Oxbridge minimum 8 A* GCSE results ???

[rhubarbmum]

Is it true that Oxbridge require a minimum 8 A GCSE results for applications? I know a very disappointed 16 yr old who thinks he hasn't got high enough GCSE grades - he got 7 As and 3 As. Please advise. I looked on their website and it looks like they base their offers on A level (and AS level) alone.

Virelai I think we are in agreement. In my area those 'practical' qualities are very important in academic research including teamwork. It has been some time since I participated in undergraduate Oxbridge interviews but academically I want students with genuine enthusiasm for the subject, work ethic and the aptitude to make connections, think deeply when needed and take an idea and 'run with it'. Those qualities also cross over in non academic life .

Although virelai says you can prepare to an extent, I'm not sure you can manufacture enthusiasm for a particular subject, an aptitude to make connections or think deeply or a creative mind. I do however think parents who obsess about Oxford and Cambridge or their US equivalents at an early stage of their child's school life can cause huge problems of expectation and stress which may well prove counter-productive. The MN education threads may be a microcosm of middle class angst, but even here there are signs to show that a relaxed attitude to education tends to bear fruit, while micro-managing and getting screwed up often backfires.