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.

STEM offers at Oxford include A stars. Cambridge offers vary from person to person, college to college and are likely to include A stars. Oxford makes a standard offer of AAA regardless of college and the individual for almost all arts and humanities degrees. Why is this so difficult for you to accept? https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/admission-requirements/admission-requirements-table

OP there is a webinar on 10 Sept which may be helpful https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/visiting-and-outreach/outreach-events/webinar-overview-oxford-admissions

Hard to tell reading online, but was that misplaced sarcasm?

Someone, I think Dodonutty, has given the link with the Oxford standard offers already, so I don't need to.
I do have credentials, I have been making Oxford admissions decisions for over 20 years and am closely involved with Oxford admissions policy making at a senior level. However, you don't need any credentials to simply check the link on the public website.

I am not saying anything about Cambridge, or Oxford science courses, or Russell group generally. Just Oxford arts/humanities and most social sciences.

My dc got 11 x 9 and 4 x A star and didn’t get a place but others with much lower grade profiles did. For him, he didn’t have a great interview but is thriving elsewhere and is in the top cohort. Definitely apply.

DD did not apply. It was her decision after attending a Summer school in Cambridge. She attained all As at A level in physics, maths and chemistry and all 8s and 9s at GCSE. As soon as she began sixth form it felt like they had the potential Oxbridge students pegged (DD was included). These pupils had extra tuition on applications, interviews, etc. and she had a couple of hours on-line tuition from Cambridge on a Monday night within weeks of starting at college.
DD said she felt like she wasn't smart enough, that she knows she's bright but not 'Oxbridge bright.' She attended a bog standard northern comprehensive school.

My DC off to Cambridge this October, social science subject. All 9s at GCSE - but a few of his schoolmates also going were more variable - mix of 7s and above.

I think for Oxbridge, if you're incredible at your chosen subject and have high A-level predictions, they're simply not going to worry much about the odd 'okay' GCSE grade in unrelated subjects!

Anecdotally I've heard that Oxford looks at GCSE results more closely than Cambridge in terms of deciding who to interview.

DD got a 6 in FM, but as she was applying for an arts subject think it was overlooked. She also won an Oxbridge essay writing competition which got her on the radar too as did the all A star at A level prediction. The EPQ featured a fair bit in her interview.

State grammar.

DS1 got all A star and 9s and an 8. DD got all 9s. Both went to Oxford to study Chemistry and Medicine respectively. Both went to v selective private schools though where these kind of grades were not unusual.

DD's non-selective state comp (435 in year) got:

13 x grade 9 - 1 student
10 or more x grade 9 - 4 students
8 or more x 9-7 grades - 120 students

They haven't said how many just for 8/9.

11 for Oxbridge this year (200 in 6th form)

Oxford counts 8s and 9s the same. DD state comp had 12 and an A in level 3 FSMQ. E and M. 3 A levels including Maths. Offer A star AA, all the offers are on the Oxford site and everyone get same. I would apply and see. I think Oxford count all the GCSEs but in comparison with school results. Oxford interview 3 per place.

DC went to Oxford with 11 top grade GCSEs (but one was taken a year earlier so was probably discounted). Predicted and achieved x3 A star at A Level. Her Oxford friends doing also had similar top grades at GCSE. More variation at A Level especially in humanities.
DS went to Cambridge, 10 top grade GCSEs and x1 8 (Art). Predicted and achieved x3 A star at A Level. He has Cambridge friends with spikier GCSE profiles but all A stars at A Level across a range of Degree courses.

Where does Oxford say that they treat 8s and 9s the same? That would make no sense because they're different grades. They also don't always interview 3 applicants per place, it depends on the subject and year.

If you look at the college feedback reports on past application cycles that show stats for those getting interviews and offers you see 8/9 is treated the same. GCSE results are contextualised for school performance anyway so those from schools either weaker historic performance can still get to interview stage with less stellar GCSEs if they’ve done well in the relevant subjects and performed at the top of their cohort. That said, the successful usually do have lots of 9s…but the point is that the lack of them won’t exclude everyone. Someone from a successful selective state or independent school where the norm is 8/9s would be expected to have them.

Guide to interviews at Oxford says they generally interview 3 per place on page 1. Agree with Wombat on 8s and 9s and it obviously makes sense to Oxford.

oxundergrad.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Oxford_Teachers_Guide/print_friendly/interviews.pdf

I think that they treat 8s and 9s the same because in Wales and NI(?) they still use the old Astar-G letters not the new numbers.

Yes I would suspect its that too as the reports refer to A star or 8 or 9.

www.seh.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/Economics-and-Management-2025.pdf

I think a problem with a thread like this is it may appear as hunting for cases where GCSEs and A levels weren't the absolute best to stoke grievance. It may not be the intention but if you have people with a string of 9s and A stars not getting in it won't help to hear about people with 8/9/7s getting into Oxbrdige. It also brings contextulisation into the question which brings into question school.type.

Oxbridge make it clear that they take various factors into account when deciding who to interview and who to offer a place. GCSE results are only one of the factors, for good reason. Getting top GCSE results in 11 different subjects isn’t at all the same as being really really good at one subject.

A friend of mine (30-odd years ago) got into Oxford to read English, despite having failed his Maths O level and despite a Maths O level pass being a “pre-requisite” at the time. He was spectacularly good at English - brilliant and original. It would have been a crying shame if a clever all-rounder with a string of A stars had been given a place instead of him, just because their O levels were better.

Someone who gets 7s and 8s at GCSE may well be a better candidate for further study at Oxbridge than someone else who gets all 9s. GCSEs are only one factor.

How do you mean ‘I know’. I don’t follow this

As others have mentioned, they look at more than grades. DD got 9 x9s and one 8 in GCSE. 3A* 1A at selective private. Average Cambridge test in STEM - this year. Did not get any interview.

20 out of 120 at our non selective comprehensive got all 8’s and 9’s and 56% of all grades were 7-9. So not bad

Unfortunately it is very difficult to get into Cambridge for STEM from a private school. (Particularly annoying if the teaching at the private school is rubbish, as it can be.)

Yes, if applying from a private school.

Not so - it depends on other factors like admission tests. For subjects like maths, for example, the score in the MAT is far more important than getting 9s in unrelated subjects. DN (private school) was accepted this year for maths with 99998887665 at GCSE.

14 9s . Non selective rural comp.