State/private school university admissions

Some Unis have contextual lists of schools eg. Bristol, Birmingham but others are more specific and use data on postcodes and other data such as FSM, care etc. But any parent sending their kid to a high achieving state school, thinking it's going to give them any advantage at all are going to be very sadly mistaken.

And my take on why so many private schools have kids going to Oxbridge is because it helps their marketing ! For some courses they are not the best places to go, and they offer a limited number of newer courses so don't appeal to many state school kids who want an industry based degree. State schools mostly don't need to market where their leavers go, but private schools need lots of Oxbridge to entice parents in. So it's in their interests to encourage any suitable candidate to apply and to help them succeed. Bums on seats = money.

So just to clarify, - it’s about the school where you did your gcses , not the school you moved into for A levels?
DS just had to complete a questionnaire for a Cambridge application, to provide contextual data, and they asked for the name and postcode of the school where the GCSEs were taken. Then a separate question asking for the school where A-levels are being taken.

Theovertoad
They just said that when looking at GCSE results, they take into account the GCSE performance of the school where the GCSEs were taken. These figures are available to anyone from the DfE.

I have heard that some universites (e.g. Bristol) do have lists of specific schools which trigger a contextual flag.

They both implied that an applicant's GCSE results are viewed in the context of the GCSE results at the school where the GCSEs were taken.

So just to clarify, - it’s about the school where you did your gcses , not the school you moved into for A levels?
Is there a list of these schools? - these ones where a contextual offer may apply? Can you find out if your secondary school is on it?

From my personal experience (brother went to Cambridge) and I had an interview there at undergraduate level: I found it's definitely easier to get in if you are an overseas student (and paying higher fees) and easier to get in at Masters postgrad level provided you finish with a First at undergrad level at a different uni

Totally agree with Bubbles ...Yes, Wider participation is good...however you have to acknowledge that DC who attend private schools have gone through a selection process at an early stage and the DC are generally very capable...It's not always about money if the DC who attend private schools were brighter before they even started private school - SURELY?

Some schools have concentrations of the super bright. It’s their usp. Eton is a very large school. Most schools don’t have this number of credible candidates. I also think some DC who go to these schools might well come from families of huge intelligence down generations. Of course they are advantaged but they are also highly intelligent DC.

Actually the OP is right. The number of private school children going to Oxbridge has fallen over the years (albeit from a very high % relative to the number of children educated privately) and the gap has largely been filled by grammar school pupils. Oxford and Cambridge also have increasing targets for the proportion of applicants they should admit from state schools. And looking at a sample of popular subjects their admissions do seem to be largely in line with those targets.

A state school can be useful in 6th form as many taster sessions at universities are only open to DC from non-selective state schools. However, some universities are trying harder to bridge real socio-economic gaps by restricting access to those who can also demonstrate real disadvantage rather then those middle class DC in a Comprehensive school. Hope that helps.

OP, the 'talk' you've heard is utter bollocks.

End of!

The odds against getting a place are high for everyone. The two universities admit about 6,000 undergraduates in total each a year and 43,000 students applied across state and private. Contextual offers themselves I read only gives a tiny few points advantages. The interviews, tests etc..are very very hard and with odds like those...with applicants with straight As not getting in, honestly I wouldn't worry about it. Concentrate on getting into a good uni, good degree and the rest will sort itself out..

How does this fit in with the fact that Westminster, Eton and St Paul's etc. supply more kids to Oxbridge than most others combined?

Your friends are going to get a nasty shock ! Contextual offers are NOT for all state schools, but a few who are either in areas of deprivation or not producing as good results as others. It's to try and even out the fact that private schools might have 15 kids in a class and state school 34. So Camden Girl and Tiffin will be treated the same as Eton. Bog comp in a disadvantaged area will get w bit of extra leeway.

If it helps, my school get contextual at 2 Unis this year. We have A level classes of up to 25 students. So I don't feel it's unfair at all.

DS attended admissions talks at both recently.
They both implied that an applicant's GCSE results are viewed in the context of the GCSE results at the school where the GCSEs were taken.

So if you attended school A until the end of Y11, then moved to school B, the university admissions team would look at the GCSE results at school A when considering your application.

From Cambridge's website, the equivalent page:

"school/college data – the GCSE performance, A Level performance, and recent history of entry to Cambridge or Oxford, of an applicant’s school/college"

From Oxford's website, the page about contextual data they take into account says:

"Prior education:
"- The performance of the applicant’s school or college at GCSE (or equivalent level in Northern Ireland)

• The performance of the applicant’s school or college at A-level or equivalent level
• The percentage of students eligible for free school meals at the applicant’s school or college at GCSE or equivalent level."