I’m not going to lie, I had the best time of my life during my last two years of school at sixth form. My friendships got even stronger, I loved my lessons (maybe not Geography, odd that I then took that for my degree…) and had a great time as part of the Sixth Form Committee. But what I definitely lacked was more support as I chose where I wanted to apply for higher education. Being told by a certain Mr X, the Careers Adviser, not to apply to Oxford certainly didn’t put me off applying, but it could have done. I am so glad that I ignored his advice and am now working as part of my job at OUSU to support Target Schools and many of other great Access initiatives across the University.

So when about a month ago now Future First approached me and asked if I (OUSU really) wanted to partner with them for the Back to School Week I seized the opportunity (and with slightly more fervor in the knowledge that Cambridge had declined). The ‘Back to School’ campaign launched by social enterprise charity Future First, is aiming next week (the 12-19th October) to encourage more people to join their already 50,000 strong network of ex-pupils. Being part of this network means that you, whether you left school just this year or 10 years ago now, can return to your school, meet current pupils and talk to them about what you’ve done since you left school.

We can all be role models for school pupils, it doesn’t matter if they don’t want to go to Oxford or apply for higher education, it’s about inspiring students, raising aspirations and ensuring that pupils apply for what they want to do and aren’t put off by a lack of information or the wrong advice. Private schools are great at keeping up with old pupils and it’s time for us to make sure this happens in state schools too. And it doesn’t matter if you were privately educated or are an international student, you can sign up on their website too to keep in touch and get involved in local widening participation events in the Oxford area.

I’ve already been back to school a couple of times, once as a Royal Geographical Society Ambassador (how cool am I?) and a second time to chat to students who were thinking of making an application to Oxbridge and had loads of questions about which college/course/the social life etc. Now I want to be part of a bigger social movement. One that is growing fast and is making it’s way across national state schools. Future First and their campaign ‘Back to School’ week are meeting this challenge head on, ensuring that alumni networks are created and used effectively to support and inspire pupils.

I’ve been challenged as part of this partnership to get 1000 Oxford alumni, students and staff to sign up. But right now I’d like to challenge you.

If you want to get involved, and be a part of this social enterprise movement then sign up on their website by clicking here.

There are certain assumptions built into British society. One of the most basic of them is that the country’s educational landscape is dominated by Oxford and Cambridge. The two are not only known as Britain’s oldest universities, but its best. University league tables continue to generally confirm this, with Oxford and Cambridge, often interchangeably, claiming the positions of first and second place in the UK. However, there does increasingly seem to be a widening field of competition between the top universities in the UK, which is especially reflected in world rankings.

Now, while not predicting a three way Boat Race any time soon. What appears to be happening is that the traditional two-way rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge is slowly becoming a three-way rivalry that includes some London-based universities, as the gap in quality narrows between them.

It is worth being specific about the London universities we are talking about here. They are University College London (UCL), Kings College London (KCL), the London School of Economics (LSE) and Imperial College London. The first three are all constituent colleges of the University of London, while Imperial left the body and became independent in July 2007.

The increasing challenge, presented by London universities, was reflected in the QS World University Rankings, published last month. The rankings placed both UCL and Imperial above Oxford. The question therefore arises could these London universities soon overtake Oxford and Cambridge? This seems unlikely at the moment. 

One study does not provide enough evidence to establish the existence of a trend. However, the recent Times Higher Education rankings reached some similar results. This is represents a break from the past, since previously Oxford and Cambridge could rely on their reputations, if not of overwhelming superiority then of substantial superiority, to attract the most talented students. Now, they must compete for them.

‘Oxbridge’ and the London universities come from two starkly different traditions. The amazing longevity of Oxford (founded in 1116) and Cambridge (founded in 1209) seems to hold much of the secret to their success. Both have a tradition of excellence, quite literally over hundreds of years. In fact almost no other educational institutions, in the world, have had as much time, as Oxford or Cambridge, to perfect teaching methods. Finally, the distinctive tutorial system (or ‘supervisions’ if you like) is often seen as the key to the educational success of both universities.

The London universities under discussion bear a very different profile. They are comparative upstarts, as they were all founded in the 19^th century. They were established with a strong Victorian ethos different to that of Oxford and Cambridge. No doubt, the London universities also draw vitality from the city of London itself. London has an intimidating number of libraries, which makes it a natural powerhouse of learning. Furthermore, the diversity of London and its status as one of the global capitals of the world makes it a centre of debate, which naturally attracts an international body of both students and staff.

However, the whole concept of university league tables is rather subjective and worthy of some scepticism. The result depends on the criteria, which one believes makes a ‘great’ university. Even the weighting of different criteria can lead to radically different outcomes. In addition, there seems to be an inbuilt bias in favour of English-speaking countries in the world rankings, as there is a rather suspicious predominance of American universities on the lists. For example, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, was the only non-British European university to be in the top 20 of the Times Higher Education rankings. 

What does seem true is there are smaller differences between the top universities, in the UK, and that Oxford and Cambridge are no longer just competing against each other nationally. Oxford and Cambridge have for a long time been competing with other universities on an international scale, this is now increasingly becoming the case on a national scale too. Past success is no longer the harbinger of future success. League tables act as a warning against complacency in an increasingly competitive environment. British universities are one of the things the country can be proud of and, if you can bear to use the phrase, is an area where Britain continues ‘to punch above its weight’. If there are more universities capable of providing an education closer to that, which Oxford and Cambridge do, then that is surely a good thing.

YES:

First of all, University itself is filled with new challenges and experiences, new people and new rules. Even for second years who are helping, Fresher’s week is a mixture of nervous energy and excitement, and from experience, it’s also tumultuous. After being looked after for so long by our parents, stepping out into independence can be a big sigh of relief – followed quickly by panic.The realization that we are now “adults”, responsible for our own households and finances, our own meals and shopping and goodness knows what else, can be a bit of a cold shower. The jump from high school to college is relatively minor in comparison to the jump to University.

Upon arriving here we know relatively few people, if any, and we’re essentially living with strangers for a few days until we get to know them. While we rapidly make friends and learn who the people in our homes are, being by oneself for the first time can be intimidating. And that’s just attending university in general. The University of Oxford is amongst the best in the world – surveys and rankings regularly place Oxford in the top ten, if not the top five. In fact, Oxford was tied second place with Harvard on the Times Higher Education ranking this year, trailing closely behind the California Institute of Technology. Such a high-ranking university immediately illicits fear and apprehension in even the most fearsome of freshers.

While Fresher’s week may not seem too intimidating, the prospect of your first essay and first tutorial is nerve-wracking. To be in a room with someone who is a world-renowned expert in their field, to have your work criticized by someone who probably wrote the book on the subject, and to be expected to defend oneself, is pretty intimidating. I know that for my first tutorials, I was scared – I had never had to defend myself so vocally or quickly before. And the expected workload, the jump from reading perhaps a few chapters a week as homework to reading books for only one essay, is a massive challenge. Confronted with an enormous reading list on the first week, so endless it fills you with a dull, aching sort of dread, is enough to instill fear into the hearts of nervous freshers.

And not even a skype session with your friends from home – an exercise designed to momentarily transport yourself outside the Oxford bubble – reminds you sharply of how much work you have, and how little your friends are doing. Facebook photos of them partying while you are well into your third essay rubs salt into a fresher’s over-worked wounds.

Oxford, as a whole, is intimidating for everyone and embodies the most impossible paradox – It is the one place where probably everyone in the room is cleverer than you, and it is one of the few places where you are expected to be the cleverest person in the room. While most freshers probably enjoyed coming top in their class throughout school and Sixth Form, you quickly become accustomed to an environment where you no longer come out on top on every occasion. Oxford is a lesson in failure as much as success. While you grow used to it over time, and it becomes normal, the feeling of intimidation never really leaves you. But, if it makes you feel better, everybody will be feeling in the same, everybody has some adjustment issue.

Jack Davies 

NO: 

No. As only a handful of places in the UK where red chinos can be worn with impunity, I can categorically state that Oxford is not intimidating.

The university can try all it likes to force you to adhere to its draconian traditions but you still live in a world of Ginsters, Wrigley’s Extra and Alan Carr. While a “Provost” or a “Warden” or a “Gate Keeper” talks Latin at you before you can eat your dinner because it’s really important, remember that somewhere out there E4 is still showing repeats of The Big Bang Theory and E4+1 is still showing repeats of The Big Bang Theory.

If you didn’t feel gut-punched when you opened your parcel from Ede and Ravenscroft and felt the quality of your new gown, I’d wager that your Bridesheaded preconceptions were shattered at some point this week. Around Tuesday or Wednesday, you probably realised that what Waugh didn’t tell you was that when a drunk fresher vomits through your window, you’ll probably end up dragging them back to their college while they whine about how “me and Jonathon can actually make the long-distance thing work, actually” because they can “get with other people, but nothing more”. Eighteen year olds at Oxford are still eighteen year olds.

Mummy and Daddy might have abandoned you to “face the real world” but rest assured you won’t be facing it here. A team of scouts will clean your kitchen, hoover your room and empty your bin all so you can finish that Medieval commentary so salient to the future of mankind. The biggest inconvenience you’ll face is the social embarrassment when they come into your room wearing a protective masks because the beans on toast near your laptop is really starting to smell.

The university removes every obstacle from your life to ensure that you can (though you won’t) work every minute for the next three years. Your intellect will grow while your common sense rots away to the point when the most inconsequential problem seems insurmountable. The “Essay Crisis” is a great example. At three in the morning when you just don’t have time to finish that problem sheet for your 10am tute, you’ll definitely be able to heighten your productivity by bemoaning your plight on four different social media platforms, while Oxford’s homeless sit shivering on Cornmarket. “Losing my essay crisis V!!!!!!!! #Pro-at-crastination!#”

If you spent your summer watching Newsnight for fear of seeming stupid when sparring with some intellectual dynamo between the hors d’oeuvres and the fish course at Freshers’ formal, you needn’t have bothered. Your future Nobel Prize winners will probably be chewing face at Park End in second week and have blown their loan by fourth.

Will Railton