“The best independent schools are stretching their most able pupils,” he said. “There are ways in which state-school pupils are not as well guided as applicants from independent schools. "   more »

The authors say: “This report does not prove that the degree classification system is flawed, but it certainly raises questions that need to be addressed.” They note that 60.9 per cent of students of physical sciences at Plymouth University receive a 2:1 or first-class degree for working 20 hours a week.

At Cambridge, where students may have twice the A-level points, they work 45 hours a week for the same class of degree.   more »

Although the title sounds exclusively Classical, the piece is about the entrance interview at Cambridge. Worth reading, for any teacher advising Oxbridge hopefuls.   more »

Cambridge has posted a notice on its website telling youngsters: “Your choice of AS and A-level subjects can have a significant impact on the course options available to you at university.   more »

The Guardian league tables put university Classics departments in an order based on 7 criteria, including amount spent per pupil and inclusiveness.   more »

This year's ARLT Summer School was held at Royal Holloway, which I had never visited before.

I was impressed. I picked up a copy of Quid Novi?, the four page brochure for schools, and liked the Editorial with its robust defence of the Classics and its news of expansion in the department.   more »

There are people ready to advise your students on how to get into the best university, apparently. It's big in America, and it is probably coming here.   more »

News from The Times today suggests that some universities are to run a quota system limiting the proportion of Independent School candidates they admit. While the majority of State Schools deprive their pupils of the Classics, it occurs to me that this could lead to a reduction in Classics undergraduates.Make your own judgement:   more »

The magazine of my old college contains this interesting insight into admission proceedures from the Admissions Tutor (Arts), Dr. Andrew Thompson.   more »

Here's the 2005 universities' pecking order in Classics, according to The Guardian.   more »

Apparently 1500 hopefuls will take a kind of super intelligence test, which, the inventors hope, will prove a better guide than A level grade predictions. Not everyone thinks it is a good idea:   more »

Sample questions from an American test show the kind of problem that all candidates for universities will have to tackle if two exam boards have their way.   more »

The Times has a list of UK universities with Classics departments, and some indicators of how demanding and successful they are. The link is here, for reference. The Guardian's rather fuller table is here.   more »