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by andrew1 5628 days ago
Have you done any research on this?

Assume for a moment that the exam results of students follow a bell shaped curve and that the mean and standard deviation of exam results in the state and private sector are the same, then you would expect the proportion of state school pupils accepted by Oxbridge to be the same as the proportion in the general school system. If instead we assume that the mean in the private sector is higher then you would no longer expect the same proportion to be accepted, and indeed that disproportionately many private sector students would get in.

I'm not saying this is the case (although private school students probably do do better in exams on average), but without knowing anything about the situation how can you accuse them of discrimination? The 'oh, I saw a really good person get turned away' argument is silly. Some colleges only offer a few places for some subjects but are presented with 20+ students who all have predicted straight As, good UCAS forms etc. It's inevitable that some good students will not get in, and it doesn't imply discrimination.