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Higher education

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Original poster

Tutors for the Oxford entry exams?

107 replies

OHmynoIdontthinkso · 08/08/2024 18:32

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

OP posts:
pivoinerose · 11/08/2024 18:30

The Cambridge stats are very transparent. The offer ratios made to those from different types of schools - independent, grammar, comprehensive, sixth form college and FE college are pretty much the same - if anything, the most favourable offer rates are for grammars and the lowest for FE colleges, but the differences are negligible

If the Cambridge stats subdivided between schools in the independent sector then the chance of success for some independents would rocket up beyond 20% and for many it would be significantly lower. To that extent, the stats aren't especially clear - I think it serves a purpose to keep the average figure as the only one cited.

Coughsweet · 11/08/2024 18:38

Safi7 · 11/08/2024 10:06

The basis of the article @dylexicdementor11 linked to use incorrect. At 6th form level, it’s not 6% educated in the private sector, it’s 17%.

The Cambridge stats are very transparent. The offer ratios made to those from different types of schools - independent, grammar, comprehensive, sixth form college and FE college are pretty much the same - if anything, the most favourable offer rates are for grammars and the lowest for FE colleges, but the differences are negligible.

17% of A-level students are educated in the private sector but they account for 24% of A star grades - which is what you need to apply. It stands to reason that private school will always punch above their weight in terms of A star grades simply because more of them are academically selective. You can’t compare a super-selective independent school like Westminster to a comprehensive - everyone at Westminster or similar schools will achieve the required grades for Oxbridge so it stands to reason more will apply. This is also true for very selective grammars.

On average nowadays, about 25% of A star grades are gained in the independent sector and this is reflected in the current state / independent offer ratio at Oxbridge.

The stats show that around 75% of Oxbridge entrants come from the ‘state sector’ - but this is misleading, because if you delve deeper into the stats, you will see that a very high proportion of these come from grammars or particular sixth form colleges such as Hills Rd in Cambridge or Brampton Manor in East London.

Just like a large proportion of the independent school intake is coming from the London super-selective day schools.

Cambridge have announced they are going to get rid of the state v independent criteria in their future admissions stats publications. This is because they have found that the ‘state demographic’ actually getting in is the same as the independent - ie. families in Bucks or Kent or North London who happen to be in grammar areas are no different to those in non-grammar areas who use independent schools.

So going forward, they will be tracking POLAR and ACORN stats only, as categorising by school sector has priced to be a largely blunt instrument in WP.

I’m not surprised by this at all. All bar one of the state educated applicants I know were from middle class homes with highly educated parents, some of them had family members who had also been to Oxbridge.

pivoinerose · 11/08/2024 20:57

Coughsweet the perspective is slightly different for students who are actually at Oxford and Cambridge rather than merely acquaintances of applicants. Your perspective may reflect your own circumstances rather than the reality of successful applicants and college communities.

Coughsweet · 11/08/2024 23:33

Absolutely and I wouldn’t have commented had it not chimed with the comment from Safi7 on Cambridge’s own findings on the reality of successful applicants:

Cambridge have announced they are going to get rid of the state v independent criteria in their future admissions stats publications. This is because they have found that the ‘state demographic’ actually getting in is the same as the independent - ie. families in Bucks or Kent or North London who happen to be in grammar areas are no different to those in non-grammar areas who use independent schools.
^^
So going forward, they will be tracking POLAR and ACORN stats only, as categorising by school sector has priced to be a largely blunt instrument in WP.

Coughsweet · 11/08/2024 23:45

IME Cambridge seemed to interview more applicants than Oxford which suggested to me more of approach of getting a direct feel of the student and their own view of how they performed at an earlier stage.

faffadoodledo · 12/08/2024 08:06

They do @Coughsweet - around 80 per cent compared with Oxford's 40 per cent. At least that was the rough ratio when my children were going through it. The reason is that Oxford do the tests first and whittle from that. Cambridge do them at the interview stage. Again - that was the case a decade ago!

faffadoodledo · 12/08/2024 08:17

Mostly I should say. Maths is done in summer. But DS did his English test on site before the interview.

DD did her Oxford maths test before interview offers were sent out. So was def sifted

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