Contextualised offers

[Bromeliads]

Does anyone know the detail of how contextualised university offers work? I often read it implied on here that going to state comprehensives will mean that university offers are ‘contextualised’, but I can’t find any evidence that this is true except for those who are more specifically disadvantaged.
The reason I ask is that DC is currently at a state comprehensive with no sixth form. They could go to an independent school for sixth form, but I don’t understand how that would potentially affect university offers. Would their GCSEs still be viewed in the context of having gone state? Would they then be viewed as an independent school student? Or does it not realistically make any difference at all?
Obviously, only one factor in the decision!

As I understand it, the key factor is where the student takes GCSEs in terms of private school - as in, unis assuming private school pupils will more easily gain higher GCSEs.

Contextual offers are a different thing and relate to a dc bring schooled in a more deprived area - this may see an offer lowered by a grade. It’s not all state schools by any means - my dcs’ leafy comp did not qualify.

Thanks, @clary , yes, that's what I could find regarding contextualised offers. Definitely not just a 'state comp' thing (DC's is also quite leafy)

Contextual offers from a university mean they offer 1-2 A level grades lower - each uni has their own criteria. Some use disadvantaged postcodes for home and/or school, FSM, first person in family to go to uni, disability, care leaver, young carer, race, attendance at a summer school or uni scheme - it varies and some don't do them at all.

You may find even if your DC do qualify for a contextual offer it is only for local unis and not ones further away. Many of the Unis near us have partnerships with schools in the area.

My son got a contextual offer from Bristol to read History. He went to a non-leafy comp in London with below average GCSE headline passes, high free school meals, high percentage of pupils with English as their second language. A helpful Mumsnetter posted a link to a list of schools published by Bristol that they make these offers for. It was all very transparent but I doubt all Universities do the same.

Thanks all, I am sure they won't qualify for a contextualised offer! People always talk on here though as if there are different levels of this - like people who go to leafy comps will typically get a different offer from independent school students, but I am not sure that this is actually the case. From everything I can find, it's contextualised offers or nothing.

No it’s not the case

We've been looking into contextualised offers and my DS's state grammar school school does not qualify in any of the searches I've done on line and it seems none of the academies or comprehensives locally do either.

We are now looking at Unis that offer contextualised offers for kids who are care experienced as he is adopted and was in care before that.

My DC school used to be eligible for contextualised offers from Bristol. I think they used to offer for schools in the bottom 50% (of whatever they used to judge these things).
DC school is now on the up and no longer eligible - unless a student lives in a certain postcode and FSM.
I think it's good to have contextualised offers for certain children, but it does annoy me that a lot of people in private schools think that state schools kids all get them and that private schools are now disadvantaged.

Contextualised offers are intended to help kids dealing with disadvantage. Not for people trying to game the system.

I don’t think this is the case, most preclude you from contextual offer if you have ever been to an independent school.
OP it depends on the uni they all have their own policies. He’ll be barred from a lot of the expanding access things if he’s at independent school but it may make no real difference. You need to look at the policies for each uni. If he’s at a reasonable secondary and not living in an area of deprivation it’s unlikely to make much difference though. Unless one of the sixth form options he has will make him eligible for contextual offer and it might be worth considering eg if one of his options is a sixth form college which does a level and a number of other vocational courses he might get in on the ‘low progression to higher education’ . This types of places can still offer really good a level courses

Universities set their own contextual offers. You would have to look on the website of every university.

My dd got one on the POLAR score of our postcode although she would have also got one for the school I imagine.

It's not just independent versus state. There is far more to it than that.

Sorry @BungleandGeorge I don't think my post was clear.

I have read posts on MN about pp who move from private to state for sixth form in the hope that this will give them a better chance to a uni offer - not through a contextual offer, but just through some thought that universities penalise those who went to private school.

I have no idea if this is the case or not, but my understanding is that doing this will not make any difference anyway - if you take GCSEs at private school, any advantage you are perceived to have accrued still holds even if you do state sixth form.

This is separate from contextual offers which are only made to certain students in state schools. I think the private school aspect is a red herring. Obv no one at a private school will qualify for contextual anyway.

@Bromeliads Contextualised offers are intended to help kids dealing with disadvantage. Not for people trying to game the system.

Your school would know if they counted as deprived area etc. DS went to independent school on bursary so didn’t get contextualised offer but those who were first in family to go to uni did even though they were at indep school. However the value added score for his school between 16-18 was significant eg pupils would get on average a grade higher than expected from their gcse grades because of the quality of education / small classes at A level compared to the local leafy state school and that was despite the state school deliberately gaming the system and weeding out lower performing students. A level classes at indep school were 3-8 pupils. He got lots extra help with extended project, ucas form, revision etc. Loads extra curricular. 1:1 language sessions with teacher and foreign teaching assistant. Lots of opportunities for speaking and debating so came out really confident at speaking in tutorials etc. I wouldn’t base choice of school on whether a uni might drop a grade but on what each school would offer over the 2 years.

@CurlewKate, I'm not trying to game the system. I said all along that I was just asking if my understanding of what contextualised offers are is correct - which it seems it is - and that's the way it should be. I probably just shouldn't have used that term at all in this case. However, I did want to check that DC wouldn't be disadvantaged by moving to an independent school at sixth form, as there are equally good state options in the mix. I think the answer is that they wouldn't be. As @clary said above, lots of people on here seem to think that moving to state for A level gives their kids an advantage. I teach in an independent school (which is where DC could do their A levels as we get a sizable staff discount) and we hear this a lot from parents too, but I think it's a groundless fear.
As I said above, DC definitely wouldn't qualify for a contextual offer whether they stay at state or move to independent.

I often read it implied on here that going to state comprehensives will mean that university offers are ‘contextualised’,

But that couldn't possibly be true. That would mean vast numbers of students would get a lower offer.

@Bromeliads My son got a contextual offer. Predicted grades 4 A stars, went to outstanding secondary and attended outstanding sixth form, both with high progress 8 scores. Obviously not on the Bristol list as I believe it is commonly known. Never been in care, or currently in care, not a carer themselves, not first in the family to go to university and never been on Free School Meals all of which I believe are contextual criteria. But, our POLAR postcode area is Quintile 2 meaning not a lot of children go onto university from this area. It is a 3 square mile area, several parts make up this area some of which are considered desirable and others less desirable. I like to think we live in the desirable bit

Of the 4 offers Ds got only one was contextual which was Durham, the others Manchester, Leeds, Warwick were not anything other than their entry grade offers. Some universities want several of the criteria boxes ticked to offer a contextual offer.

Durham's entry was A star AA but their offer was AAA or A*AB.

It then said you are eligible for a contextual offer, this means if you make Durham your first choice then your offer will be reduced. Your reduced offer will be AAB! Durham was his first choice so that is what he took and he is studying there now.

@QuillBill , yes, I agree, but a lot of posters seem to think that there’s some kind of sliding scale like a) genuinely disadvantaged students b) people who did their qualifications at any state school and c) people who did qualifications at independent school. I don’t think there’s any genuine difference between b) and c)

My DD1 in a leafy state school got a contextualised offer from Bristol university as neither myself or DH have university degrees, although I’m a qualified accountant and have an HND. She decided to go elsewhere in the end though.

@Bromeliads "I did want to check that DC wouldn't be disadvantaged by moving to an independent school at sixth form," He wouldn't be. He would still have all the advantage that his privileged background gives him. I wouldn't worry about it.

@CurlewKate 🙄

Each university is different and things change but when dd went she had a contextualised offer - it was based on 6 areas of deprivation (disability, low performing school, poor postcode, first in family at university, free school meals, can't remember last one) and you needed to either have multiple factors or one very pronounced eg dd is autistic, school in special measures, post code where we lived was in area of deprivation (not our street though, bit if a quirk of postcodes).

@OutNowKitty yes, I think there’s definitely different criteria that universities use, but I am sure that nobody would include mine 😉

I should have added, state schools and we believe that the only reason for the contextual offer was the POLAR postcode.