Getting into Varsity: Comparability, Convergence and Congruence ...

participation agenda will be damaged by the introduction of grade A* if privately educated pupils obtain an even more disproportionately large number of these A* grades—predicted or actual—than they already do for the grade A. For this reason, a number of universities have announced that they will not be using the new grade in their admissions procedures. Others, including Oxford, have announced that they will not use the new grade until it is clear whether it is successful in its aim of identifying the best applicants. Cambridge will be raising its basic offer from ‘AAA’ to ‘A*AA’ beginning in 2010. It has, though, made assurances that it will still consider making allowances for students suffering health problems at the time of the examinations, as well as making lower offers to students from schools and colleges with limited success in sending students on to higher education and from families with little or no experience of higher education.

In 2009, for the first time, an ‘adjustment period’ of 5 days following the publication of GCE examination results allowed candidates who exceeded their estimated grades to seek places in more prestigious courses than the ones they already held offers for. However, universities and colleges have not been required to reserve places for those wishing to ‘upgrade’ during the adjustment period. Vice-Chancellors, senior UCAS staff and commentators alike have pointed out that popular institutions are extremely unlikely to have places to offer at this stage, with one BBC education correspondent describing the adjustment period as a ‘cruel hoax’ on applicants.

Currently, there is a consensus that PQA would be fairer than the existing system, but there is no agreement on how to implement it. Cambridge University has suggested that the GCE examination timetable be brought forward to Easter, allowing the summer for a focused and better-researched approach to university applications. Alternatively, the admissions process could be delayed so that it takes place after the publication of examination results in August (with a likely consequential delay to the start of the first year of university). However, Cambridge University's Director of Admissions has argued that the need to meet the requirements of overseas students presents the largest obstacle to this proposal