For this week's View from the Top, the head of Eastbourne College explains why he believes the university admissions and interview process is in need of reform...
The three days I spent at Oxford, aged 17, trying to do well in an entrance interview were extremely formative. Although there was a lot of waiting around, that beat being at school and, during that waiting time, in those inspiring surroundings, I met someone who would go on still to be one of my best friends. Thus, I lamented the fact that the move to online interviews appears to be a Covid-keeper for Oxbridge, ending the experience for young aspirants of spending a few days and nights in a College.
However, I have come to believe that their understandable decision presents the opportunity to think differently about the vexed question of personal statements for all UK universities. Recent news stories have shown that personal statement plagiarism continues to rise (and this is not apparently thanks to ChatGPT – they are typically not even that good!). And statements are an arch-artifice anyway – no self-aware person blows their own trumpet like that with any authenticity.
Online video conferencing, with which we have all become familiar during Covid, should be used by all competitive universities for borderline candidates. Ditch the personal statement in favour of a live, adaptable, human test to tease out underlying spark. I know it can be intimidating, but boy-oh-boy, sitting A-level exam papers is pretty intimidating anyway, and a sympathetic interviewer, one-to-one, could easily adopt a gentle approach, allowing the shy to shine.
All schools giving young people interview practice are helping them with their employability, giving them a key life-skill and helping them to build confidence. So, I do not believe this would give an advantage to those with the polish of a private education. An interviewer can choose to disregard that if that is their political position. And, in any case, it wouldn’t be sophistication but genuine passion and interest that they would be looking for. The ‘living voice’ –
viva voce – is not cheatable; it is human; it is good practice for later employment; and universities would get a much better intimation of which young people will be a joy to teach.