Confirmation of offers 2021

The College looks forward to welcoming a new cohort of undergraduates in October this year. We know how challenging the last year and a half has been for students and their teachers and we are working to ensure that the transition from school to University is as smooth as possible.

When offers were made in January, the majority of our offer-holders had yet to complete their qualifications; for this reason the offers that they received were conditional. Meeting these conditions involves achieving certain results at A-level or the equivalent. We sympathise with students who may be anxious about meeting their conditional offers, in particular this year with the disruption caused by the pandemic and the way that results are being calculated through teacher assessed grades.

Students who meet the conditions of their offers will have their places confirmed. Every year, a number of candidates holding conditional offers do not meet the terms of their offer; this does not mean that their place is automatically declined. Instead, in line with the approach agreed by all colleges, we assess each case individually, taking a range of factors into account including re-marks, appeals against the exam board, and extenuating circumstances. We are actively liaising with offer-holders and their schools to ensure that any and all mitigating factors have been given full and careful consideration. In June we wrote to offer-holders and to their referees to explain the process and to ask for details of any mitigating factors that should be taken into account. In cases where candidates do not meet the conditions of their offers, these details will be reviewed alongside the other information that we hold including test scores, evaluations of written work, and performance in interviews. Once we have assessed this information we will confer with the departmental coordinator to ensure that decisions reached by the College are consistent with those across the University and to ensure that a fair and transparent process is followed in admitting students to the College.

We also recognise that the transition from school to University can be both academically and personally challenging and that it may be particularly difficult this year given the disruptions that students have experienced. For this reason, in addition to the wide range of help available across the University, the College is investing heavily in student support: we have developed a new programme focusing on study skills and are recruiting three specialist study-skills lecturers, one in Humanities and Social Sciences, one in Mathematics and Physical Sciences, and one in the Medical and Life Sciences. We have also created a new ‘Student Support Advisor’ role; amongst other things, the Advisor well be responsible for coordinating pre-start support for students in need of additional help.

As a friendly and welcoming college, with a generous provision of bursaries, welfare resources, and many opportunities for academic and personal development, we strongly believe that we have a lot to offer all students and are committed to ensuring that we recruit the very best students from all backgrounds.