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Oxbridge - Grammar Schools and Independents

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 8:40 pm
by phoenix45
Just wanted to raise this topic to understand the trend at oxbridge, and of course at other top tier universities (Russell Group) and their admission records of the past couple of years:

Found these articles interesting that 1) overseas admission at top-tier uni's are rising, and 2) southeast region dominates north and midlands regions in AAA grades at A levels with a 9:3:2 ratio:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14069516" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13782315" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With this background, if you look at KES's uni destinations for instance (published on their website), it doesn't seem to have the distinction that its reputation is often associated with - that a well performing local high school's record is perhaps as good, or better in producing oxbridge admissions..any thoughts?

Re: Oxbridge - Grammar Schools and Independents

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 8:49 pm
by Paramjeet
State funded KECH sent 20 boys to Oxbridge this oct!!

Re: Oxbridge - Grammar Schools and Independents

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 8:51 pm
by Guest55
Oxbridge is NOT the best place to go for everyone or all subjects ... students do turn places down so you cannot judge on the number who take places up!

Re: Oxbridge - Grammar Schools and Independents

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 8:55 pm
by serendippyty
Personally I have never really been bothered by Oxbridge admissions - I think Oxford and Cambridge course content is often quite old fashioned and people get too caught up in the history and tradition and neglect to look at whether it really offers the course they want. I would never encourage my child to go to one of those Universities just because they can, but purely because it offers the best path for them in their chosen career.

That said, all grammar schools are very careful about which results the champion and how they present them to parents. For example, the KES headmaster last year was very pointed about KES being the second highest all boys grammar school in one of the tables - you have to be very careful to listen and note that means tehre were girls and mixed grammar schools all higher placed...

But these grammar schools all pick able pupils so of course all the results are good. I suspect many of these pupils would also receive pretty damn good results in a non selective school too as they tend to be from families that rate education highly and are motivated and encouraging at home.

The main thing as a parent is to look at all the data and also the pastoral care and compare like for like. I don't think you can really compare grammar schools in the south east with here as the selection process is different.

Re: Oxbridge - Grammar Schools and Independents

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 9:35 pm
by Jean.Brodie
Phoenix45, Is this KES in Stratford? I know folks whose boys go there. I remember being surprised at how low the A* percentage is at A2 level, given how famous the school is. It may be worth using this statistic as a broad comparator in the first instance. You can try this link for the 2011 figures:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/le ... chool.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You can get the 2012 figures from the same part of that newspaper site. ... I am not a fan of league tables as such, but some of the data can be helpful if used carefully. For example, I would expect some schools in the same area to have similar statistics or there needs to be a satisfactory explanation. ... KES has a new Head. Will this make a difference?

As for Oxbridge, in principle the statistics have been broadly a fair guide. However, with fees at a minimum £9,000 per year plus the cost of living away, there is now enormous financial pressure on many families and an established trend for undergrads to stay close to home. So that near us in London, many students now just stick to LSE, Imperial and UCL and commute from their London-area homes.

Re: Oxbridge - Grammar Schools and Independents

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 9:54 pm
by Okanagan
Jean.Brodie wrote:Phoenix45, Is this KES in Stratford? I know folks whose boys go there. I remember being surprised at how low the A* percentage is at A2 level, given how famous the school is.
KES admits student into the 6th form who haven't been in the school all the way through though. So you'd need to produce seperate figures for the KES all the way through people and the late arrivals to really compare against other schools where that doesn't happen.

Re: Oxbridge - Grammar Schools and Independents

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 10:37 pm
by Guest55
KES admits student into the 6th form who haven't been in the school all the way through though. So you'd need to produce seperate figures for the KES all the way through people and the late arrivals to really compare against other schools where that doesn't happen.
That's true of many schools - in fact in Bucks some of the Upper schools demand similar entry grades to their Sixth forms as the Grammars do!

Re: Oxbridge - Grammar Schools and Independents

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 10:59 pm
by Paramjeet
The OP was requesting information connecting to Oxbridge, not a lecture on why Oxbridge is not the best place or not.
Use places attained at Oxbridge as a barometer for how good a school is, simple. A very simple test for these day and age. Aren't Oxbridge in the top 10 universities in the world in a recent survey or is that made up too?

Re: Oxbridge - Grammar Schools and Independents

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 11:03 pm
by Looking for help
These articles are a year out of date, FWIW.

And what's the point in them ? We all know it is very difficult to gain admission to Oxford and Cambridge. If that's what your son or daughter wants, go for it but don't ponder over much on previous year admission statistics.

Re: Oxbridge - Grammar Schools and Independents

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 11:08 pm
by Guest55
Paramjeet - there are FAR more important things about a school.

Surely everyone is entitled to comment on this? The differing views make this website what it is.