Oxbridge 2020 (6)

[Justneedatemporaryname]

New thread ready for when the old one gets filled up!

...and DS1 is home! He got an extra interview at a larger college this afternoon. Closer to the labs and with a large grassy quad.

Also 'hard' but OK. And now we wait...

Well done to all those DC who have been through the process.

Lovely to hear from you again Sost & a very merry Christmas to you too.

@Sostenueto - Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you too. I was wondering how and where you were. Hope all is well and you and your family have a good break.

Out of interest re other offers and contextual offers: DD got standard offers from all unis when she has some very particular or perhaps special contextual markers but her school though State financed is independent. Can confidently say that admissions won’t have dealt with her school before and unlikely to get applicants from this type of school rarely if at all.
Various acquaintances with fewer markers have got contextual offers so am wondering whether she or I should go back to admissions at unis and ask if they have looked beyond indie status. Seems a bit odd when Durham - where she hasn’t applied - is giving lower offers to grammar school kids and possibly other unis but perhaps the ones she has applied to are just looking at top line and don’t understand where she’s come from. Or am I being a bit pushy parent? She’s predicted right grades but she has gone through the mill and has had to cope with some big impediments so seems a bit odd that these haven’t been recognised by any of her choices

Taken from the Durham website. To qualify for a contextual offer an applicant needs to meet two of the criteria.

As grammar schools are state schools a grammar school pupil would meet one if the criteria but they had to also qualify under at least one if the other criteria.

I assume your DD hasn't been in care at any point, but do you live in a postcode area in a low progression to higher education? A contextual offer isn't being given because someone attends a grammar school, but because they live in a lower POLAR or ACORN neighbourhood. They are designed to raise standards & aspirations in these areas, regardless of which type of state school the young person attends.

Yes exactly sandy - Durham is picking up contextual flags. It seems absolutely right that independently educated DC are excluded from contextual offers.

@Aurea it is worrying that they have spelt it "stationary!"

@littleslummygirl I think there is quite a bit of misinformation on these threads. I do not know any university in the UK where just being from a state school is enough to get you a contextual offer. Almost all (if not all) have other criteria which must be met POLAR score, first in family to go to university, free school meals, in foster care, young cater etc etc So if your DC fits into one or more of these criteria it may be worth checking . However I honestly doubt they will revise the offer because an independent school is still an independent school regardless of funding. Also presumably they have assess the other parts of your DC’s application and haven’t thought a contextual offer was warranted. I don’t think you explaining the funding situation with the school will change that.

My DC went to a state school with low POLAR, free school meals and didn’t get one contextual offer. In her school most people only got contextual offers from Bristol (they seemed to have a list of basically 50% of schools in the UK whose students they would give contextual offers to?). And the ones who got contextual offers from many other universities were often young carers for example.

Ok being a bit more explicit it’s an sen school. And while indie almost all pupils are funded by local authorities so DD a very unusual applicant for any uni and equally rare for her school. She does tick some boxes but not all so am wondering if admissions officers have just gone for indie without knowing how sen system works as they are unlikely to have come across it

Yes. There’s a whole supplementary form but she got all the offers back within two weeks and first two at day 2 and 3 so my sense is that the computer just said yes due to predicted grades without any contextual stuff being read

@littleslummygirl I’m not saying you shouldn’t try to ask them to reconsider for a contextual offer. The worst they could say is no however they have likely looked at the information (even within the 2 days) she gave them and didn’t think she qualified. I’m not sure if the school being SEN may be a qualifier for a contextual offer, may depend on the university.

Yes it must be an unusual situation for them - no harm asking.

I think it's worth asking them. A SEN school is, ultimately, funded by the local authority (through EHCPs) not through the parents. Also they just don't have the built-in knowledge and support in terms of encouraging and facilitating Oxbridge applications. Personally, I'd see your DC more like a child who's the only one applying from a struggling state comp. It's worth asking whether they've looked closely through her individual needs in terms of setting a contextual offer.

I'd guess that even if there's no contextual offer, it might be good to get the situation clarified as it might be taken into account if her grades slipped?

That is definitely worth a phone call @littleslummygirl And I'm really impressed your DD has done so well. I'm sure she must have done a lot of self directed study. You must be so proud of her!

The contextual offer stuff is interesting. We live in the downmarket part of a downmarket town. But I've done a postcode check, and apparently we are in the 2nd from the top quintile for young people going into higher education. I'm guessing that to get a contextual offer you need to be pretty severely disadvantaged.

My Dgd has not received one contextual offer even though she lives in polar region, has bursary at school including free school meals and is first in family etc and goes to a state school and her mother earns under £12 k a year and works full time. So for the life of me I cannot understand how people in better situations are getting contextual offers!

She should do from Bristol, Sost. Hang in there.

Thanks Millie! The wait is unbearable sometimes! Off to do Xmas shopping!

At least the DCs from low income families will get a bursary if they get into Oxbridge.

My DD has received at least one contextual offer. We live in a fairly affluent areas but the school she goes to has an average ability intake in Y7 and fairly low A-Level grades.