King's Worcester
2 February
King’s Super Seven Succeed in Securing Oxbridge Offers
We are very proud to share the news that seven King’s students have recently been offered places at the highly prestigious universities of Cambridge or Oxford this year. We would like to congratulate them all upon this remarkable achievement, as the School’s success in securing Oxbridge offers continues to buck the trend for independent schools.
Many congratulations go to all those who have received conditional offers: Ruby K, from last year’s Upper Sixth, hopes to study Fine Art at Oxford, where current Upper Sixth students, George C-F and Frederick H hope to join Ruby to read Engineering Science and Computer Science respectively. Four of the current Upper Sixth have conditional offers for Cambridge: George H plans to study Economics, Lola M has an offer for Linguistics, it’s Music for Florence P, who also hopes to secure a Choral Scholarship, and Lucy W hopes to be studying Geography.
To secure seven offers in one year is quite exceptional, as only about one in six of all students who apply to Oxford or Cambridge get an offer; our seven offers this year mean that we have had nineteen in total over the last three years, representing a success rate of about one in four. This is well above the average for independent schools.
Gareth Doodes, Headmaster of King’s, expressed his delight at such success: “Our pupils work incredibly hard and are supported by their teachers and an Oxbridge preparation programme that aims to maximise their chances. We do not put a limit on their aspiration: if a pupil wants to apply, we support them, with advice on wider reading, mock interviews, and guidance on how to prepare for entrance tests.”
Dr Ronan McLaverty-Head, Head of Oxbridge Applications explains,
“Our success in achieving Oxbridge offers begins early. From the Lower Remove (Y9), our academic enrichment programme prepares pupils to go “beyond the classroom” and develop a genuine and profound interest in their subjects. To get an Oxbridge offer, they need top GCSE results and to be on their way to mostly A*s at A-level. Our pupils commit to be the best they can be, with Oxbridge acting as a strong motivation. Even if they don’t quite make it, their profile makes them highly attractive to other top universities.”
King’s prides itself on its student support structure for Oxbridge applications. Wider reading presentations are given by students to their peers via the Sixth Form academic society, which helps them develop their interest in their chosen subject areas. King’s holds a dedicated Oxford and Cambridge preparation day in the Summer Term of their Lower Sixth (Y12) year. Coupled with one-to-one meetings with members of staff, this helps provide a focus for preparation over the summer holidays. In the Autumn Term, we offer further support in completing personal statements and additional forms, mock interview and entrance test practice, and a series of final preparation sessions in the four weeks prior to interviews.
We all wish every one of our Oxbridge Super Seven our congratulations and the very best of luck in achieving the A-level results they need to secure their places, just as we do to all our current Upper Sixth and recent leavers who are applying this year to universities in the UK and abroad, for apprenticeships, or who plan other exciting next steps in their education and future careers.