If your child got into Oxbridge from a state school what GCSE grades did they get?

[Battisborough]

if your child was offered a place at Oxbridge from a state sixth form what GCSE grades did they get?

Just interested as DD says there is no point applying as she doesn’t have all 8s and 9s. Do you have to have all 8s and 9s to stand a chance? I know predicted a levels are more important but she says GCSEs come into it too. We don’t have her predicted A levels get as she is year 12.

She wants to read history. She got 5 9s (in History, 2x English, RE, Art), 3 8s (Spanish, Bio and Latin), 2 7s (Maths, Chem), 1x 6 (physics). So all 9s in subjects similar to History but weaker in science and maths.

DD passed the tests and went for the 2 day stay and interview but wasn’t successful. Her GCSEs were all. A* and 9 apart from one A.
On the end she got higher than the grades needed for Oxford ( A*, A, A) and went to Durham and had a great time. Graduated with a first .

Back in the day, DH attended Cambridge despite actually failing one of his O levels. The failed subject had approximately the same relationship to his degree subject that Physics does to History.

Furthermore he was a scholarship boy at a reasonably well known school that prided itself on its Oxbridge record. I really don’t think this Grade 6 matters. (In spite of the fact that competition has intensified, etc. I am a former Russell Group admissions tutor in a School with many Oxbridge rejects so I have some sense of this.)

However it sounds line DD’s statement might stem from either stress or reluctance. (Because the Oxford admissions process is brutal, yet Oxford is not the right place for everyone potentially admittable) To determine the best way forward, you need to determine which it is.

A mix from 7 to 9s, plus a B in an early entry one, I think, so that would be equivalent to a 6?

But that was MFL - easier to get an offer than other subjects.

Posting this link for some webinars that are on next week for years 11 and 12 in case it's of use

www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/events/think-cambridge

My DD is at Cambridge. Her GCSE results were fine, but hardly stellar. No 9s at all, a few 8s and 7s, one 6. She really took off academically in 6th form. Please - this idea that only those with all 9s are considered is nonsense. I do think that there is an element of luck - there's a lot of very talented kids who don't get an offer (a mystery). So why not go for it?

Your DDs grades are excellent. She may not get an offer of a place, but she will definitely not get an offer if she doesn't apply. Encourage her to do it. If nothing else, it's great to have your UCAS form in early (Oxbridge applications have to be in by end October-ish) and done with, and others will be sweating over their UCAS over Christmas while at the same time studying for mocks.

Good luck to her and you!

Also remember that Ocbridge isn’t for everyone. DD nearly got a place( passed test but not interview) and certainly got the grades . She went to Durham and reflected that she had a far better time there.Her friend got in and left by Christmas as so intense. It’s not for everyone.

A mixed bag... Couple of 9s couple of 8s and the rest 6s and 7. But she was 1 mark off 100% in her target subject.

If your child is not up for it (and it sounds as if they aren't as keen on it as you) then I suggest that you don't force the issue and let them apply to other universities. It is a really difficult environment if your heart is not 100% into it. We are still dealing with the aftermath of her time.

Friend's DS is in his first year of PPE at Oxford.
He got mainly 8s, a couple of 9s and two 5s - drama and (I think) PE.
He got A star A star A in maths, economics and politics at A Level.
I thought he had no chance (based on his GCSEs, of course did not say that) but he is a clever and passionate person and doing really well there now.

This is absolutely true for Maths at Oxford. Ds was told that they automatically interview everyone who gets above a certain score on the MAT (Maths Admission Test?)
He was interviewed and got in despite poor GCSEs in Spanish and English.

DD got 9x9 and 1x8 (French) at GCSE and read MBiol (Biology) at Oxford. Achieved 3xA star at A Level. No admissions test for Biology just interviews at two colleges. So definitely nothing brutal in the admissions process.
DC also got 9x9 and 1x8 (Art) at GCSE. Read Land Ec at Cambridge with 3xA star at A Level. Did well in TSA and had one subject interview at chosen college. Again, nothing they considered brutal.
Both DC had a great time making lots of friends, studying and living in beautiful buildings. They didn’t find it a slog. Both graduated with Firsts (DD was a scholar, DS came second in Tripos). So for DC who are good at/enjoy exams and like to mix up study/social stuff/sport or other interests it is a fantastic experience.

Mine got mostly 9s with a couple of 8s

DD (MFL, Oxford) got 99998887776 - 6 in maths, 9s in languages

DD who went to a state grammar now 2nd year at Cambridge studying an arts subject, got 10 GCSEs, mixture of top grades for 8 of them however physics was a 7 and further maths was 6. Someone who was ex-Oxford told me that the 6 had scuppered her chances but fortunately we didn’t listen to them.

11 GCSEs, 8xgrade 9, 2 x grade 8 and 1 x grade 7 (taken year early).

The answer is that it very much depends on the school and circumstances, and the context of the whole application. There are no threshold or target GCSE scores - everything is looked at as part of the whole application, especially the school. We get a lot of data on each school and their performance relative to national and local LEA baselines, number of students who apply/receive offers at Russell Group and Oxbridge, percentage of FSM, Progress 8, etc. etc., and we also use our own classifications of grammars/comprehensives/sixth form colleges on overall attainment.

So, candidates from the very top grammars will generally be expected to get very high GCSE scores — if a candidate is applying from somewhere like Henrietta Barnett or Newstead Wood then we’d want to see as many 9s as possible. Not quite the same from an ordinary comprehensive; or from a low-achieving school where a mixture of much lower grades would be acceptable. Then there are individual contextual factors that we also look at like family income and circumstances. But also, sometimes a candidate just gets an unlucky GCSE grade, or starts to take off at A-level, and we take that into account too.

All this means that it’s very variable. But on average, if your child is at an excellent grammar or an outstanding comprehensive, we’d generally be expecting lots of 8s and a fair bunch of 9s in related subjects to the destination subject. (If your kid is at a really top independent, they’d better be getting 10 x 9s!) But your child is at an average comprehensive we would be looking at more of a mixture of grades - 7s, 8s and 9s, a few 6s. Candidates with lower grades than this, but significant educational or economic disadvantage, or other adverse contextual factors like health issues, also have a good chance of consideration, too.

It’s very dependent on the individual, but it’s certainly the case that students routinely get in with quite a mixture of grades, so that shouldn’t put candidates off applying!

And also - bear in mind that many subjects have a pre-admissions test and/or ask for A-level work to be sent in as well. So interviewers are not just looking at the GCSEs and the paper file, but also at the test mark and/or submitted work plus interview scores.

A candidate with slightly mixed GCSEs but who nevertheless scores highly on our test and has good submitted work and decent interview scores, will do better than a candidate with tons of 9s whose test score is lower and who wasn’t able to tackle the interview problems quite as well. So it’s all about the candidate in the round, rather than just the exam scores.

The annual Oxbridge bun fight threads always feature an extremely high proportion of parents of DC with a perfect string of GCSEs and predicted grades. They tend to become an echo chamber with a slight air of disbelief that it's not always necessary at the interview, offer and results day stage.

Oxford and Cambridge have done a huge amount of work to widen participation. Programmes such as UNIQ and outreach programmes are a great way to introduce potential applicants to the idea that both universities are open for business and won't just place the application from someone predicted AAA* from a Cornish Comp in the bin without taking a look.

My DC got an interview this year with C and is still waiting to hear on 30th of they got an offer, but out of 10 GCSEs there was a 5, as well as a few 6s and 7s, as well as four or so 8s/ 9s I think. So a bit uneven, and disappointing at the time for them, but hasn't stopped them so far.

If you know of any Yr 12 students (Yr 13 NI S5 Scotland) who need help/direction re choice of degree etc Sutton Trust has free 1 week
Summer Schools (40 different subjects) in 12 top unis including Cambridge I think.

Travel, food, tuition, taster sessions at Undergraduate level, help with personal statements, etc all free. This is specifically to help those disadvantaged so eg no one in family been to Uni, student been in care, from deprived area etc. ( I believe Wes Streeting MP attended a course.) They also do online courses I think.

A friend's daughter also got a small grant £1,000.

I’ve been looking into this quite a lot.

Courses like history have relatively small numbers applying - between 1.5-2 per place available compared to courses like physics, maths and engineering, some of which have 100’s of applicants per place. These courses have more overseas applicants as language is less of a barrier.

For courses like history I’d definitely say give it a go!

More like 4 to 1 for history, but point taken.

Although hsitory explxity includes GCSEs in their decision metric - how the scoring works is available online. How the applicant performed relative to their gcse cohort is key (sixth form school irrelevant here) to the scoring. Also note that 9 and 8 is treated the same. Different subjects out different weighting gcse and count different numbers of them. And even so GCSEs are just one element is the scoring. Take a look at subject admission reports for detail.

general impression is that Cambridge cares less about GCSEs fwiw

OP - your daughter should look and compare Cambridge and Oxford courses in the subject she is interested in. And if they are similar - consider picking Cambridge.
Oxford takes GSCEs into account in a more formalised way - they assign points for different parts of applicant's profile, including GCSEs. And they do compare your grades to the grades of the other kids in similar schools in the area.
Cambridge does not to that.

We knew someone form a state school who also had a wobble with some subjects in his GCSEs - not key for their specialty. He first applied to Oxford - but didn't even get an interview. He then applied to Cambridge next year and got in.

(I went to Oxbridge from a state school and as the first in my family to go to university.) She doesn't sound hugely confident so perhaps a relevant gap year and applying with her a-level grades in hand might help? Or she could do a degree elsewhere and then an Oxbridge MPhil after?

DC have 10 x 9s at GCSE and three/four A stars at A Level. DD Oxford (2018), DS Cambridge (2020).

DS has a friend who was admitted to Cambridge for History and Politics with spikier GCSE and A Level profiles.