I have been reluctant to reply to this threat but can’t quite tear myself away from the topic as it is so close to home!
I attended a very good secondary school but missed a fair bit of time due to ill health. For some complicated reasons, there was no longer a sixth form for us to go to so I went to a further education college for A’levels. This was a very different set up to the kind of education I had at school where the focus was on attaining a very high standard, a strong and determined character and charity ( it was a Convent). The college had a real mix of ex private school ( not intimidating to me but some were very snooty towards us), some local comp who were a mix of friendly and able and some retakes, mature students, etc. It had none of the focus, structure or intensity my school had ( that I could easily manage) and the demand on us was low - for example when I submitted my first A’level essays I was A’ grade in all of them and the tutors seemed surprised! There was a view, I think that the kind of education I had had up til then was too narrow, too academic? however it is the kind of teaching that gets you those Oxbridge A’grades ( this was the 80s).
So, I didn’t get great A’level grades at the college which was very much focused on creating a good environment where people didn’t feel under great pressure however, the results overall were poor and the ones who did go to university were the same old private school students who got extra tuition plus a few very hardworking students who quietly got on with things in the background.
I went to a polytechnic and again felt that huge gap from where I was to what I was capable of and just couldn’t seem to marry the two in that very laidback environment. It was also in the North and a very different atmosphere to the intense London schools).
I didn’t get a first but did apply to a few colleges and universities for my PGCE and got a place at Oxford. From the moment I arrived, I felt back in the kind of place where I could flourish. I instinctively understood the rules and demands, I loved the scholarly environment and I worked incredibly hard there. For the first time in my entire life, I felt I was on solid ground, that I could exert that pressure on my self and the ground wouldn’t fall away beneath me. I really felt 100ft tall when I left and with such a great mindset ( that in fairness was already there, the place just brought it out).
I could say so much more but about the differences between the two institutions and importantly, the differences between studying English and what was essentially a social science (our essays were assessed at masters level) but I would say that it is true that places like Oxbridge are linear, narrow and specialised early on which is why the higher skills of analysis and I guess, now meta analysis, are focused on. The sheer amount of material the undergraduates have to cover in a select amount of time is incomparable to the polytechnic timetable. The final grade at Oxford is determined by one week of exams, no coursework is carried over, no grades from 2nd year. This intensity, and ability to work at such a pace, is, in my view, the key difference between the two and it is developed by expectation at a young age.
There were also some compulsory texts at Oxford ( Old English, etc) and I don’t remember this at polytechnic. So, some material is more complex although that is usually balanced out by the assessment requirements that focus on understanding and accuracy rather than complex analysis with difficult language pieces.
It’s probably important with these things to mention socio- economic background as I do think there are some contributory factors. My parents are Irish, they came over in the 60s. They were quite modern in their outlook and not at all the type to push for university ( in fact, they were a bit bewildered about me wanting to go, I think!) Dad always wanted his daughters to be financially secure but I think in those days the way this was seen to be done was to get a job in a bank or insurance office. Or nursing!
He worked on the tools when he first arrived here (still looked down on in some places) but was able to work his way up through sheer hard graft. Mum worked in an office.
There is a huge difference between the two institutions but I do think the focus has to be on what is right for the individual at different times in their life. I know someone who dropped out of a high demand sixth form, went somewhere else for A’levels, got into a good university and is now at Cambridge doing a masters. It’s the perfect route for her.
I made great friends at polytechnic and spent my holidays working to keep my debt down ( with a small pocket of travelling) but the advantages and options Oxbridge offer are fantastic. It is a myth to think you don’t have to work incredibly hard once you are there or afterwards. My experience is that people don’t see all the background work that goes in to making things work, all the juggling, all the strategising. They only see the slightly aloof nonchalance and think it’s arrogance but actually for some they are carrying a tremendous responsibility. One thing that stood out to me about the obviously privileged men I met there is that there is no room for failure for them. They know that the price of their privilege is the expectation that they will take on demanding roles - an Oxbridge education teaches you ways to manage that pressure, I think. I remember feeling glad that I hadn’t had that expectation on me at 17.
Lastly, and I apologise for the essay, the administration at Oxford was unbelievable. Again, this was the first time I experienced someone doing something for my benefit in such a supportive, positive way. You really do feel a level of support that allows you to straighten yourself up and shake off anything that you were carrying. That space doesn’t exist in real life for a lot of ordinary people.
When I left there, I remember thinking actually this is the fairest system - assessment on A’levels rather than background, family name, etc. It’s not without its faults and contextual offers go some way to remedy this as students are traditionally graded on the quality of the teaching at their school rather than their ability in many instances but my goodness, what an experience it was just for one year. It really shows you what the world is like through the lens of options and resources when most of see the world through lack or problems. From that powerful position, you really start to see what can be done, should be done, isn’t being done and can extend part of yourself to figure out the whys.
Sorry again for the essay. So much of this concerns me as we have definitely conflated university with careers which is no harm in terms of content and focus at a time students pay £9000 a year, but university, and crucially those years from 18-21, are about so much more. They really can set you up for the future.