Freddie Whittaker and John Dickens for Schools Week cover the findings from our Oxbridge Admissions report.
The Sutton Trust, which has over the years worked closely with the Oxbridge universities on access issues, has called for the streamlining of admissions processes in the wake of research which found the way applications are handled “can differ significantly” from college to college.

But the Universities and Oxford and Cambridge have defended their policies, with Oxford accusing the Trust of “perpetuating some of the most common myths” about its application process and both claiming many of the proposals in the Trust’s report are already common practice.

The report, Oxbridge Admissions, demands a single application process at both universities after claiming there are over 400 possible tests an applicant may need to take.

It also calls for more transparency in the interview process and a review of he usefulness of the entry tests set by colleges.

Sutton Trust chair Sir Peter Lampl (pictured) said more needed to be done to increase the proportion of state schools students attending Oxbridge universities, adding: “Our surveys and experience suggest that many bright state school students are put off by the application process which is both intimidating and complex.”

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