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Original poster

Without meaning to sound smug.....

210 replies

alfiesbabe · 15/03/2008 12:10

(well ok just a little bit!) I'm interested to discover that our local 6th form college has 9 students with Oxbridge offers, our local state school has 4 and the private school where dh teaches has....2. What's going on here?? Is the tide turning at last? State school quotas?? I'm intrigued. I've sounded out DH and a significant number of the private school students were turned down. He describes them as very much conventional oxbridge candidates - ie predicted straight As/appropriate amount of sport and music involvement etc. Having said that, I taught a couple of the 6th form college pupils when they were at 11-16 level, and they are extremely bright and predicted straight As. DH also said it isnt just an oxbridge thing - some of his pupils are getting a similar response from Durham, Bristol etc.
I don't want this to become a private/state debate - I'm just intrigued by this.

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Blandmum · 15/03/2008 12:21

There are no state school quotas

And the collages don't want them.

In my year my state school sent 3 of us to Oxford, two of us to the same collage.

Original poster
alfiesbabe · 15/03/2008 12:31

I thought that's correct, that there are no official quotas. I've heard anecdotal stuff that particular tutors on particular course are biaised eg Professor X at Y Univeristy is anti-private schools. But my understanding is that there are no official quotas. Maybe it's a case of more effective marketing towards state schools and colleges these days, so that a broader range of students see this as an option. My DH is moving to a state school in Sept (which incidentally has 6 Oxbridge offers!). He will be on the leadership team and one of his first jobs will be taking a group of high flying 6th formers to cambridge for a few days, as there is some kind of link between between the school and college. All good stuff.

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fivecandles · 15/03/2008 12:32

Sadly it's still over 40% of Oxbridge entrants who are from public schools.

One reason why the 6th form college will have more successful candidates is that it may have up to 10 times more students than the private school sixth form. a 1000 strong cohort as opposed to 100 or less in the private school. With this in mind it should be getting 10 times as many candidates in but proportionately it won't be IYSWIM

Blandmum · 15/03/2008 12:33

Oddly enough the collage that I went to (that took two of us) was and is regarded as one of the most snobbish of collages.

I must say I didn't really find it that way, and they even took dh, who is another comprehensive school guttersnipe

Original poster
alfiesbabe · 15/03/2008 12:35

Fivecandles, the 6th form college got a higher proprtion of offers for the number of applications.
lol at mb and her guttersnipe DH!! DH and I are both from comprehensives - never did us any harm!!

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PenelopePitstops · 15/03/2008 12:35

no such thing as state school quotas, i think a lot more state school pupils now feel they can apply to oxbridge without being stigmatised (think thats the right word)

When i applied only 3 years ago from state school a lot of people didnt want to go to oxbridge as they felt they couldnt keep up with the lifestyle there. But one boy did and he loves it

fivecandles · 15/03/2008 12:40

But still not higher a higher proportion of offers in terms of numbers? How many students in total in the lower VI at the 6th form college and how many students in the lower VI in the local private school.

Don't mean to downplay the success of these students but I know that nationally it's still over 40% of students who go to Oxbridge who are from public school.

Should say also that I work at a 6th form college where there are roughly 2000 students. We've probably got about 5 into Oxbridge this year including a student I teach. It wouldn't surprise me if our nearest private school got the same sort of amount even though they have far less than 100 students in their lower VI.

fivecandles · 15/03/2008 12:42

One reason is that although we get a huge number of A grade students, many students choose to stay at home while at university for cultural and financial reasons.

fivecandles · 15/03/2008 12:45

Look at this for example www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/sep/20/accesstouniversity.topstories3

Original poster
alfiesbabe · 15/03/2008 12:50

Oh yes, fivecandles, I know that over 40% of students who go to Oxbridge come from private, even though private represents only about 7% of the population, which is a real problem. Oxbridge (and other top universities) should be taking in the super-bright, highly intelligent, interesting and motivated young people, and I'm sure we all know that it doesnt mean private school pupils are brighter. So yes, there's still a big problem. I'm not sure of exat numbers, but I would guess that proportionately more of the provate school pupils applied for oxbridge. The amount with offers is proportionately higher from the 6th form college. (It's a big college but not all students are doing A level - they offer BTEC and other courses). There's clearly a long way to go. But I just feel it's interesting that there seems to be the beginnings of a change.

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mimsum · 15/03/2008 14:05

you're like a reformed smoker alfiesbabe

ScienceTeacher · 15/03/2008 14:16

We only have one student with an Oxbridge offer - but wait, that's in an U6 of 15 students. Our local 6th form college has something like 700 U6. I suspect they do not have 50 offers.

ScienceTeacher · 15/03/2008 14:18

lol, minsum

Original poster
alfiesbabe · 15/03/2008 14:19

not at all mimsum - have always held this view

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Original poster
alfiesbabe · 15/03/2008 14:19

I suspect they don't have 50 offers ScienceTeacher. See other posts above

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3littlefrogs · 15/03/2008 14:22

Ds2 has just been to an open day at Oxford. I didn't go to university, and I would love him to go to Oxford or Cambridge, but he did come back feeling a bit overawed and thinking perhaps it wasn't for him and he should look at some other universities.

Original poster
alfiesbabe · 15/03/2008 14:26

3littlefrogs - sad that he felt overawed. What's there to be overawed by? The fact that your parents paid school fees is not impressive.
Don't push him for Oxbridge because YOU'D love him to go though. Make sure it's what he wants. It may be that another course at another university will be exactly right for him. The important thing is that if Oxbridge is right for him and he's good enough, he doesnt let the 40% private school thing put him off.

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3littlefrogs · 15/03/2008 14:26

What I am trying to say - perhaps not very clearly - is that there still seems to be a reluctance for many students to apply - perhaps because they fear they won't "fit in", or might not be able to keep up financially with other students.

3littlefrogs · 15/03/2008 14:29

Alfiesbabe - you are right - and perhaps I am a bit overawed by it too, and I hope that hasn't put him off. The thing is, that he also mentioned that he didn't think other people in his group of friends would apply. But he does have some very bright friends in his A level group and I am sure they are all capable.

Original poster
alfiesbabe · 15/03/2008 14:29

Yes, see your point 3littlefrogs - and it's a shame because as I said earlier, Oxbridge and other top universities should be looking for the incredibly bright and enquiring mind, which occurs in all walks of life, not just in private schools.

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PerkinWarbeck · 15/03/2008 14:42

3littlefrogs - I would encourage your DS to look at a few different colleges if he can. DH is a right scally Mancunian, and went to Cambridge. He chose a college has a less "hooray" reputation than many, and as a result felt more comfortable. Most of his old college mates are "normal" too .

3littlefrogs · 15/03/2008 14:45

He is going to a Cambridge open day soon, so will see what he thinks of that. I really don't mind which university he goes to, as long as he gets on a good course and is happy.

scaryteacher · 15/03/2008 15:05

It's a shame that people have an attitude to those of us whose children are privately educated. My DH is in the Armed Forces so DS went to a private prep school in case he needed to board and was thus in familiar surroundings. Many military families send their children to board for continuity of education, which may be better than the strain imposed on family life by constant weekending and separation because of the children's education.

One widowed man I know had to send his kids to boarding school as their mum died at 36, and he was posted away from his home port.

Please don't be snotty Alfiesbabe about those of us who do pay for them to go...you don't know the family backgrounds and reasons to board / privately educate, so don't judge.

Incidentally, I always thought that the sins of the father should not be visited upon the child, so why have a prejudice against private school kids? Their parents make the judgement calls about their education, not them, and it seems unfair that the child should not be able to get into Oxbridge because their parents chose to educate them privately. The child may have had no say in the matter at all!

scaryteacher · 15/03/2008 15:09

I also meant to say that having a bias against private school kids going to Oxbridge seems much the same as having a bias against kids going to Uni whose parents have initial degrees. Both DH and I couldn't do our jobs without our degrees as the employer (the Government) says that we need them for our jobs. They then say ' oh, Scaryteacher, your son can't go to Uni because you have a degree, even though we say you have to have one to teach, and we paid for your DH's initial degree and MA' DUH.

Original poster
alfiesbabe · 15/03/2008 15:09

Erm.. I've re-read the OP and can't find anything remotely snotty about it! I'm sure there are lots of reasons why people choose to pay for private education. The OP is about an interesting local situation which set me wondering what's going on. Yes, I do see it as a positive thing if larger numbers of intelligent young people are seeing Oxbridge as a possibility for themselves, rather than as something which they arent allowed to aspire to because they didnt happen to have parents who paid for them to go to school. Do you have a problem with that?

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