The latest Ipsos-MORI survey for the Sutton Trust found that many teachers in state secondary schools held a number of misconceptions about Oxford and Cambridge universities. Most respondents significantly overestimated the proportion of privately educated Oxbridge undergraduates, and a majority incorrectly thought it was more expensive to study at these two universities than elsewhere.
Most worryingly for those of us concerned with widening access to research-led universities, the survey also found evidence that this may be affecting the advice given to students. Almost half of teachers reported that they would never or rarely encourage their brightest pupils to apply to Oxbridge. This echoes anecdotal evidence from some of the students on our university summer schools who report that their teachers are reluctant – or even hostile – to them applying to leading universities in general, and Oxbridge in particular.
What are the factors underlying this? There is certainly an ingrained stereotype of the Oxbridge undergraduate as white, privately educated and well off, something our survey shows is hard to shift even among teachers. Another survey we carried out shows that over 80% of teachers believe their students would find it difficult to cope socially at Oxbridge even if they did get in. While there are certainly too few students from poorer backgrounds and state schools at these universities, the Brideshead Revisited stereotype is far from the modern reality. The danger is that these misconceptions fuel the worries of students who are perhaps already lacking confidence, deterring them from making applications.
Another factor is capacity. Becoming familiar with Oxbridge is simply not a priority for many teachers, who have to meet the needs of a wide range of pupils and contend with a host of other educational and welfare issues. This is particularly the case in those schools – often serving the poorest communities – which rarely send students to top ranked universities, but is in stark contrast to the independent sector. Private schools continue to send large numbers to Oxbridge each year and have the resources and expertise to get the best out of their brightest students.
This divide between the sectors is exacerbated by the fact that, according to our research, over half the Oxbridge graduates who decide to go into teaching choose the independent sector. So the very people who are in the best position to dispel the myths and offer accurate advice are often unavailable to those who need it most.
What is the way forward? The Sutton Trust has supported a number of initiatives at Oxbridge for teachers to come to the universities, enrich their subject knowledge and become more familiar with the admissions process. The universities also do a lot in this vein but there is always more that can and should be done, particularly earlier on with younger pupils. There should also be an extension of partnership schemes, whereby schools familiar with leading universities advise those that are less so.
Breaking down age-old stereotypes is always difficult. But the role of teachers is so important in shaping the futures of young people that we cannot afford to ignore their perceptions.