Observer letter on Oxbridge

Priya Gopal`s arguments for the need both for a conversation about "wider deprivation and systemic inequality", and the existence of a "two-tiered education structure" merely deflect away from the unassailable truth about Oxbridge`s appalling "admissions processes" (Oxbridge bashing is an empty ritual if we ignore wider social inequities, 22.10.17). She sounds too much like the Oxford apologist who, when the figures were released to David Lammy, claimed that rectifying the problem was "a long journey", needing a "huge, joined-up effort across society".             
   Such propagandist nonsense is echoed sadly by Gopal blaming the existence of private schools for Oxbridge`s bias towards them! Her article raises many questions, but answers none of them. Why, when the national figure for attendance at private schools is 7%, do Oxbridge colleges insist on recruiting over 40% from the independent sector, especially when research at Cardiff and Oxford Brookes universities proved students from state schools gain better degrees than independently-educated candidates with the same A-level grades. Similarly, has not the integrity of the Pre-University examinations taken instead of A-levels by many private school pupils, and set and marked by teachers in the private sector, been questioned by recent scandals at Eton and Winchester?

   Is it any wonder that few high-attaining black or working class students are attracted to apply to Oxford or Cambridge, when both universities do so little to disprove the perceived myths which surround them? 

     Do Oxbridge interviews give all candidates a chance to show off their  understanding, or are the questions designed more to flummox all but the most confident? Will the majority of candidates from modest backgrounds face humiliation and embarrassment, if not at the interview, in the colleges afterwards, with the formal dinners, the expensive balls and clubs? Teachers concerned about their pupils` welfare, should not be blamed for directing most bright students elsewhere!