If you child went to Oxbridge what GCSE results did they have?

[MockBatter]

Just wondering whether you need all 8s and 9s for a shot at Oxbridge. My child just got slightly worse results than expected and says that has dashed their chances of applying to Oxbridge. Is that true?

In answering it would be helpful to know whether the child was applying from state or private school as I suppose that could make a difference in the grades Oxbridge would consider.

Couple of people I know who went to Cambridge

Student one – all 8s and 9s
Student two – mostly 8s and 9s with at least one 6 (in Eng lang)

Both state school.
Cambridge I gather is less worried than Oxford. Tbh not that many DC will get all 9s or even all 8s and 9s so Oxford and Cambridge cannot possibly fill all their places each year from that cohort (whatever you might think from reading some MN threads!). What actual grades did your DD get? Their PGs at A level will be more important.

Thanks.

They got 3x 9, 4x8, 4x7.

They are at a non-selective London state school but one that gets good results so contextually within the school these are good but not great results.

I would say those are excellent results for sure and will not stop them applying to Oxford or Cambs if that's what they want. I am not an expert, as have had no DC apply, but as I say, I cannot imagine that those two universities, which together admit almost 8,000 people a year, select only students gaining all 8s and 9s. For some context, about 1,200 students got all 9s at GCSE last year.

Apologies btw I called your DC a DD in my PP, but you don't say so I am not sure where I got that from!

They’re great results.

I also noticed your dc did11 gcse which is a huge number. My dc1 private school only lets them do 9 or 10 to maximise the number of top grades! Dc2 private school only let them do 8 unless a truly exceptional student. I had read somewhere that universities look at top eight subjects - can anyone confirm? - so in that context your dc only got one 7!

The students I know at Oxbridge did actually get all 8s and 9s. However, I don't think it should stop your DC from applying. After all, you have five choices so you've only "wasted" one of those if you don't get in.

My DS (state school) applied with 7x9, 1x8, 1x7, 1x6. He didn't get a place, but he did get an interview, so he was in with a chance. He got offers from all four of his other universities so he still had plenty of choice.

I’d say those results are definitely not disqualifying @MockBatter Sorry your kid had a rotten week (for them, objectively those are excellent results). Neither of my kids had all 8s and 9s; one had mostly 7s, albeit from a dreadful school. It’s just one element of the scoring.

A 7 is an A

Well anything above a 7 is an A so that’s all As in old money!

Thanks all. I know they are good results, it’s just they are lower than mocks so that took the shine off a little.

They would want to do History or Spanish or a mix of both at uni and those were both 9s so if they do want to try for Oxbridge hopefully that will stand in their favour.

Mine has just got in - she got 9,9,9,7,7,7,7,7,6. She did go to a non- selective state school and just got 3 x A-* in A levels so it is definitely possible. Is a lot of hoops to go through to get a place though!

Mine is older so has a mixture of A and A* plus a B from our local comprehensive.

Went to Cambridge

@Bananafofana at the Bristol open day Maths talk, they says they only look at the best 8 GCSEs. Exeter maths said they didn’t look at them at all.

Each university is different, and there’s also variation between departments in the same university.

Ds has 12 A* at GCSE and a distinction at additional maths and 4 As at AS level from a state school in Wales . He’s going to apply for Maths at Oxford. Only 10% get a place, unlike other subjects (some humanities) which is closer to 50%

Oxbridge use best 8 GCSE results where 8 and 9 are 8’s. So the maximum points score is 64. Your child will score 63 using this calculation @MockBatterso close to perfect.

A Cambridge admissions officer told DS at the open day in July that C look just as closely as O at GCSE grades and that they are taken in context of the results of the school they were taken at.

My son has 62 points using the calculation above and is applying this year. He took his GCSEs at a “bog standard” comp where the pass rate for maths and English grade 5+ is around 56% so, contextually, his score is good.

Son just done first year at Oxford. GCSEs included 4,5,5. 9s in the subjects he went on to do at A-level. Key is getting your school to predict all Astar for your UCAS application just to get a sniff of an interview, then it's up to the child to impress. (Extra tests for some subjects as well mind you which can also be a deciding factor). Some subjects the offers aren't necessarily 3xAstar, but I've heard (anecdotally) that that's what you need as a prediction to make the first cut.

On the websites there is a section on applications and within this on context which is helpful.

well done to your DC on their fantastic GCSE grades!

My sister went, from a state school, this was before 9-1 grades
6 A*s
1 A
2 Bs

Oxford contextualise GCSE results. So they will be looking at the type of school and grade point average achieved there and looking for performance in the top cohort of that context.

This means students from schools which don’t perform so well at GCSE and have more deprived cohorts, can compete against those where it’s unusual for grades to be below an 8 or 7.

Oxford also publishes the average no of 8/9 at GCSE for those for each subject applying who got to interview stage and who got an offer. Not surprisingly it is high.

I'd say they'll have a good shot at it, so long as everything else is in place.

DS1 got 4x9s and 5x8s at a state school in special measures. 3xA* at A level. DS2 at same school will be applying this year with 5x9s 4x8s and a 7. However school is now classified outstanding.

Mine went to Cambridge to do NatSci. Had three 9s, two 8s, two 7s and two 6s from a state comprehensive.
Moved to a great academic state 6th form college and got all A stars at A level. He also had a genuine passion for his subject and could talk about it confidently which seems to be vital.

@MockBatter Your DC should definitely apply if they want to do Spanish. Apparantly, the falling popularity of MFL means that Oxbridge colleges accept slightly lower grades than for other subjects.

No you don't. DD wasn't predicted 3 x A stars, didn't achieve 3 x A stars and had a mixture of GCSE grades 9 - 6, but met the criteria of having a majority of 7s and above and having strong results compared to her cohort. She obviously met the standard offer of AAA for her course & her degree result was as good as everyone else's in her college.

DS was the covid cohort so higher grades he got :7,8,8,8,9,9,9,9,9,9 and an A* in additional maths.
All A*(4) at A- level, he has just got a first- so not sure how representative he is. SS state grammar.

Sounds ok to me. I actually can’t remember ds’s GCSE results but I know they certainly weren’t exclusively 8s and 9s.

That's good to hear! 😊 Was basing it off feedback our head of 6th got for someone applying for chem. College said directly it was because he wasn't predicted all top grades. Maybe variation between subjects (chem offer is a star, a star, a). It's all a lottery at the end of the day......🤞🏼