16th May 2012 12:44
By Blue Tutors
Poor showing for State Schools in Grayling’s College
The TES reports today that Grayling’s New College has offered places to 91 students for a September start, only 22% of which will be from state schools. From an application pool of 350 the 91 students were chosen and offered places because of their potential to achieve 3 As at A level or at least AAB. As such the college is naturally aligning itself with Oxbridge candidates, although it is as yet unable to award degrees.
Those 91 students can expect to receive at least 12 ‘serious contact hours’ per week, which if that means tutorial and seminar time is indeed much greater than that experienced at most Oxbridge colleges. The students are also advised that they will receive approximately twice the work load of a normal university. It will be interesting to see how the inaugural year of the college goes. How many of those 91 students, no doubt bristling with pride at having been accepted to such a potentially illustrious college at the moment, will survive the double workload and teaching intensity that the college promises to deliver?
The college has offered several scholarships and exhibitions, allowing 7 students whose annual family income is below £25,000 full scholarships. So, while it seems to be encouraging applications from state schools, with such generous funding offers, its actual population will be made up of mostly those who come from higher income families and have attended private schools.