Help me understand Brighton College

[4U2]

Please help me understand Brighton College, as it continues to remain an enigma in our books. Its ethos tends to be similar to that of Wellington, with a strong PR push and very good GCSE and A-levels and Oxbridge rates.

Normally there is a good correlation between a given school's performance at inter-school competitions and Oxbridge/Ivy/medical school acceptance rates, as one would expect that these universities would look beyond grades only. E.g. Winchester gathers around two dozen medals at science olympiads, and medics are around 9% of leavers, Merchant Taylors and Sevenoaks around a dozen medals in science olympiads, and medics are around 6-7% of leavers. A similar pattern holds in Model UN results, which tends to translate well into Oxbridge/Ivy acceptance rates in humanities.

I am not aware of BC getting any special recognition at these large inter-school competitions like Model UN and math or science olympiads, or at least they don't seem to advertise it (and I am sure that if they had they would🙂). The pupils we have seen at BC don't seem to come across any better than those at other the top schools, and seem to be more in league with Wellington than Eton. How it is possible then for BC to beat most of the top schools in terms of Oxbridge and medical school acceptance rates is a mystery to me.

It makes sense that if a school focuses strictly on the curriculum, then there will be stellar results in the GCSE and A-levels league tables. But surely Oxbridge/Ivy and medical schools will be looking for more in a candidate than just top A-levels?

But they aren't anymore, are they? Certainly not Oxbridge, anyway. It's discussed a lot on MN that UK universities, including oxbridge, no longer take extra curriculars in to account.

Maybe they care less about non-academic extracurriculars (sports, music), but they surely need to be looking for the academic potential in the subject a candidate is applying for. The most important thing is that a student can read widely in that subject, well beyond the set A Level texts, and look for relevant work experience/courses to demonstrate his willingness to work independently. Science olympiads and model UNs do exactly that, and Oxbridge would certainly pay attention to those when ranking candidates?

They do a big intake of of very intelligent international students at sixth form to boost the Oxbridge numbers. Many of those students, English is a second language.

Are you sure about this? I am just asking as GSG says intake of 50-55 at 11+ and intake of 180 at 13+ which means that around 230 pupils (minus droputs) sit GCSE and ca 10% leaves after GCSEs, which leaves 207 for lower sixth, or 414 for all of sixth form without a huge intake. GSG also states a total of 406 sixth formers, which means that the 6th form intake cannot be massive.

Even if they managed to attract a large contingent of amazing Oxbridge/Ivy league material to 6th form, those are still bound to sparkle at science olympiads and model UN contests, both tend to be dominated by 6th formers.

The mystery remains unresolved...

Who said 10% leave after GCSE?

GSG

Sorry, where does GSG say 10% leave? Thanks.
www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/schools/brighton-college

I think a lot of children are "weeded out". It's extremely competitive to get into and if the child shows signs of being disruptive or not achieving they will "suggest" that BC is not the school for them.

They seem to categorically deny this.

That makes sense. I would do that too. Look, if you hear the head talk, he loves the massively improved results that he's achieved. He's a smart person, he did not get the "School of the Decade" award without setting up the system for the school to get the best results.

That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. If you know any teachers at other private schools in the area ask how many BC children they get mid year/year 10 & 11.

I know because I play tennis with some of the mums of the kids who go there. My kids go to normal schools though

Wow, I had no idea that the head at Brighton College was so aggressive in manipulating things. But I guess any school that has results that have shot up so quickly to such a high level, there's always the likelihood that it was done by bringing in the best students to crank up the results. That said, hearing all these stories does put the school in a different light for me. Thanks for sharing all these real-world stories.

Hi everyone.

I’m posting an apology as my comments were based on things I’ve been told by other people (hearsay) and not on my own experience. Please accept my apologies. I’ve asked for my comments to be removed. It’s best that everyone does their own research on the school. It is number 1 for a very good reason I’m sure.

There is no need for an apology. In fact, what you've heard from other people is perfectly valid. Your comments should remain to make future students and parents aware of what goes on at the school.

Oh my goodness. Is this the Queen Ethelburga’s effect in action? I know what I think about an institution that actively squashes public discussion of it.