alan Bennett, Sermon before the University, King’s College Chapel, 1 June 2014

Background

Back in 2000, half of all students at Oxford and Cambridge came from the 7% of the population who were privately-educated. The noughties ushered in growing concerns over equality, diversity and inclusion; the universities found themselves in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. For example, it emerged that some colleges had failed, year on year, to admit a single black British student. Notwithstanding the stellar outreach ambition of individual colleges (such as Mansfield, Oxford), both universities had an image problem when seen through a woke lens. Today much has changed.  The result is that Oxbridge now has a far higher representation of state-educated pupils, even if some admission tutors baulk at the phrase ‘positive discrimination’.

The highest performing selective state schools have results which match or exceed those of many independent schools.  Other schools and academies, sometimes serving challenging catchment areas, are beginning to put forward their most able students for Oxbridge. Why shouldn’t these schools have a representative slice of the cake? Nicholas Soar, Executive Principal at Harris Federation, says ‘the closed cartel is ending’ and he is losing no sleep over it. Oxford and Cambridge have now increased the proportion of acceptances from state schools to almost 70%.  This may increase yet further.

King’s College, Cambridge, has a reputation for spreading its net wider than most, yet nevertheless acknowledges that its state-educated students come primarily from selective schools or else from affluent catchment areas. Its website states that ‘economically and educationally-disadvantaged pupils remain significantly under-represented’. That throws down the gauntlet to the whole of society.

The genially egalitarian Tristram Jones-Parry, former head of Westminster School, does not accept that Oxford is discriminating against private school pupils.  Rather he believes the university is actively encouraging more state school pupils to apply. If, as seems the case, this is true, then the independent sector must accept and embrace a new landscape in which more quality candidates from state schools are applying to Oxbridge.

Positive Discrimination – Fact or Fallacy

More contentious is the notion of ‘positive discrimination’ and some independent teachers cite examples where a state school sixth-former across the road has been given a lower offer to the detriment of his own students (in a case, say, where a school cannot offer Further Maths). Fair or not, the chatter at West London dinner parties is that getting an Oxbridge place is harder because you have to ‘shake off your private school background’.

To make matters even more difficult, international students are taking up more and more places for certain courses. This is where a savvy Oxbridge co-ordinator may strategically steer a candidate to a less oversubscribed course such as ‘economics and management’ or ‘land economy’. For the school, it still counts an Oxbridge place, even if not quite what the student wanted. Two independent schools told me of a decline in Oxbridge places obtained in recent years, but claim this is offset and explained by a growing trend for their strongest students to study in the US. One HMC head sums up, ‘they’ve shifted the goalposts and it’s pushing students away’.

Future Employers

Where Oxford and Cambridge hold sway is in their emphasis on small group (even individual) teaching sessions, known as tutorials or supervisions.  By contrast, other universities teach though classes or lectures. This aspect of an Oxbridge education leaves the greatest mark, and arguably develops more thoughtful graduates. Spencer Hanlon, Head of Europe at Nium Global Payments, echoes other industry leaders in saying that an Oxbridge degree has ‘undoubted cut through value’ in the job market.

International Perspective

Susan Fang, consultant in China-UK education, states that East Asian parents still see Oxford and Cambridge as the holy grail. And for the universities, such high-achieving and high-paying overseas students bring in vital revenue. However, the knock-on effect is that for home grown students, whether from independent or state backgrounds, the competition for places remains fiercer than ever.

Thank you to Guy Holloway, for this article.  Guy will also be on the panel at our next webinar, “The Oxbridge Alarm Bells”.  To book on to our Oxbridge webinar, please visit our Events page.

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