Dd talented in English lit - Oxbridge help!!

Hi there. I went to Oxbridge from a state school after scoring top 3 in the country on my Eng Lang A-Level (I dropped one mark, in coursework). I had three other A levels and an AEA, but this was about 20 years ago. I read English and loved it, and now work in publishing. And going to Oxbridge was so much fun and absolutely the making of me; I would encourage your daughter to apply.

I did have all As and A* at GCSE. I understand from admissions people of these threads that one of the universities favours A level results and the other does care about GCSEs, so you may want to look into that.

My advice would be for your daughter to read both widely and deeply. Does she have a favourite era or type of literature? Both Cambridge and Oxford are much more lit based than language. Oxford starts with Old English and moves forward; Cambridge starts with Medieval English (with OE as an option). Both include influences on English, like classical tragedy. Cambridge study is still based on practical criticism in many ways.

She should look at the syllabus at each and see if she has a preference, and think about her passions and interests, as well as work on her writing. Does she read Literary Review or the New Yorker? Both include extended essays and reviews that are in some ways what she would be aiming to be able to write (substance as well as style). Eg New Yorker.

And please don’t forget that there are other excellent places to study English and other ways to write and create, even if she picks another course to study. History and English have very transferable skills. And there may be less competitive courses to get into at Oxbridge!