The independent school angle
The whole picture, not the headline
Many independent-school families worry that Oxford and Cambridge now quietly favour state-school applicants. It is an understandable fear β the access headlines and admissions statistics are everywhere β but it misreads how decisions are actually made.
Both universities assess each candidate in the round. Contextual information is used to understand the circumstances behind a grade, never as a quota that penalises a strong applicant from a good school. A well-prepared independent-school candidate, with the marks, the test scores and a sharp interview, remains exactly that β a strong candidate.
Our job is to make sure your child is judged on the whole picture: that every part of the application is as compelling as their grades. That is where places are won.