Oxbridge admissions results have re-alerted many to the problem of access, as Rizina’s article – ‘Admissions tutoring proves that money beats merit’ articulates – and rightly so. Given this, private tuition gets a bad rap, but what is it doing? At times, in the furore one reads about this ‘fault line’, one would think private tuition is some evil magic powder that confers special luck in interviews!
Working in the tutoring sector, I help students improve their knowledge and skills. This raises the general level of education for the good of society as a whole. Those who have greater knowledge and skills will go on to become more productive citizens.
Of course, the problem of access has two components: a) there is the matter that a well-functioning meritocracy ensures that the best talent is fully utilised for the benefit of all, and b) there is the matter of the unfairness that opportunities are tied to one’s background. My point that tutoring raises skills only answers (a) in suggesting that tutoring can develop talent and therefore also improve results for society.
To resolve the problem posed by point (b), we’d need to consider what the biggest obstacles to greater fairness are. In an arms race of tutoring vs access measures, it is unclear what the net effect of these two interventions are – especially since admissions tutors take pains to select on merit. It is also unclear who gets left out, since access measures imperfectly measure disadvantage. However, it is self-evident that knowledge of what interviewers are about will affect a student’s capacity to show their potential.
I was shocked to hear that some teachers offered the advice that a student should shoehorn their reading of War and Peace in the interview to impress the admissions tutors. This shows the extent to which teachers – and therefore applicants – in the country do not understand the format of an Oxbridge interview, nor for which traits admissions tutors look.
Such an information gap means that many go into interviews not in the frame of mind to even show their potential. Targeted tuition to schools is a remedy, contrary to what Rizina’s piece claims. I’ve personally tried to help in this matter. Last October and December, I organised a series of free webinars for state school students, particularly in rural areas which often receive a lower share of access attention. Many students did not know what interviewers wanted, and then they were in a better position following these sessions.
Yes, this does little to address “fundamental ethical questions” – but it does improve people’s ability to showcase their potential to the betterment of themselves and wider society. A refusal to engage with the potential of tutoring more widely applied to equalise the playing field by increasing the level of educational opportunity afforded to all amounts to a focus on an ethical intuition over prioritising improving lives.
However, I agree with Rizina that a yet fairer approach would be the systematic provision of these services in schools across the country. However, it is uncertain that this would be effective if attempted by decree. Many schools in the country do not have any teachers who went to Oxford or Cambridge themselves. The majority are great teachers who deliver a great service to their students and country. Nonetheless, they are not best placed to prepare students for Oxbridge applications.
An approach that avoids this pitfall would provide information to ensure that students know how to prepare. I am drafting documents at present to distribute freely to state schools. These documents will target different ages of students with the sort of thing they should be doing to develop their intellectual skills ready for Oxbridge applications.
If a large part of the problem is gaps in the likes of intellectual discussions around the meal table, then students can take proactive steps earlier on to nurture the same skills that those from more academic backgrounds receive – but only once they know that this is a worthwhile endeavour.
It is through more provision of information, including tutoring, that the lives of people from all walks of life will prosper.
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