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Since 2000, the proportion of Oxbridge entrants who attended state schools has been consistently over 50% and is steadily approaching two thirds. The public sc

Since 2000, the proportion of Oxbridge entrants who attended state schools has been consistently over 50% and is steadily approaching two thirds. The public school track really isn't the advantage some (including the schools themselves) make it out to be; it's a well-known trope among the middle classes that a merely diligent straight-As student will have a much better chance applying from a state school than from a public school.

exdsq 5y ago
Most public schools will have Oxbridge Advisors who coach their sixth form students how to prepare and succeed in the interviews which is a huge hand up. Remember that way more than half of students don't go to public school so even if it's increasing its still a huge step up.
TheCoelacanth 5y ago
Independent schools are only 7% of students in England[1] (even lower for the whole UK) and public schools would be a tiny fraction of that 7%. They are still greatly over-represented at Oxbridge, even if not quite to the extent that they used to be. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_school_(United_Kingdom)#The_present_day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_school_(United_Kin...
- dan-robertson 5y ago
  If top universities selected only by grades, I think you would still end up with a high proportion from independent schools. It is not like a random 7% of the population attend independent schools. The top schools may be selective, only letting in students with better grades, or may have scholarships for bright (or athletic) students with lesser means which push up their averages. Those students who pay will generally have had an early childhood where they got good nutrition and plenty of attention and nurturing. If they were falling behind, their parents would more likely be better able to pay for extra tutoring. If the schools has more bright students than average, there can be positive feedback effects. There are also subjects which are taught more at independent schools like classics. It is hard for a university to find a lot of state school applicants with prior education in classics (the solution is to start with students who did well at history and give them a year of preliminary studies before moving to classics proper.) You see the same effect with grammar schools (in the U.K.) or magnet high schools (in the Us) which feels a little more egalitarian, though of course the availability of such schools can vary a lot geographically (and a higher cost of living near good schools can push out poorer parents too.) I don’t really know what the solution is. It seems unmeritocratic to expect universities to take only 7% independent school students (for one thing I would expect they make up slightly more than 7% of the university student body; for another this would probably have the undesired effect of having the 7% at Oxford and Cambridge mostly made up of the top public schools) but it also feels slightly unfair to only look at grades (indeed the universities do try to be more accessible and take into account the fact that some students have depressed grades due to poorer schools)

exdsq 5y ago

Most public schools will have Oxbridge Advisors who coach their sixth form students how to prepare and succeed in the interviews which is a huge hand up. Remember that way more than half of students don't go to public school so even if it's increasing its still a huge step up.

TheCoelacanth 5y ago

Independent schools are only 7% of students in England[1] (even lower for the whole UK) and public schools would be a tiny fraction of that 7%. They are still greatly over-represented at Oxbridge, even if not quite to the extent that they used to be. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_school_(United_Kingdom)#The_present_day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_school_(United_Kin...

dan-robertson 5y ago
If top universities selected only by grades, I think you would still end up with a high proportion from independent schools. It is not like a random 7% of the population attend independent schools. The top schools may be selective, only letting in students with better grades, or may have scholarships for bright (or athletic) students with lesser means which push up their averages. Those students who pay will generally have had an early childhood where they got good nutrition and plenty of attention and nurturing. If they were falling behind, their parents would more likely be better able to pay for extra tutoring. If the schools has more bright students than average, there can be positive feedback effects. There are also subjects which are taught more at independent schools like classics. It is hard for a university to find a lot of state school applicants with prior education in classics (the solution is to start with students who did well at history and give them a year of preliminary studies before moving to classics proper.) You see the same effect with grammar schools (in the U.K.) or magnet high schools (in the Us) which feels a little more egalitarian, though of course the availability of such schools can vary a lot geographically (and a higher cost of living near good schools can push out poorer parents too.) I don’t really know what the solution is. It seems unmeritocratic to expect universities to take only 7% independent school students (for one thing I would expect they make up slightly more than 7% of the university student body; for another this would probably have the undesired effect of having the 7% at Oxford and Cambridge mostly made up of the top public schools) but it also feels slightly unfair to only look at grades (indeed the universities do try to be more accessible and take into account the fact that some students have depressed grades due to poorer schools)