Do you feel Prouder about Oxbridge because of going to the local comprehensive?

[Verysadatwork]

I confess I do feel extra proud of ds getting to Cambridge for this reason

It is lovely that you are proud of their achievements and rightly so.

But you do realise that the majority of kids at Oxbridge are state educated. I will await the inevitable but some are grammar schools. The reality is there aren't that many grammar schools too.

I don't mean to take away from your proud mama moments but don't focus on the from a comp part. Focus on them being a bright and able person.

Impossible to say. DS1 is a 2nd year and DD is going this Autumn, both are privately educated. I couldn't imagine being prouder of either of them as they both worked incredibly hard to get their places. The effort both put in is what makes me proud.

I'm just happy that DS1 is doing the right thing in the right college in the right uni for him. It absolutely wouldn't be the right thing for DS2.

Well, of course I'm proud that DD got to Oxford from an ordinary comprehensive. She put in all the research about what needed to be done, and did it, unaided, either by me or the school. But I can't say how that would compare with a situation I haven't been in.

It is a bigger achievement getting in from a state school. Many private schools offer a lot of help for Oxbridge applications. DS’s school did offer an Oxbridge programme, but it was just one teacher who actually had some info wrong and I had to tell him! DS didn’t get an interview, he didn’t do as well on the MAT (maths) paper but he has offers from St Andrews, Imperial & Warwick so proud of him regardless. But yes I agree, feel proud. The state educated children got zero education for a few months in lockdown 1 whereas many private schools were straight on with video lessons.

Be proud. Parents with kids at independent schools should be proud too; I work at a small indy, some of our really excellent students didn’t get in this time, though in another year they may well have done. For all those with offers it’s an incredible achievement.

I think it depends on the school (there was a sixth form in London with a huge number of places) which not only has success because it is selective but also because it (rightly) enables contextual places but also likely because it’s forged strong links and knows what they are looking for and prepares the students accordingly. That is a mile apart from most state schools that I am aware of. Very little information/support was provided to the pupils at my DS’ former school. I absolutely rooted for the pupils from his former school. They have had much less teaching since the pandemic began and in my opinion several of those kids deserved places. Only one was successful but I think there is also a challenge with the % of kids who receive places at Oxbridge from Scotland in general. But that is a whole other thread!

I’m very proud. I’m just as proud of my other children. I also feel my DS was incredibly lucky with his state education. He has had some exceptional teachers who have been invested in their students and really gone the extra mile. From the tiny village primary to the brilliant state sixth form there have been people who really got to know and cared about my children. I know how lucky we are to have had that experience and am so grateful to them all.

Well “the local comprehensive” will mean completely different things depending on its catchment.

Independent schools also vary a lot. Possibly more so than state schools.

These days, around 75% of sixth formers are in state schools and 25% are in independent at that age. Accordingly, around 75% of those entering Oxbridge in recent years are from state schools. Everything is contextualised. And they also know that some independent schools are poorly-run and absolutely shocking.

Also I’m not sure what ‘special information, advice or classes people think students in even the top independents are receiving? My DC is at Oxbridge from one of the London Day Schools and there was absolutely nothing, except for a talk in Year 12. How can they be providing ‘bespoke advice’ when they have about 100 applying across the full range of subjects and one Oxbridge advisor? The Oxbridge advisor did not help with the PS at all - how could he? He’s not an expert in all subjects. All the Oxbridge advisor did was asked for all early applications to be sent to the school in late Sept do they could check there were no clashes (ie two students applying to the same college for the same subject) before they attacked the references. That’s it. There is nothing any advisor can tell you that is not easily available on the internet or the Oxford or Cambridge stats that are published every year. The school did give two mock interviews though. Also, it is true that teaching was delivered online throughout lockdown.

Not all comps are equal. Teachers at schools help students apply to universities. Some teachers are better at helping students get in to oxbridge than others. For eg I haven’t a clue so I am totally useless. (I work at a comp) but I have colleagues who went to oxbridge themselves and some very experienced colleagues who have helped many students apply successfully. Obviously this is an advantage for students at my school. I have worked at schools in the past where no student has ever gone on to oxbridge (in living memory) and no teacher has experience of supporting successful applications.
IMO getting in is a very marginally greater personal achievement if from the second type of school, all other things being equal.
In top Indies, where several students go each year, subject teachers will be far better informed and therefore can offer lots of advice. I recently contacted a very academic local Indy for oxbridge interview advice and they kindly agreed to help prepare a student for interview. This was far better than anything I could have offered. This is surely one of the things people are paying for when they go private.

Also I’m not sure what ‘special information, advice or classes people think students in even the top independents are receiving?

Your school has an Oxbridge Advisor, ran a talk in y12, had an application deadline in September, and ran TWO mock interviews.. Yes, there is information on the internet but if you think working class “first in family” kids from sink comps where most people don’t go to university AT ALL, let alone a RG or Oxbridge university know to check this stuff out before they’ve even sat their GCSEs then you may be underestimating the impact on going to a school where an Oxbridge Advisor has been swishing about the corridors since you were 11 years old. I’d put money on your dc’s London day school entering dc for the extra exams for subject that require them and making sure they have something appropriate to send as the written work and will sign the declaration. Some schools give PS advice and/or proof read them, some give advice and even mocks or marking past papers on the aptitude tests. Some state schools will do this to but it’s a little disingenuous to pretend a school with an Oxbridge Advisor and mock interviews that manages to get 100 (A HUNDERED! - ds’s school is 1000 form entry and had 4 applicants) children organised and prepared enough for a September UCAS deadline has done nothing.

Absolutely agree that not all comps are equal. One of our local state schools outperforms the local private school at A level. It has an extensive Oxbridge programme starting at Xmas in year 12 and sends more students to Oxbridge than other schools around here.

Yes, but.....
A lot depended on us (and our brainy genes, lol) working with her. Being teachers, we knew how to pass exams, had time and energy and a warm home, she's never gone without etc etc. So, yeah a bit, but the odds are definitely stacked against many, despite their innate abilities.

I'd just be proud of my child choosing the right path for them., no matter their background or circumstances. If that is Oxbridge then fantastic and absolutely well done to your ds, of course be proud. For me Oxbridge is just an option of many depending on your strengths and what you want for the future. If my child wanted to be a mechanic I'd be equally proud of them getting on the right training course etc.

I’m very proud of DS1 for getting to Oxford from the local very average comprehensive but most of the students in his college at Oxford are state educated so difficult to compare experiences.

His school is not selective and DS1 was a definite outlier in terms of his innate ability but the school did so much to support him and one if his teachers was Oxford educated so gave DS1 additional support with the application and interview process. He was the only student in his year to get to Oxbridge.

I am equally proud of DS2 who got rejected by Oxford at interview and is now weighing up either UCL or Durham. This year no one from the school has had an offer from Oxbridge.

SimpleShootingWeekend - if it’s a highly selective school at 11 plus, there will naturally be more applying to Oxbridge. It’s not really that the school ‘manages to get 100 to apply’ to Oxbridge. If you can be highly selective at 11 plus and again at sixth form, it’s not that surprising that you will have a certain type of student.

I agree with your other points but the OP is talking about ‘the local comprehensive’ as if they’re all one and the same. My nephew is at a comprehensive where they have an ‘Oxbridge track’ from about Year 11. They get them into summer schools and entering essay competitions from about this age. I was just making the point that all schools vary.

On UCAS, every school has to publish its profile. It has to list the type of school it is, class sizes and average exam results over the past 5 years - (there’s more info than this but I can’t remember it all). So admissions tutors contextualise all applications against the school profile where the exams were taken.

Also Cambridge send out a form to all students specifically asking whether there has been disruption to their education or any other mitigating circumstances. All this is taken into account.

Also I’m not sure what ‘special information, advice or classes people think students in even the top independents are receiving?

I think they are getting information evenings, personal statement advice, practice interviews and walked carefully through the admissions process and what the student should consider/do at each stage.

At least that's what my niece at a private school is getting. At my DC's state school there is nothing specific for Oxbridge, and for universities in general they are just told the process, pointed at UCAS and left to get on with it.

I suspect you are so used to things as standard at your private school, that you don't realise the extras you are getting.

@SeasonFinale I can’t find the most recent data but in 2018 60% of students at Oxford came from either independent schools or grammar schools. So the majority didn’t come from comps. I’m not sure if that has improved in the last few years or not.

You should be very proud OP! Mine are at private schools and I would still be very proud if they got into Oxbridge.

Be proud.
Well done your child.
💐💐

It depends on the school. At mine we were told about the existence of UCAS and left to get on with it. I didn’t/don’t know the first thing about oxbridge application (except I suspect you don’t just add them to the ucas choices).

Not all comps are equal, DD1's went into special measures had 3 heads in 2 years and bits from the sixth firm set fire to the canteen during the ofsted inspection ... they didn't get into oxbridge. Dd left the school at 16 (due to the chaos it was in I didn't want to risk it) and her sixth form college got 14 in, but had 1750 students in the year and was selective.

Short answer - yes. Only talking about an offer here atm, not a place! DS's comp didn't know when the Oxbridge deadline was, were desperately last minute with their reference and thought they had until midnight on the deadline day to submit it. It was hair raising. So I'm green with envy of any schools offering any kind of advice/help. His offer is in no way contextualised either, unless A A A is contextual!

[quote 3WildOnes]@SeasonFinale I can’t find the most recent data but in 2018 60% of students at Oxford came from either independent schools or grammar schools. So the majority didn’t come from comps. I’m not sure if that has improved in the last few years or not.

You should be very proud OP! Mine are at private schools and I would still be very proud if they got into Oxbridge.[/quote]
It definitely has and each year both Oxford abs Cambridge are very quick to publicise these figures which are over 70% now

@kitnkaboodle

Short answer - yes. Only talking about an offer here atm, not a place! DS's comp didn't know when the Oxbridge deadline was, were desperately last minute with their reference and thought they had until midnight on the deadline day to submit it. It was hair raising. So I'm green with envy of any schools offering any kind of advice/help. His offer is in no way contextualised either, unless A A A is contextual!

Oxbridge do not make contextualised offers so the offer would be their usual offer or standard offer depending on whether Oxford or Cambridge. Indeed sometimes they make higher than usual or standard to indy pupils or for other reasons. However their application itself may have been looked at on a contextual basis their gcses are considered contextually as to how they compare at the school they were sat so all 9s at a poor performing state school score higher than all 9s from a high achieving state grammar. That is what people mean when referring to contextual within an Oxbridge application.

@3WildOnes

www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/proportion-state-school-pupils-cambridge-21310539