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class war at Bristol?

Is it true that it's really that bad? I've read in the guardian that there is bitter resentment between the 'two classes' and particularly after the new admissions policies it has gone worse. I picked Bristol as my first choice (thus rejecting warwick and ucl *sob*) not because I liked the university but because it did the course I really wanted to do and it was one of the very few uni's that offered it. And now the last thing I'm looking forward to is class wars, as I come from a state school.
Is anyone else facing the same sort of problem? Also, does anyone know which Halls in Bristol have the reputation for not attracting as much grammer and public school students?

Reply 1

VoodooDoll

8

i really can't imagine class being a big deal at university. i'm from a state school and really haven't had any problems with snobbery and what not when i when i went on my open days. if people treat you differently because of your background it really is pathetic and you wouldn't wan to know such shallow people anyway so just ignore them.

Reply 2

W.A.S Hewins

purplerainbow

Is it true that it's really that bad? I've read in the guardian that there is bitter resentment between the 'two classes' and particularly after the new admissions policies it has gone worse. I picked Bristol as my first choice (thus rejecting warwick and ucl *sob*) not because I liked the university but because it did the course I really wanted to do and it was one of the very few uni's that offered it. And now the last thing I'm looking forward to is class wars, as I come from a state school.
Is anyone else facing the same sort of problem? Also, does anyone know which Halls in Bristol have the reputation for not attracting as much grammer and public school students?

Bristol is a tragedy. A genuinely big-time university, with heavyweight academic research and credentials (unlike dear old Durham, the Nice Girls Academy), it gets fed up with the 'Oxbridge failures' tag and tries to broaden its intake. The result: it gets slapped down by the Headmasters' Conference (or whatever its latest name is) and then as a result of all the bad media vibes its applications drop. And of course the attempt to offer admission to disadvantaged students with lower A Levels will affect its grade averages and league table positions.

So Bristol loses all round. As for the HMC it's really just an Oxbridge front organisation: look at the prospectuses of all those schools that belong to it-it's all Oxbridge, Oxbridge, with the implication that everybody else just belongs to some sort of academic lumpenproletariat...

Reply 3

tommyboy

1

W.A.S Hewins

As for the HMC it's really just an Oxbridge front organisation: look at the prospectuses of all those schools that belong to it-it's all Oxbridge, Oxbridge, with the implication that everybody else just belongs to some sort of academic lumpenproletariat...

Hehe... you might have a point there.

Reply 4

Ditzy

1

I heard that, a friend of mine started at Bristol and dropped out because it was so bad.

Reply 5

ruthiepoothie

11

one of my friends is doing law at bristol..and she loves it :smile:

she just went to a normal comprehensive but has made loads of friends and has had no problems whatsoever!! You will be fine and i'm sure you will have a great time :smile:

Reply 6

emom100

8

don't believe everything you beleive in the media. Yes to a certain extent there is some devision but state school pupils are just as guilty of it as the toffs. On my course there is seemingly a stateschool group a a private group but this is because we all slotted in with people we have shared experiences and stuff in common with. Yes there is some antagonism but everyone gets on ok when they have to work together, In one of my classes there is a diverse mix between state and private but you don't notive any rift. As a stateschool pupil i was worried about the toff reputation but it really isn't as bad as the media makes it out to be 9and i'm in the supposedly toff hall).However, on some subjects it is probably worsethan others. Eg classics is bound to be dominated by private pupils cos there arn't many stae schools that offer latin etc.

In halls it is slightly different because you tend to hang around with people in your block etc and you are more likely to mix with a wider variety of people. Also because everyone is aware that they have to get on with their neighbours (at least at first) most people normally make an effot to associate with groups of people they have never really mixed with before, whether thoses differences are upbringing, culture or religion.

Reply 7

Alexander

12

purplerainbow

And now the last thing I'm looking forward to is class wars, as I come from a state school.

So do you think that students from independent schools would like there to be a "class war" situation?

purplerainbow

Also, does anyone know which Halls in Bristol have the reputation for not attracting as much grammer and public school students?

What's wrong with grammar and public school students? Don't you want to meet people from different backgrounds at uni? I'm at an independent school and I'm definitely looking forward to meeting a broader range of people.

Remember that there are no universities at which ex-independent school pupils are in the majority -- so if anyone should be worried about being outnumbered it ought to be us!

Reply 8

kingslaw

14

Class war will always exist. As Marx said 'Class war is the engine of history'.

However, I doubt whether he was talking about Bristol. Just because somebody goes to a state school doesnt necessarily mean they are of a lower class. I know someone from my state sixth form going to Bristol, and I would certainly call them a toff!

Reply 9

Genie1

Hey,

I totally agree with emom100, when you go to uni you will make friends with people who have common interests to you. I came from a state school and it wasn't a problem at all settling in, and my friends are both state and privately educated.

All of the halls in bristol have a mix of people in - even hiatt baker! I was in university hall, which seemed to have a slightly higher proportion of state pupils in, but maybe that was just the block i was living in.

Don't worry about accepting your offer from bristol, you will fit in and you'll have a great time here!

Reply 10

Tek

7

emom100

Why refer to public school students as "toffs"? Doesn't this exhibit a certain sense of disfavour towards said students? Does it not perpetuate dislike and contibute towards this so-called class war? How would you like it if I called you a "chav" or a "scallie" because you went to a state school?

As far as I am concerned, Bristol University is in a real mess. Quite simply, it discriminates against independent schools - not only is any form of discrimination morally wrong, but this kind of discrimination affects students who firstly might not have had any choice in where they went to school and secondly affects those who have no viable alternatives. Take inner London, where there are simply no decent state schools around; the only viable options for a decent education are private schools.

Reply 11

emom100

8

hi tek, i replied to your PM and hopefully i justified to you why i called them "toffs" but it is too long winded to repeat again.

With regards to positive descrimination, you may think that all private school pupils have been descriminated against but Bristol still has one of the lowest proportions of state school kids. The changes in the admission process shows that Bristol wants to attract more state school applicats. Good candidates are rejected from all types of schools for the competition for places. When the daily mail gets on its high horse and shows 4 or 5 independant kids with 4 A's at a-level and an exemplary record it doesn't tell the whole story. Subjects such as english have about 70 places available. something like 400 candidates had straight A's predicted. Tell me how would you pick between numbers of this kind? So yes while undoubtely some deserving independant school pupils get rejected... so do the state schools.

Incidentally, I also thinks this goes the other way as well and i hate the stories about potential oxbridge candidates appearing in the paper harping on about how they got rejected for being in a state school... the truth is they were rejected because they wern't good enough.

Reply 12

Meghan

PhilipsCDRW

I heard rumours that some unis prefer students who get good grades despite going to state school.

had to reply to that... :biggrin:

articles in the newspapers (whichever ones you look at, whether broadsheets or tabloids) tend to play up the state vs private student intake. as far as i can see, the universities accept students having looked at past grades, predicted grades, PS and interview.

if a private student has a PS that isn't as diverse or course-related as a state student, both with the same grades, then the state student is going to get accepted.

class war at Bristol?

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