What are the pros and cons of making an open application to Oxford or Cambridge? telegraph.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from telegraph.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
How Britain’s private schools lost their grip on Oxbridge
“Five years ago, my son would have got a place at Oxford. But now the bar has shifted and he didn’t,” says my friend, a City of London executive who has put several children through elite private schools in Britain. “I think he got short-changed.”
I’ve been hearing this more and more from fellow parents with kids at top day and boarding schools in recent years. Some of it sounds like whining: most of us like to think the best of our progeny. But my friend has a point. After years of hand-wringing about unequal access to elite higher education, admissions standards are finally shifting.
The Stormzy effect at Cambridge University encouraging a record number of BAME British students cambridge-news.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cambridge-news.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Cambridge University receive record number of BAME admissions in 2020
PICTURED: The University of Cambridge had 904 UK-based BAME students secure places
THE UNIVERSITY of Cambridge has accepted a record number of British students from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds in 2020, figures have revealed.
People from BAME backgrounds made up nearly 3 in 10 UK undergraduates admitted (29.3%) – an increase from 27.8% the previous year.
A record number of students from state schools were also accepted and an overall rise in the intake of students following late changes to A-level exams last summer.
Speaking to
The BBC, Prof Graham Virgo, senior pro-vice-chancellor, said: “2020 was a challenging year across the higher education sector but I’m happy to say, despite the increase in undergraduate admissions, we were able to admit each student who met the terms of their offer, with no forced deferrals.
King’s College on the River Cam in Cambridge (Joe Giddens/PA)
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The University of Cambridge accepted record numbers of British students from ethnic minority backgrounds last year.
Nearly three in 10 (29.3%) UK undergraduates admitted to the institution in 2020 were from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds – up from 27.8% the previous year, figures show.
It comes as the most selective universities are under increased pressure to improve access to higher education for different groups of students – including those from disadvantaged backgrounds.