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Concord College vs Cardiff Sixth Form?

When I search online, I see that Concord college has lower A*- A percentage than Cardiff, however they have more students getting into Oxbridge (based on Cambridge and Oxford's admissions statistics).

Why is this so?? Where are the students going?

I'm not saying that Oxbridge is the best choice for students but surely a top performing independent college won't have so few students going to Oxbridge...

I'll appreciate if any students can share your opinions on this. Alternatively, feel free to share about your experience at either college if you are comfortable doing so :smile:

I'm deciding between these 2 colleges.
Hi, I am currently Y12 studying at Dulwich College. From my experience and what I hear, Cardiff should be much better. From what I see, it seems like your grades are very good achieving straight A*, and is aiming for the best universities in the world. I believe in this case, more academic college is much better, and Cardiff is the one. The reason why I am saying this is because if you wanted to enjoy college life, have variety of experience, concord would be much better. However, Oxbridge don't really care about your extra curricular activities unless they are directly related to your academic achievements. This can include societies, clubs, etc. and academic societies are not the best in Concord from what I hear, so I suggest you prioritize Cardiff Sixthform College. Also, if you haven't considered, grammar schools will be even better. Due to recent raise in private school fees with 20% VAT, a lot of bright students left private/public schools to grammar schools. And to be honest with you, from next year onwards, grammar schools will probably be better then both those colleges. So if I were you, I would definitely consider top grammar schools.
Reply 2
Original post by Haejoon Y
Hi, I am currently Y12 studying at Dulwich College. From my experience and what I hear, Cardiff should be much better. From what I see, it seems like your grades are very good achieving straight A*, and is aiming for the best universities in the world. I believe in this case, more academic college is much better, and Cardiff is the one. The reason why I am saying this is because if you wanted to enjoy college life, have variety of experience, concord would be much better. However, Oxbridge don't really care about your extra curricular activities unless they are directly related to your academic achievements. This can include societies, clubs, etc. and academic societies are not the best in Concord from what I hear, so I suggest you prioritize Cardiff Sixthform College. Also, if you haven't considered, grammar schools will be even better. Due to recent raise in private school fees with 20% VAT, a lot of bright students left private/public schools to grammar schools. And to be honest with you, from next year onwards, grammar schools will probably be better then both those colleges. So if I were you, I would definitely consider top grammar schools.

Thanks for the valuable insight, unfortunately I'm an international student so it will be hard for me to go to a local school.

Yep, Cardiff seem to be doing much better academically compared to Concord, but I don't understand why their Oxbridge success rate seems to be quite low compared to others ☹️
Reply 3
Original post by Elfie20
When I search online, I see that Concord college has lower A*- A percentage than Cardiff, however they have more students getting into Oxbridge (based on Cambridge and Oxford's admissions statistics).
Why is this so?? Where are the students going?
I'm not saying that Oxbridge is the best choice for students but surely a top performing independent college won't have so few students going to Oxbridge...
I'll appreciate if any students can share your opinions on this. Alternatively, feel free to share about your experience at either college if you are comfortable doing so :smile:
I'm deciding between these 2 colleges.

What kind of campus do you want?

If only a city campus is right for you, then Cardiff it will be. But, if you are aiming for Oxbridge, then surely the more collegiate campus of Concord would be better for you.

How does one school get excellent results than another? Better teaching? More selective on their intake? Getting rid of poorly performing students mid-course? Forcing students to sit their exams in a nearby centre, so they don't bring down the statistics?

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