Teachers reject top universities (From Oxford Mail)
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Teachers reject top universities
3:00pm Saturday 28th April 2012 in News
LESS than half of state school teachers would advise their brightest pupils to apply to Oxford or Cambridge University, a survey has shown.
The Sutton Trust survey, which questioned 730 state school teachers, found only 44 per cent would recommend their pupils consider applying to Oxbridge.
Jolie Kirby, headteacher at Cheney School, Oxford, said she was surprised by the statistic, which she said was “very worrying”.
She said: “We have got eight students into Oxbridge this year and we have absolute belief that we should be supporting students in their aspirations to apply there.
“It’s not right to deny students the opportunities to aspire to go to universities at that level and I think it’s really important we encourage our students to apply.”
About 58 per cent of Oxford students are from state schools.
University spokesman Julia Paolitto said: “These findings are incredibly frustrating, not only because state students are in the majority at Oxford, but because of all the outreach work we do in state schools, running more than 1,500 events a year and spending millions on activities. Sadly, just one bad headline can unravel that work in an instant.”
Comments(5)
Abberdon
says...
10:00am Sun 29 Apr 12
spriggs
says...
10:08pm Sun 29 Apr 12
Severian
says...
9:44am Mon 30 Apr 12
My daughter looked at Oxford for a chemistry degree this year. While they do a great job of marketing themselves it seemed clear they want a very specific type if student. If you don't want to follow a purely academic career then Oxford science probably isn't for you. In the end DD decided that Warwick would be better than Oxford.
And yes, she does go to a state school.
L0RD PETER MCVEY 0X2 6EG
says...
12:05pm Mon 30 Apr 12
spriggs wrote:Actually Spriggy if you went to Oxford University (not to be confused with The POLY in Headington) you would be settling for third best. Such is the demise of a once great brand. It has probably been watered down by the confusion with The POLY.
When we've got teachers not able to push their pupils to stretch themselves and strive to achieve the best, is it any wonder Britain can't get itself out of the mire? Why settle for second best? If a pupil has the potential to be accepted by Oxford or Cambridge, or any of the other top universities, for that matter, they should be given every help by teachers, parents and community to do so. This mentality of settling for the average will not get us growing, and won't give pupils the best chance of a successful place in a modern economy.
kibby says...
5:49pm Sat 28 Apr 12
I wonder if all these teachers gave reasons for not recommending Oxbridge colleges to their students. I suspect that it might be because of a lack of a real understanding of how Oxbridge works because of the worryingly small number of Oxbridge graduates teaching in state schools.