Cambridge revises standard offer level to include A*

In the forthcoming special edition of the Reporter, the University of Cambridge will report that it was unable to make offers to a record number of students in the last admissions round who gained the standard offer level of AAA at A-level.

It raises the issue again of how difficult it is for admissions tutors to differentiate between the increasing numbers of candidates gaining three As at A-level.

The introduction of the A* grade at A-level has been welcomed by Cambridge as a possible way of addressing this difficulty. Some Colleges have in recent years made use of UMS (uniform mark scheme) data to make offers based on achievement in particular A2 level units or on overall achievement at a UMS score above the threshold for an A grade (480 out of 600).

In view of the desire for both clarity and standardisation of offer levels wherever possible, it has been decided to make use of the opportunity the A* grade presents, and to revise the standard offer level in most subjects from AAA to A*AA for entry in 2010.

The University will continue to make non-standard offers where appropriate. For example, students making applications through the Cambridge Special Access Scheme can expect to have their potential, achievement to date, and other relevant contextual data taken into account when offers are made.

Dr Geoff Parks, Director of Admissions for the Colleges, says

“It’s important to recognise that the usual checks and balances will be in place to ensure that all Cambridge applicants will be given careful, detailed consideration and that this decision won’t disadvantage students from any one given background over another.

Colleges continue to have the discretion to make non-standard offers where appropriate – and I’d encourage any students with the grounds to do so, to make an application through the Cambridge Special Access Scheme. The scheme allows circumstances that might impair a student’s exam performance to be taken into account – including for instance, where an applicant’s school or college has limited success in sending students on to Higher Education and where the applicant’s family has little or no experience of HE – or indeed, where an applicant’s education has been significantly disrupted or disadvantaged by health, schooling or personal problems.”

The impact of this change in admissions policy will be kept under close review by the appropriate University bodies, but it is hoped that it will help to identify the most able applicants and allow them to prove themselves in the public examination period at the end of Year 13.