School Oxbridge programme: essay to apply

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DS has just started sixth form at a new school. It’s great, really well organised and supportive, and I’m really happy with it.

DS got good GCSEs (6x9, 2x8, 1x4) and would like to apply for the Oxbridge programme. He is studying maths, further maths, physics and computer science and wants to apply for maths at uni.

In order to apply for the school Oxbridge programme, students have to write an essay on a vague and waffly philosophy/history topic (choice of 4) along the lines of “Negotiation is always preferable to war” or something like that.

DS is dyslexic, absolutely terrible at writing essays and wants to apply for maths. This seems like a really odd requirement for anyone who is applying for a STEM subject.

WWYD? Get DS to write an abysmal essay? Not bother with the Oxbridge programme? (Would he actually have to write essays for a maths degree so am I unreasonable anyway?) Contact the school?

For top level academia, writing skills are essential. The mathematics course at oxford can stray over the borders into philosophy and being able to communicate in words as well as numbers is essential. I don't think it's unreasonable for someone of Oxford calibre to be able to grapple with verbal discussions of what you describe as "waffly" topics. A reasonable adjustment for his dyslexia would be for him to use a scribe for the actual writing so that he can just focus on assembling interesting and coherent thoughts on one of the topics.

I am very familiar with the Oxford maths course. You don’t have to write essays. (At Cambridge you get the odd ‘essay’ question but it’s not a whole lot more prose than writing out some proofs.)

This is a ridiculous bar to entry for a child wanting to study physical sciences, maths or engineering. But your ds needn’t worry - there is absolutely excellent advice on the Oxford University website about what prospective maths candidates actually need. My advice would be to get good at MAT papers (not just yet but over the course of Y12) and demonstrate interest and dedication to maths by participating in supercurricular activities like the UKMT maths challenges and olympiads, and if there’s a maths club at school then join it.

He could still apply for Oxbridge without being on the school's programme, there is all the information you could need on their websites. I suspect the school is trying to give a taste of the hoops you would have to jump through to apply to Oxbridge, but as you say this is not relevant to maths. Yes he will need to write a personal statement, but this is true wherever he applies and I honestly don't think it matters as much as some would have you believe. The main thing is predicted grades and for Oxford, entrance exam results (for Cambridge, he wouldn't do the entrance exam until after he had an offer, if he got one).

Dd was put on the school's Oxbridge programme but they didn't have to write an essay or anything, they were just automatically put on it. She didn't go to any of the events as she couldn't be bothered but was originally going to apply for Cambridge. In the end, she decided not to as she was unwilling to jump through the personal statement hoops (this turned out to be a good thing as even if she had got an offer, she would probably have missed the entry grades).

I would contact the school - his abilities are obviously skewed towards maths.

Why do they want them to write an essay to gain access to their program anyway?

My DCs 6th form college had a pretty relaxed approach- certainly someone with good gcse grades like his would be welcome to attend the oxbridge sessions.

If he got 6 9s and 2 8s he must be pretty decent at writing an essay.

What was the 4 in?

DS got 8 in English—by learning how to jump through the hoops.
4 in RS.
Every other subject was maths/science.

IIRC the personal statement will be dropped for his year group so he’s off the hook for that.

@HarpyBirthday I guess they want to make sure that students actually want to do it. A sifting process?

@MagentaRavioli that’s really helpful advice. Thank you.

Local schools here love to show off about how many Oxbridge places they get and DS’s school is no different. But I couldn’t help noticing that of their 9 successful candidates, only 3 were STEM and none maths. Maybe just coincidence but maybe they’re just discouraging all the sciencey people from the start.

That's OK then, I was just a bit worried it might have been in English :)

Maybe they have staff who did Oxbridge in humanities but none from the sciences/maths.

I think a hoop to jump through is a good idea as it makes students think if they are prepared for all the harder and forthcoming hoops that come with an Oxbridge application however writing an essay does seem out of kilter with the subject your DS is applying for. Can he be proactive and suggest the submission of a video about a topic related to an area of maths he is particularly passionate about?

DD at Cambridge does have STEM friends and some subjects do need passable writing skills for reports, funding applications for research projects at Masters and PhD level etc, not so sure about maths as DD is studying one of those waffly subjects.

Is DS diagnosed with dyslexia?

If so he is entitled to reasonable accommodation. Perhaps a video or other alternative would meet the brief. OTOH, if he can get an 8 at GCSE English and is motivated enough, who is to say he can’t write a suitable essay? Particularly with accommodations.

I agree with PPs in that I wouldn’t let exclusion from this programme influence my decision about where to apply. However I wonder, from what you say, whether the STEM results for the school are as good as results in other subjects?

In any strong Maths programme DS will need to write proofs. Some Russell Group universities are offering/requiring a Y3/Y4 UG project which does involve substantial writing. If this were a requirement, someone with diagnosed dyslexia would be entitled to accommodations.

Best wishes to DS

@poetryandwine thank you. Yes, DS has a diagnosis and had accommodations for his GCSEs (use of laptop, extra time). I’m not sure if the school announces their results by subject but overall their A level results are very good for a state school.

His actual handwriting is poor and very slow (he’s also got dyspraxia but no formal diagnosis) but he seems ok with writing out reams of equations.

I've just looked up the admissions statistics for maths at Oxford and Cambridge... 9% acceptance rate at Oxford and 16% at Cambridge which puts all these thoughts into context. He needs to have a good plan B if he does decide to apply.

Every Oxbridge applicant needs a good Plan B, OP!

I am a former RG STEM admissions tutor. My school attracts a certain number of those who were rejected by Oxbridge. It is heartbreaking when these wonderful students feel that this rejection has branded them inferior.

Oxbridge admissions tutors will be the first to admit that past a certain point their decisions contain a high degree of randomness, and they could fill both universities 3x over with highly qualified applicants. Pupils should only apply if they can do so robustly.

I fully agree @poetryandwine and I'm sure school will reinforce this as well. The trouble is that he knows of several family friends and cousins who've got in to Oxford or Cambridge recently and maybe doesn't realise quite what a lottery it is in reality, especially as it seems maths is one of the very hardest subjects to get in to. Happily there are lots and lots of other good options.

I'd try discussing it with the school. I am confident that maths tutors at Oxford or Cambridge would not want to high potential candidates for Oxbridge support to be screened using a task like that.

Can't he use a laptop to write his essay? My dc were on Oxbridge/Med programmes due to their gcse results and that they wanted to do it. Some with lesser grades asked to be on it and were welcomed. A top uni is supposed to push you out of your comfort zone, mine excelled at uni because they were independent and not spoon fed.
Why not encourage him to give it a go, I really doubt they will say he can't join the group based on an essay, he must have an opinion on the question, start from there.

Be aware that UCAS Personal Statements are not being 'dropped' as such for 2026 admission entry onwards but modified so you write narrative in a number of separate, pre-defined sections (see UCAS website link below), so there is still a thought process to be gone through and text to compose.
www.ucas.com/corporate/news-and-key-documents/news/new-personal-statement-help-level-playing-field-disadvantaged-students

You could write the essay yourself on a laptop. It seems pointless for a maths application, just a box to tick. So I don’t see the harm in you doing it.

Why would OP do it. They're not applying for the Oxbridge programme

As a current Oxford maths tutor, former tutor for admissions, former admissions coordinator, I think this is a dreadful and prejudicial hurdle the school has set up. I don't think it's unreasonable to have some sort of hurdle to focus potential applicants and make them realize the extra work involved, but there should be different options to suit different skill sets. You can get a maths bachelors from Oxford without every have to write anything like an essay.

I would discuss the ideas and then type it up for him

Thank you @user1469447079. That's what I suspected and I'm grateful for your input. The school also had an odd admissions test for external candidates which again potentially favoured certain skill sets so they seem to have a blind spot here.

I'm all for supporting my DS but I'm certainly not going to do the work for him.

I'm grateful for everyone's input but the nature of DS's dyslexia is that he finds it nigh on impossible to write an essay, whether handwritten or on a computer. Hence his subject choices and performance at GCSE. He's not lazy or unintelligent, just dyslexic, and that's one of the ways it manifests itself in him.

I sympathise, my DC sounds very similar. 9's and A stars in STEM subjects and managed to get 7's in English by typing out prepared content to hit the mark scheme. But the work involved in doing so far outweighed the work put into the 9's. They wouldn't have been able to write the essay you describe at that age although, interestingly, I think they probably could now with four years extra maturity and study. It's very wrong if they are assuming those writing the best essays are most likely to be successful and therefore more deserving of spots on the programme.

This is a ridiculous request and will be nothing like the skills required for the maths entrance test or interview. Whilst I agree a task to show commitment is sensible it should really be useful for the student and for the teachers who will be guiding him through the process. Can he speak to the school, explaining that he has researched the demands of the course and the entrance process and doesn't think the essay will be useful. Maybe propose an alternative piece of work?

If all else fails, for a similar task I did sit with my DC and complete it with them. We discussed what he wanted to say (after pertinent questions to dredge the information from the depths of his brain) and I helped him organise his thoughts and get them down on paper. Would that work just to get over this initial (pointless) hurdle.

Thank you for getting it @Giraffe62. What has just occurred to me is that the programme might be similarly composed of pointless tasks that will just waste his time and stress him out. He’s busy enough with 4 A levels, music, sport, hobbies etc. But I guess he can try it and see.