mike1880 wrote:
Oxford abandons selection by entrenched privilege in favour of selection by ability. Shame.
Yes indeed.
Some public and private school pupils will have been coached, mentored and prepared almost from the day they were born to get into Oxbridge. Of COURSE they are likely to appear more polished in their interviews. They are also likely to have slightly higher GCSE and expected A level grades given that they've been provided with the best schooling money can buy.
That doesn't necessarily make them the best candidates though. What these Universities are looking for is POTENTIAL to excel.
Someone who grew up on a council estate and went to a comprehensive and is predicted to get A A B but appears slightly nervous and tongue-tied in their interview because they've never experienced anything like that before, may well have a higher chance of being a future nobel prize winner than someone who went to Eton and is predicted A* A A.