Moving to state sixth form the get into Oxbridge

[shreddies]

My cousin is planning to move her dds from private to state school for sixth form because she feels it will give them a better chance of getting into Oxbridge. She and her husband both went and this is very important to them.

One of the schools she is looking at has a pretty good sixth form but is a big mixed comprehensive with poor gcse results. It is on Bristol's list of aspiring schools where contextual offers are made, I assume Oxford and Cambridge use the same/similar data.

www.bristol.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/entry-requirements-qualifications/contextual-offers/

Leaving aside what I personally think of this, is this likely to be successful?

I can't imagine universities have time to dig down and spot that the high gcse grades come from an expensive private school, so I suspect they will be taken at face value?

Sorry typo in title which should say to get into Oxbridge

Contextual offers are for students who come from genuinely disadvantaged backgrounds, not people trying to game the system. Of course the university will spot where the GCSEs were sat, they are not stupid.

Ew, thanks gross.

Also they need to get a grip and not force their DC to be exactly like them

yep on the UCAS form it specifically asks where you did your GCSEs.

That's a really mean-spirited thing to do: to take the place of a genuinely disadvantaged student.
I hope this doesn't become "a thing" .

Well, although this strikes me as a bit unfair, yes it could work. Studies suggest that students who complete their GCSEs at private or grammar school, but switch to a state school for their A-Levels, are the most likely group to get into Oxbridge (based on the ratio of applications to offers). So yes, it's a good move although slightly cynical in my view.

@MrsFin

That's a really mean-spirited thing to do: to take the place of a genuinely disadvantaged student. I hope this doesn't become "a thing" .

I'm afraid it's already a thing. Not the first time I've heard of this 😬

This explains the factors that Oxford look for when considering contextual offers. You'll see the results and FSM eligibility levels in the GCSE school are up front, as is the home postcode.

www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/decisions/contextual-data

@Isabellabasil

Well, although this strikes me as a bit unfair, yes it could work. Studies suggest that students who complete their GCSEs at private or grammar school, but switch to a state school for their A-Levels, are the most likely group to get into Oxbridge (based on the ratio of applications to offers). So yes, it's a good move although slightly cynical in my view.

I did wonder if that was the case. It works in both the university and the school's favour doesn't it.

@Isabellabasil

Well, although this strikes me as a bit unfair, yes it could work. Studies suggest that students who complete their GCSEs at private or grammar school, but switch to a state school for their A-Levels, are the most likely group to get into Oxbridge (based on the ratio of applications to offers). So yes, it's a good move although slightly cynical in my view.

They're not getting in with contextual offers though.

My DC did A levels in a sixth form in a very deprived area, it has a 100% of students moving on to very good universities, so doesn't qualify for contextual offers although the individual students may as they come from some of the most deprived backgrounds.

Contextual offers take into account where GCSE's were done, where A levels were done, and where the student resides.

www.varsity.co.uk/news/19783

It will be noticed, at the very least at the interview stage. UCAS forms are checked very thoroughly.

[quote Isabellabasil]www.varsity.co.uk/news/19783[/quote]
Jeez.

I know. I wanted this not to be true but it seems it is.

Sorry that was to @shreddies

I find their behaviour utterly revolting.

I know a few people doing this and I think it’s both immoral and stupid. It’s also quite harsh on the children- going to a state school is no guarantee of an Oxbridge place and they may not want to go anyway. Moving a child from a school they’re happy at to one they don’t know, for potentially no benefit and possibly an actual disadvantage (if the admissions dept suspects they’re playing the system) is really unfair.

Yes it's a sad state of affairs. I do think that the whole interview process is just implicitly biased towards the kind of students that have benefitted from the private system. I mean life is really.

I feel terribly sorry for their dcs, uprooted from all their friends, sent somewhere that will probably be less able to offer the kind of schooling they are used to and all so they can be 'a chip off the old block'. Don't the dcs get a say?

It could backfire as the State sector might be less generous in their estimated grades.

@shreddiesIt is commonly misunderstood, Oxford and Cambridge do not give contextual offers - their offers are standard wherever an applicant went to school.
Contextual factors are taken into account as part of the decision of whether or not to interview an applicant - GCSE's are looked at as one indicator, and compared to other results at the school in which they were taken, along with entrance test score and references. So moving to a state school for 6th form will give no advantage whatsoever. Admissions tutors are not daft!

@beeswain ah that's interesting. I just found this - it's about interviews, not offers

No this would not work, or at least it certainly wouldn't work if they think she will be classified as a 'disadvantaged student' and given an easier path to entry.
The data that we have for GCSE gives a very precise comparison against the achievement at the school at which the GCSEs were sat. Applicants are given detailed scores that reflect their performance against their cohort. Any 'flags' for disadvantage are also based on the actual school at which the student sat the exams, not at their current institution.
There are many reasons why a student might want to move schools for A-level and I certainly wouldn't count it against a student if they moved from private to state, but people are very alert to distinguishing between the GCSE and A-level schools for students who have moved institutions.