Cambridge & Oxford

With such prestigious universities on offer, it is not surprising that every year a number of Concordians apply for places at one of these universities and many have successfully secured a place. 

Both Cambridge and Oxford have slightly different applications procedures to other UK Universities, they offer students the opportunity to select a preferred college within the university, have their own entrance tests for many subjects and interview candidates before selecting those to offer places to. Competition can be fierce and for some courses the overall success rate for applicants can be as low as 1 in 13 or even lower. 

Concord provides specialist support for students applying to Oxford and Cambridge (and indeed other highly competitive universities and courses). Provision includes guidance on choice of course and college, advice on whether a student has a realistic chance of reaching the interview stages, test preparation coaching and practice, mock interviews and of course, broader support with the UCAS application part of the process. Concord has teachers with specialist knowledge of these universities who work with students applying there, including a number who are themselves graduates of Oxford or Cambridge. The college also links up with an external provider – Oxford Tutors – who can provide further interview practice.

Well-prepared students have the best chance of showing their abilities under pressure of tests or interviews. The admissions teams at the universities will be choosing from a large pool of very well qualified candidates. Though there is always a need for good fortune in such circumstances, we believe in helping our students to have the best possible chance of attaining their desired place.

Recent concord leavers heading to Oxford or Cambridge in the last two years have studied Engineering, Medicine, Computer Science, History, Architecture, Economics, Law, Biochemistry, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Physics and Biomedical Science.