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5 A* to get to a Russell Group Uni?

This is a segment from an article in The Telegraph

Parents sometimes ask if it’s possible to take their kids “away”, as used to happen at “Easter” during their childhood. Well, in the 21st century, with its state-of-the-art technology and exciting array of 24/7 learning opportunities, I’m delighted to say there is no longer such a thing as “away”. Just as well! As St Matthew’s Gospel so nearly put it: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a child with fewer than five A*s at GCSE to enter a Russell Group university.”

What do you think?

Reply 1

interstitial

Total BS.

/thread

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Reply 2

username638250

Hahahahahaha. Oh dear. I must be an anomaly, then.
EDIT: Satire, phew.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 3

Jkizer

I got extremely mediocre GCSE's (1 A*) and got offers from 3 RG for a pretty competitive course

Its just media talking about stuff they obviously do not know enough about.

Reply 4

tengentoppa

It's not even close to being true. Embarrassing.

Reply 5

lmorgan95

LOL you could get into a almost all russell groups with B's and C's if you had good enough A-levels and personal statement

Reply 6

russellsteapot

Having read the entire article, it's obviously satire. It's part of a pretend 'letter from the headmaster' and is closely followed by a threat to remove any child who is at risk of getting a 'B', and transferring dyslexic children to other schools.

It does raise some interesting points, albeit in an exaggerated comedic manner.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 7

Pro Crastination

Interesting article. I think it should be shown to those complaining about easier exams, maybe it's because we all work a hell of a lot harder than your average secondary/sixth student three or four decades ago...

Having been to a comp (though it wasn't called one, it basically was), I'd argue that I wasn't pressured enough, in actual fact. The teachers really only cared about netting as many C+ grades as they could, so attaining A/A* grades was off your own back... I believe there should be a greater degree of support/encouragement for high acheivers in the state education system.

However... I managed to create my own inspirations in leiu of such support. A great deal of TSR reading arguably brought this about. I managed to get myself sucked into that race to be better than 90%, 95%, 99% of my year, and it wsn't the healthiest of outlooks at all. At once it doesn't become a question of self-improvement but of envy directed towards those with a better knack for exams than you. I believe that this is what such a 'competition culture' creates.

I have a sneeking suspicion that the author is probably critiquing an independent school - as I know of no local state schools that use these tactics. If this is the case, then they might need to reevaluate the choices they have made for their childrens' education.

TL;DR - The article author is essentially right. This constant desire to rank and compare doesn't make 49% happier because they are technically 'above average.' It makes 99% miserable, because they know they are not the best.

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(edited 10 years ago)