Laura Spence is Back!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3537724.stm

shiny

I don't really see what she's moaning about. I know people who got her grades and still got rejected, that's life. Drama queen or what, just get over it.

Reply 4

loftx

7

Ah maybe we can have another thread about her - the last one was great when one of her friends from real life came on to defend her. Ah great times [goes misty eyed] :tongue:

Reply 5

Chubb

2

What a self-rightous tart. Just because you get certain grades doesn't mean that you can get into any where you want - hence having to write a PS and in some cases (like Oxford for this case) have to attend an interview. Perhaps she should be directed to my anti-snobbery society. :tongue:

Reply 6

Hehe, she looks a little bit like Shell from BB. Now for my sensible point - Laura Spence should stay there and never come back. I dislike moaners.

Reply 7

Chubb

2

Why did she get the publicity for it in the first place (yet alone now) though? Look at this for a news story - some girl has got rejected by Oxford and is now moaning about it. Stop the presses! :rolleyes:

Reply 8

Chubb

What a self-rightous tart. Just because you get certain grades doesn't mean that you can get into any where you want - hence having to write a PS and in some cases (like Oxford for this case) have to attend an interview. Perhaps she should be directed to my anti-snobbery society. :tongue:

People are so unfair to Laura Spence. She herself admitted that she should never have been accepted, so she's hardly a "self-rightous tart" It was her headteacher who was the one who did all the moaning, and then because of that she became caught up in a big political discussion, which most people who have experience of the UCAS system will agree had no real meaning as the decisions made usually have very little to do with whether you went to private school or not. I don't see why people criticise her so much, all she's doing is promoting what she saw as a good experience.

Reply 9

Chubb

2

sarah101

People are so unfair to Laura Spence. She herself admitted that she should never have been accepted, so she's hardly a "self-rightous tart" It was her headteacher who was the one who did all the moaning, and then because of that she became caught up in a big political discussion, which most people who have experience of the UCAS system will agree had no real meaning as the decisions made usually have very little to do with whether you went to private school or not. I don't see why people criticise her so much, all she's doing is promoting what she saw as a good experience.

Well I wasn't aware that it was her head teacher though he/she would have to have asked her permission first therefore she is still at least partially responsible for kicking up the fuss. As for the story that shes just released - if you are going to put yourself in the media spotlight then you open yourself up to critisism - she should have learnt this the first time but she obviously hasn't.

Reply 10

Sarky

18

Chubb

Well I wasn't aware that it was her head teacher though he/she would have to have asked her permission first therefore she is still at least partially responsible for kicking up the fuss. As for the story that shes just released - if you are going to put yourself in the media spotlight then you open yourself up to critisism - she should have learnt this the first time but she obviously hasn't.

It wasn't all black and white, these things never are. She did actually say that she agreed with the decision they had made. It was her headteacher and Gordon Brown that jumped on the bandwagon. Yes maybe she shouldn't have done things the way she did, i certainly wouldn't have done. I want to do medicine but don't have the grades, and i think its crazy that she gave up three perfectly good offers to go and study biomedical sciences at Harvard. But people make choices, different ones. It wasn't simply a case of someone kicking up a fuss because they didn't get what they wanted. It was politics.

As for her coming back in the public eye, my guess is that she figured she was going to be recognised going to medical school anyway, so it was better that she approached the press.

Reply 11

Chubb

Well I wasn't aware that it was her head teacher though he/she would have to have asked her permission first therefore she is still at least partially responsible for kicking up the fuss. As for the story that shes just released - if you are going to put yourself in the media spotlight then you open yourself up to critisism - she should have learnt this the first time but she obviously hasn't.

I think she came from a school which was largely unused to Oxbridge applications. I myself experienced several teachers telling me they couldn't believe I was rejected from Cambridge and thought it was an absolute disgrace even though it's quite obvious to me that, while I had the grades, I was very unprepared for my interview and had done little, if any, reading around my subject and this went against me. As for the headteacher asking her permission, you're probably right, although I've seen myself in the local paper before without anyone asking my permission! And I doubt very much that she realised what she was letting herself in for when she agreed. Much of the comments which have been made about snobbery and elitism are often associated with her when in reality it was her headteacher or Gordon Brown who said them.

Reply 12

dave134

sarah101

People are so unfair to Laura Spence. She herself admitted that she should never have been accepted, so she's hardly a "self-rightous tart" It was her headteacher who was the one who did all the moaning, and then because of that she became caught up in a big political discussion, which most people who have experience of the UCAS system will agree had no real meaning as the decisions made usually have very little to do with whether you went to private school or not. I don't see why people criticise her so much, all she's doing is promoting what she saw as a good experience.

Unfortunately the heads valid points got hijacked by Brown et al for political reasons. What should have been debated, is whether the UCAS system is fair to those who have no experience of it.

While things are certainly going to be different now, my aunt applied to Oxford and was unsuccessful. Her school had no real experience of sending anyone to university at all. Apparently her reference consisted simply of "She can make her own clothes and is a good mimic" While that is an extreme example (possibly exaggerated over the years as well) it does show that a school knowing what universities are looking for can greatly help a student in their application process. Unsurprisingly she was not accepted to Oxford. Sussex did accept her, and with a reference like that I cannot quite see why!

My school, a state comprehensive, ran practise interviews for anyone called to interview by their chosen unis. They ran through sample questions, including both the "Why are you here?" style and the technical, subject specific ones. They also reminded us to dress smartly, and other such tips.

Looking in the Durham prospectus for next year, it mentions things to ask your referee to include if they apply to you. For example if your school only offers 3 AS levels then that should be noted so they know that there is nothing you can do about it. If schools are inexperienced then they can inadvertantly write atrocious references, which will lead to the percieved problems with the system.

Reply 13

LS.

8

Yes, be very careful about what you read in the news.... Look at how the media portrayed UK-L in the Edexcel/Maths paper theft.

Reply 14

Chubb

if you are going to put yourself in the media spotlight then you open yourself up to critisism - she should have learnt this the first time but she obviously hasn't.

Hear, hear. I think that if the average UK HR manager saw her name come up - they would probably scrap the application.

Moaning can backfire - especially when it's unnecessary.

Reply 15

dave134

Unfortunately the heads valid points got hijacked by Brown et al for political reasons. What should have been debated, is whether the UCAS system is fair to those who have no experience of it.
QUOTE]

From what I've read, the head didn't really know what he was talking about. I believe he was invited to the Oxford University debating society and didn't have anything really worthwhile to say. He just kept saying they were all snobs and didn't know what they were doing. Unfortunately this seems to be quite a common perception of Oxbridge - people assume that everyone who goes there is really posh and rich and that they are stuck in the dark ages, when in my experience Cambridge was one of the most forward-thinking universities I visited.

Reply 16

LS.

Yes, be very careful about what you read in the news.... Look at how the media portrayed UK-L in the Edexcel/Maths paper theft.

You should never seek media attention. Full stop.

People who do this deserve all they get.

(No offence to MB, whom I quite admire - but if I was in his boots I would have played it drastically differently - and I make no secret of this).

Reply 17

mobbdeeprob

You should never seek media attention. Full stop.

People who do this deserve all they get.

(No offence to MB, whom I quite admire - but if I was in his boots I would have played it drastically differently - and I make no secret of this).

What happened to MB?!

Reply 18

sarah101

What happened to MB?!

Alarmist or what? :wink:

Nothing, from what I can ascertain. It's more what could of happened. Ask him - all that I know is heavily influenced by what I read at the time.

I just have a disdain for the media.

Reply 19