Tutors for the Oxford entry exams?

[OHmynoIdontthinkso]

Does anyone know if these exist and if so where I'd find them?

What do you mean by this please?

“There will always be a disproportion % because of the nature those applying for HE.”

TSA doesn't require a tutor, simply a student who can think critically

But thinking critically is a skill that can be taught and learnt. You might as well say A level maths doesn't require a tutor, simply a student who is good at maths. There's nothing wrong with paying someone to teach a skill if the child hasn't learned it in school for whatever reason. Plus it's not just thinking critically. In some ways the TSA is particularly tricky because it tests three completely different skills and a candidate may not be equally strong in all three at first.

What do you mean by this please?

“There will always be a disproportion % because of the nature those applying for HE.”

A far higher proportion of those going to state schools won't consider higher education. Less than 30% of those at my nearest comprehensive school get 5 GCSEs including maths and English. You are unlikely to to have stats like those in the private sector, where a much higher proportion would naturally apply to university. After all, over half of all 18 year olds don't go to university.

May be worth a look but probably more inclined to arts than sciences - it would be helpful OP if you were able to at least tell us if it is STEM or not as we'd have a better chance at guiding you the right way. Also just be aware since you're not in the UK, that if your DC is taking IB rather than A levels the offer is often a bit higher.

Over 75% of the brightest young people in the UK (measured by A level results) are educated in the state sector. But only 67% of the Oxford UK intake comes from state schools. These are not DC who don't consider higher education. In this elite bunch, private school students are over-represented.

However, a student in (say) Newcastle may prefer to attend university in (say) Durham or Edinburgh rather than wishing to travel to a university further away.

Anyway, the OP asked if her "kid" needed a tutor to help them to pass the entrance tests. Several of us with DC who are current or very recent students said no. OP has now decided that she wants her "kid" to be tutored, just in case she can buy her "kid" simply place.

However, a student in (say) Newcastle may prefer to attend university in (say) Durham or Edinburgh rather than wishing to travel to a university further away.

But surely this applies to students in both sectors? Or do you think privately educated students would be happy to travel from the north of England to Oxford and state educated students wouldn't?

Also why are you using quote marks for kid?

Why are you constantly putting quotes around “kid”? Zero Gravity gave my DC’s friend an understanding of what to expect of the current process. However, I woule be very surprised if the majority those who applied from state school weren’t from more privileged homes even if they didn’t go to private school.

I’m sure if we had this conversation in person the overall tone would be much more pleasant.
We should all try to keep that in mind when interacting with people on anonymous forums.

@dylexicdementor11 I couldn’t agree more

Tricky. My children didn't have tuition of any kind. One got into Cambridge, the other was happy with Durham. They also went to a comp which did zero preparation in terms of practice papers or interviews. Contrast with the nearest private school, and Wednesday afternoons in the autumn term of Y13 and end of Y12 were given over to coaching medical, vet and Oxbridge candidates through the processes. So no a level playing field. If I had my time again I'd probably seek some help rather than winging it.

My daughter is in no way privileged she is just clever. Non selective state schools for primary and secondary. No specific Oxbridge support - no help with application- no practice interviews. Whatever she did in preparation she did herself. One thing I do know, after the fact, is there is a vast amount of information out there to support those clever enough to look for it themselves. Has finished 2nd year and still doing it all her own way.

Just to clarify, my DC go to a “low attainment” school with a catchment that includes several areas that rank highly across a range of measures of deprivation. Other areas in the catchment, including where we and my
DC’s friend who is heading to Oxbridge live, are definitely not deprived - numerous kids in the neighbourhood that my DC’s went to primary school with went on to private school and the only difference between the backgrounds is that one went to private school and the other didn’t. My friend’s DC went to private school on a 50% means tested bursary, her household income is well below mine but my DC going to university on the basis of just looking at a state/private school background split would look like a bigger socio-economic shift than hers.

Charlie the LNAT requires no preparation beyond that advised on the university website. Two of my DC are relatively recent Oxford law graduates, neither had any form of tuition whatsoever, both followed the advice given on the Open Day and on the faculty pages and both scored extremely highly - top end of the scale. Same deal as Dearover's DC.

I'm aware (given that all of my children are recent Oxford graduates, albeit not all Law) that a lot of students and graduates like to earn a bit of easy money by tutoring but the ethics of tutoring these (by definition) moneyed applicants is fairly dubious and almost certainly of limited utility, as your tutors will tell you if you ask - surely you know by now that they'll see through any sub par applicant at interview even on the off chance that they've passed the test with a lot of help.

The school which I used to teach at did extra classes for Oxbridge applicants. Does your DC’s school not do this? If not then perhaps the head of 6th form could recommend a tutor.

It is disingenuous not to acknowledge that most places at Oxbridge are taken up by privately educated students. The students are not more clever than children from the state sector but they are definitely better prepared (on average).

And the problem is that you have a disproportionate chance of getting in to Oxbridge if you have been privately educated.

The second quote is your explanation of what you meant by the first but isn't correct. I'll link the Oxford statistics again and maybe you could read them so that no accusations of being disingenuous are levelled inappropriately.

https://www.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxford/AnnualAdmissionsStatisticalReport2023b.pdf

The only thing in what you've said that is correct is that there is still a disproportionate number of privately educated students at Oxford and Cambridge. That is purely because a wildly disproportionate number apply from that sector. The reasons for that are irrelevant to what you've said although obviously not unimportant. The fact seems to remain that in spite of all the privileges of their education and specific preparation on top, the chances of getting a place, having applied, are actually lower (as an average of course) than it is for state educated applicants.

This is common in private schools but not comprehensive. My children had zero prep. The neighbouring private school set aside Wednesday afternoons for Oxbridge. Vet and med school prep. And many of them also did Oxbridge Admissions type courses.
So no, not common in my experience

That's not to say that some state schools don't. It just wasn't my experience

It depends on the private school as well. My Dd went to a small private school and had no extra lessons/ prep. Our local comp had regular oxbridge sessions. We didn't tutor and in hindsight, she would have benefited from some guidance and practice session.

ProfessorLayton1 how can you know if guidance and practice sessions would have made a difference?

OP if your DC is going to try for maths or physics and is being educated in a bac system then they do need to be aware that he won’t have covered some of the syllabus that is tested. That is also the case for interview questions. It does n’t matter how well some can think, they will be at a disadvantage to those who have covered the topic. Interviewing tutors unfortunately can’t always discriminate between the different educational systems. Those who stand out in this case are the most motivated applicants who have self taught themselves the more advanced topics.

OP there is no need to be so rude to people. You did the same with someone who referred to Oxbridge.

If the test is subject specific (eg Maths, French, History, Latin etc), the best kind of tutor would be anyone who tutors that subject to a high level at school - so the same kind of person who does A Level private tuition. A school teacher in those subjects would be just as good, if your school is supportive).

Specimen papers are available online in all subjects and the best way to prep is just to have a go at these.

I would be wary of private companies claiming to offer (at high prices) specialist admissions Oxford tuition, because those companies are often selling snake oil. The people working for them are not people who have any insight into Oxford admissions, other than having perhaps once been an Oxford undergraduate themselves (which does not mean they have any idea what admissions tutors are looking for).

I was just stating the fact that some private schools don't offer extra oxbridge coaching. Dd is at a high ranking London uni doing medicine so clearly is academically capable.
I find it very interesting that people do coaching for oxbridge as I would have never considered it as an option!

Look on TutorHunt OP. There are tutors on there who help with university entrance and often they are recent Oxford or Cambridge grads themselves so they understand the system. Many of them offer online teaching.

It can definitely help, as much for confidence as anything else. My DD had some tutoring via TutorHunt and it made a big difference.