Teachers "prevent" state schools pupils from applying Oxbridge report says

Bright pupils from comprehensive schools are being put off applying to Oxford and Cambridge universities because of fears over “elitism”, the Sutton Trust researcher tells The Daily Telegraph.

Graeme Paton, The Daily Telegraph education editor wrote teachers often promote the view that Oxbridge universities are “not for the likes of us”.

The Sutton Trust charity said that pupils from comprehensive schools needed better guidance to help them apply to leading universities.

Lord Mandelson, Business Secretary last month also said more needed to be done to widen access to higher education, Graeme Paton wrote.

More than four in 10 students currently admitted to Oxbridge are from independent schools, though they only educate just seven per cent of children in the United Kingdom.

The Sutton Trust suggested that schools were the ones often to blame for creating “not for the likes of us” situation.

Dr Lee Elliot Major, the charity’s research director said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph that teachers often confused excellence with elitism.

“What we’ve found is that independent school pupils with similar grades to state school pupils are far more likely to apply to leading research universities,” he said.

“One of our concerns is that there is a confusion between excellence and elitism in many state schools – that often the prestigious universities are perceived to be “not for the likes of us”.

The government is now considering introducing new guidance urging universities to give pupils from poor families a two-grade “head start” in the admissions process.

The Sutton Trust is due to publish research later this week which will demand an overhaul of careers advice in schools, said The Daily Telegraph.

Dr Elliot Major said around half the guidance pupils currently received in comprehensive schools was poor, “We’re also concerned about teachers – that half of comprehensive school pupils, even if they had the brightest pupils in their class, they wouldn’t advise them to consider Oxbridge.”

13 and other thoughts

The following description is the plot of the four Film Awards Nominee 13 (Academy/Bafta/Golden Globe (best actress)/Golden Globe(best supporting-actress)

"Brace yourself" (Rolling Stone) for a raw, revealling insight into urban adolescence that's is so intense and realistic, "it's impossible to turn away" (Interview Managzine)

Anxiously trying to fit into the peer-pressre cooker environment of junior high, thirteen-year-old Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) goes to shocking lengths in order to befriend Evie (Co-writer, Nikki Read), the most popular girl in school. Now hte two are inseparable and incorrigible - leaving Tracy's desparate mother (Academy Award Winner Holly Hunter) powerless to rescue her from a whirlwind of drugs, sex and crime.



What is more?

Recently, Jade Goody's dying affair is continuously becoming the first lead on the newspaper. There's one point I found strange, the mum of two keeps saying that she wants her boys to study at private school until 16.

Indeed I heard some local teens saying that the private schools are full of materials girls and violent boys. And according to her, these private school kids' behaviour just like the film 13 portraits.

Bearing the doubt in mind, I talked with one local elder named Brigitte from West London. The lady told me that she quite understands Jade Goody's idea.

"There're some private school do get kids achieving better results than government ones. Though some of the governmental schools are also good." Brigitte said.

Speaking about how the private schools functions, she mentions that the private ones employ more teacher, so they spend more time with individual student.

The schools possesses better facilities and provide more chances for kids to broaden their vision.

Other attractions are some of the private schools are focusing on cultivating pupils to enter elite universities such as Cambridge and Oxford.

These tutors just simply understand Cambridge and Oxford mentality, and how the process will be end up with.