Uni offers and private school

[Mydogiscuter]

My DD attended a grammar school until sixth form when she was offered a significant academic and sports scholarship for a local private school, primarily because she plays sport at an elite level and also got all 7-9 grades at GCSE.

Our postcode falls in a deprived area and there is no way DD would have gone to the Private School without the scholarship. Will this be considered within her application?

If you mean, will she get a contextual offer bc of your postcode, then my understanding is yes (if she would have anyway) as the unis look at where education was until age 16. That's why moving from private to state for sixth form won’t make a difference to getting a lower offer.

Unis vary tho in what they offer, and base their reduced offer on various factors (not just postcode). Some unis make a lot more contextual offers than others. It can also depend on the course. So you should bear it in mind but not assume it will happen. FWIW anecdotally Bristol makes a lot of contextual offers – but I only know this via MN :)

Each university has its own criteria for contextual offers, so you'd need to check the policy of the university in question. But if the private school is decent academically and your daughter has got grades 7-9 at GCSE, it seems she's likely to get good grades in any event, so I wouldn't stress too much about whether or not she qualifies for a contextual offer.

Depends on the school. Where would your dd be happiest and best suited?

Thank you for the replies. We've been attending some open days and she's really interested in doing Maths and Philosophy. She's predicted an A in maths but most want an A*. Currently looking at Edinburgh, St Andrews and Exeter. She went to Bath today but wasn't too enamoured with the course talks.

@clary - that’s not entirely correct in all cases. Unis do predominantly look at where the applying student currently is at school - think about the admin required to comb through hundreds of applications! - and contextual offers can be made on that basis. I know a couple of kids that were private until Year 12 and then state for sixth form, and were still made contextual offers on that basis. Bristol and Exeter. Not entirely fair I know…

Not sure what happens with postcodes though, OP - sorry.

It depends in the uni. Two of my daughter’s contextual offers were based on post code and attending a state sixth form. It’s why some parents in our area switch to state sixth forms from private.

Sometime unis want a student to have 2x criteria that apply to them eg state school and deprived area in order to qualify for contextual so might affect there, also not all state school pupils are automatically given contextual, it also depends whether they are considered as deprives eg bad area, low gcse attained by students. Some unis look at gcses in context, so if your dds gcses are below/average for her school it might work against her.

Does it matter?

if she goes to the private school she will likely achieve higher marks at A level and therefore will not need the contextual offer.
This is what private schools do well.

If she stays in state, she may achieve lower marks and benefit from the contextual.

The balance is the entire point of the contextual offer. Also - all those schools you mentioned take lower offers at clearing. Have a look - they likely inflate the ask.

That’s interesting to read about private v state sixth form and unis taking from where the student is now. Makes sense actually! I should add that what I posted was culled from reading on MN – I have no actual experience. I infer btw from the OP’s posts that her DD is already at the private school and in year 12.

Either way @Mydogiscuter I agree with a PP, if she has those kinds of grades it sounds as tho she will do well. Does she take FM as well?

Honestly, I don't think she will do academically any better at Private than State. She is very capable at independent learning and when she wants something, she knows how to put her mind to it. She went to the private school for the sport.

clary
She didn't do FM annoyingly as she wasn't really thinking of doing maths but she's realised that it's something she is naturally good at and she enjoys it so is now looking at that route.

My honest opinion is that if she will get an A in Maths, and doesn't do FM she is better off at a uni that suits her grade profile. Lots of students try to 'game' contextual offers , or apply to places where they might just squeak in. Two things happen - they get rejected by the high tariff unis (because of predicted grades, huge applicant numbers, no FM etc) or they get in and hugely struggle and are unhappy, and their outcomes aren't as good. Of course apply ambitiously but there are lots of unis that will offer an equally good experience who don't command A stars.

Does she like the sound of those unis because of perceived prestige or is it because she wants to specifically go to those places to study their specific course? They are very geographically spread but are similar 'types' of uni

Also - all those schools you mentioned take lower offers at clearing.

I don't think that's true!

No she won’t.

Contextual offers vary from uni to uni and I would not rely on getting one when choosing which institution to apply to eg: I know a dc who got contextual for Leicester but not for Queen Mary’s.
You dd needs to look very, very carefully at the uni entry requirements instead. Which places will accept a grade A prediction? Which places don’t require further maths? Will she have to the MAT/TMUA?

Ds had a contextual offer based on POLAR postcode (it covers a very large area) but out of the 4 unis who offered him a place only 1 used this one criteria to lower his grades. School was a state secondary and a state sixth form but both outstanding. The unis were all RG and in the top 10 rankings. Some unis want a combination of factors to drop grades down. Ds was predicted 4 A stars.

The best advice I can give is that she spends this summer going back over any papers she has sat for maths to see where she can gain more marks and try to nail that A star grade needed. Reattempt the paper in blank format, can she ace it now? She can probably get a copy/copies from school to do this.

@Piggywaspushed 's advice is excellent. Really think about what she says.

And if the private school is worth the money you're [not entirely] paying, then she shouldn't need a contextual offer. This is, frankly, gaming the system. She's been hugely advantaged by a grammar school, then a private school. If she can't get the results required, with those advantages, the course she's looking at may not be for her.

That's why those entirely educated in local schools in "deprived" areas receive contextual offers - it's a small attempt at trying to even up the huge advantage that those on affluent areas and in paid-for education have in achieving tresults in a fairly industrial-style examination system.

But more importantly, "fit" in a degree course is really important. A Level offers are based quite substantially on the standard required to thrive in a degree programme - they are not simply there for prestige! ** If it's a stretch to get the results required, she may struggle in the degree.

** I remember one year the department where I was teaching had to make a load of lower offers or go into Clearing. We interview so we admitted students who didn't make our offer, and we noticed that a substantial portion of that cohort struggled until mid-way through their third year, in a way that other cohorts before & after did not.

@Piggywaspushed I think she is capable of an A grade as does she. She is predicted A in economy already and A in politics. She knows that she didn't put enough work in for her maths mock - she didn't do enough stats and mechanics revision because she didn't realise they'd be in the paper.

It's more that if she is only predicted an A at this stage, will they really consider her. She really likes the sound of the maths and philosophy course at Edinburgh.

Top unis want to know if a student applying to do Maths doesn’t have FM because the school they go to doesn’t offer it, or if the candidate chose not to do it. If the former, they shouldn’t be disadvantaged in terms of receiving an offer (although clearly an A star at the standard A Level might be required…and without it predicted, no offer forthcoming) but if a student could have done FM and didn’t, then that doesn’t look good.

Does DC have a 9 at GCSE Maths? This seems pretty vital for a maths degree. To be honest, predicted A star is going to be needed at standard A Level maths as a prediction for top places. It’s all v well saying they didn’t work hard for their yr12 exam, but that’s what predicted grades are largely based upon. The school will be considering that, their GCSE grade and performance across yr12. And private schools are often generous in predicting…they won’t want to scupper her chances, but must be realistic.

To be honest, Maths at the places mentioned is hugely competitive. Most applicants who get offers will be predicted A star in both FM and Maths. It isn’t the case that school should predict the grades required by the unis DC wants to go to…but DC has to choose unis with grades that fit their profile. So it might be necessary to look more closely at the grade profile of those accepted.

Maths, perhaps more than anything else isn’t a course you want to be ‘let onto’ when you aren’t of the standard. And this isn’t a DC who has had a disadvantaged education. She’s been to a grammar school and now at an independent. So she’s achieving what she’s achieving with a fair wind behind her.

Speak to school for clarification about it all. That is, ask for honesty about where she’s at academically and their advice, rather than hoping to wheedle higher predictions etc. Know that in the profile they write of their school on UCAS, it will state if they offer FM and so the uni will know this. They will state she went to a state school, but it will also be clear it was a grammar school.

For all students, having a range of places in their mix of 5 is important. It doesn’t hurt to be aspirational, but also important to have some which make lower offers too. And remmeber that those v popular ones don’t make offers to all who meet the minimum standard offer. They have far too many applicants to do that, and lots who get offers and get in will have in excess of the standard offer.

@Mydogiscuter I think your DD is in a tricky place, partly as a result of the way that the English A Level system requires such early specialisation. It's natural for her to realise her talents & ambitions as she develops, and starts to do the advanced work.

In addition to the excellent advice above, and noting @WombatChocolate 's wise suggestion that you and your DD talk seriously to her school, is it possible for your DD to add an extra year to really focus o her maths and do the FM course ?

It was something that was done in the old days for those heading for Oxford or Cambridge - an extra year for the entrance exams (that was the plan for my education, until the system changed). Of course, this is also subject to the privilege of affording it!

Hi, OP -

I am a former RG STEM admissions tutor in a School with a very high standard offer and a subject with a lot of Maths. DH is an emeritus Maths professor from a highly ranked RG School.

Lots of good advice above, particularly from @Piggywaspushed , @WombatChocolate and @ParmaVioletTea

Students need a good fit with their university in order to thrive. For most it is not comfortable being towards the bottom of the cohort, whatever combination of ability and background has caused this. Young women especially need confidence in an environment that still has remnants of sexism.

I always think applicants should go for one aspirational choice, two choices that align well with their subjects and predicted grades and two safe choices. They should use a safe choice for Insurance.

In Maths you need to read between the lines. The Complete University Guide 2026 is available online now. When FM is preferred where the School offers it, this is essentially a a requirement, except in a very bad year for Admissions. St Andrews is in 2nd spot and its entry requirement is A star (Maths) A star A so that is probably too aspirational. Edinburgh also wants A star at Maths and has become known for making tiered offers - first to those who exceed the requirements, then working down. But Maths slipped several places in the new CUG so it is possible they will rethink.

If DD likes Scotland, Glasgow is now a great option. The A level requirement is grade A in Maths, Glasgow Maths is now a UK Top10 and tops in Scotland in Maths research, the uni is in the lovely West End, and IMO the student vibe is great. Everyone I know there through DH is lovely. I don’t know if they offer Philosophy and Maths.

IMO Glasgow and Lancaster are currently two of the hidden gems of UK HE (I am associated with neither). Glasgow is RG and Lancaster, which is RG+, also Top 10 in Maths research, and hugely invested in Teaching and Learning in recent years, is also worth consideration. Again I don’t know about Philosophy and Maths.

I don’t know much about Exeter. I like Bath so I am sorry DD didn’t but obviously she needs to respect that.

I don’t mean to discourage DD from making an aspirational choice, be it Edinburgh or somewhere else. Not revising certain topics surely did hurt her mocks. But regardless of her ability, the requirement of A star in Maths tends to be a line in the sand when making offers (in my School and elsewhere).

I agree with @ParmaVioletTea that doing FM if this can be managed will create options in England Note however that Scottish unis want 3 ALs in one sitting within a year or two of application so DD cannot do 2/2 if applying to Scotland.

There are several other very solid RG+ programmes only requiring grade A in Maths. The teaching in these programmes will be geared to students who have that result. That can be good for everyone. Also, every RG School in the land has plenty of students who exceeded entry requirements and thrive.

Maths is hard! A level students can barely imagine. Much better to be in the top 25% at Glasgow or Lancaster or Notts or Loughborough etc and thriving than worry about getting into a uni with a glam name and find yourself struggling.

However there may be a middle ground for your DD. Best wishes to her.

St A’s Maths will surely not go into Clearing and I doubt Edinburgh will although with less certainty.

PS Yes, echoing PPs, if there is any flex with DD’s school so that she could get a new mock grade in the Autumn I also think that could be enormously helpful.

poetryandwine

Thank you so much for your advice that is really helpful. I honestly think DD is capable of an A star. She is naturally gifted at Maths - it makes sense to her in a way that it has never made sense to me. On a recent test she scored 96%

Good shout on the resit idea - I will ask her to talk to her teachers on Monday.

Your DD went to a grammar so she's had educational advantage from Y7. The sixth form switch is neither here nor there. The educational advantage of attending a grammar should outweigh any postcode flag. Postcode flags can be of very limited value anyhow in identifying disadvantage.

Just coming back to this. I would get your dd to think really carefully about whether a maths and philosophy degree is right for her as she's not doing further maths currently and is 'only' predicted an A at maths.

I really don't wish to be negative if your daughter loves it and that's what she truly wants to do - but it's widely thought we all reach a limit with how much maths our brains can cope with (for me that was when I was about 9 😂) - and my understanding is that a maths degree is a whole world WAY beyond A-level.

My dd has an offer for Oxford in a humanities subject this autumn. She got a 9 in maths GCSE and is predicted an Astar in maths at A-level. This ISN'T a stealth boast at all - my point is that even with her level of natural aptitude, she has still found the A-level course quite challenging at times, and now she's feeling pretty damn relieved to be leaving it behind when she goes off to uni in the autumn!

She's also pleased she didn't opt for further maths (though the teachers tried to persuade her when she was making choices) - she's seen what her friends are doing with it and thinks she'd probably struggle. She felt she knew her limits with maths as a subject, and I think that was wise.

Again, I don't wish to bring a downer to this, OP - but IMO maths at degree level isn't a subject where you can just work really hard and you'll get there eventually. It's more about pure aptitude. It would be awful to start a degree and then find yourself really struggling....

I strongly agree with peoniesdaisiesroses.

I'm also going to put in a rider about stealth boasts. They can be super annoying. My youngest graduated from Oxford last year with a double first in a subject which requires a very high level of logical thinking. Even so, she took FM at GCSE and came back from the exam saying that it had confirmed that she absolutely wouldn't want to take Maths at A level let alone FM. Something about a garage door which did her head in. That said, she got the top grade in that exam and a 9 in ordinary Maths but it really is, as peoniesdaisiesroses says, about aptitude or bust.