1/3 of Oxford Bursaries go to Ex-indie Pupils

[no_ball]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12308121" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[huntlie]

Or maybe - just maybe - the ones getting bursaries simply have self-employed accountant parents who know how to work the system so as to appear to have less income than they do?

[phaedra]

A number of independent school children will not have wealthy parents but might have school funded by grandparents. Some children of divorced parents will live with a relatively poor parent but might have a wealthy parent paying school fees. The rich/poor thing is too complicated to get into and not much can confidently be extrapolated from the statistics.

[no_ball]

and its also very boring now, I am amazed the number of times this topic comes up in various threads. Have's versus the have-nots...

[Milla]

Here is a bit of good news - pupils from independent schools are picking up a large proportion of the bursaries being offered by Oxford University.

Er, why is it "good news" for 7% to be scooping 33%?
Good news purely for those already given one helluva leg up in life already. Rich does not ipso facto equal clever and deserving.

[no_ball]

I agree, rich and clever does

[stevew61]

intellectually crippled

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/diction ... /cripple_2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I find that comment very offensive but please nobody complain, I would like the comment to remain as a stain on this public record.

[doodles]

Let's throw this one in! Why is it always about Oxford and Cambridge? There are other Universities out there and some very fine ones too! Oxford and Cambridge are NOT the be all and end all of University education.

[resmum]

Magwich2 wrote:

There is, for the avoidance of doubt, only one way to get into Oxford ( thank the Lord) and its really very simple, Very hard work together with being very bright andlong may that continue.

Unfortunately, I don't think that is true. I have recently purchased a book for my daughter about navigating the entrance procedures of Oxbridge.

The book describes in some detail the attempts to widen access to Oxbridge so that more state schools pupils apply. However, the "access" programs only go so far as to hold events and try to build relationships between Oxbridge colleges and schools to encourage access to the application procedure. This does not translate however into more success in the number of "admissions" to Oxbridge from comprehensive schools. The author strongly believes this is not because the students who apply are less intelligent but because they perform poorly in the interview that colleges base their admissions on. Public school and other private school pupils are generally more socially confident and less intimidated by the procedure.

Also, some schools have reported that Oxbridge colleges will build a relationship with their school and for a few years they will take a few of their students. Then suddenly, one year none of their equally gifted students will be admitted because the college has now moved on to build a "special relationship" with another school. The previous schools, and their students have been "dumped". How likely is is that these teachers are then going to encourage their future 6th formers to apply for Oxbridge?

I don't know exactly how Ivy League colleges in the US run their admissions but I get the impression that they want the most intelligent no matter what their background is.

[Waiting_For_Godot]

Or maybe - just maybe - the ones getting bursaries simply have self-employed accountant parents who know how to work the system so as to appear to have less income than they do?

Or maybe - just maybe - the ones getting bursaries simply have genuine need for one? Just a thought!

I agree about Oxbridge not being the be all and end all. In fact the Oxbridge that I once would have wanted to send DC's to is a shadow of it's former self.