The key to Oxbridge?

Education Editor, Richard Garner takes a look at the new edition of our book and ponders how 'knowledge of a banana may be the key to Oxbridge entry.'

Speaking to the Independent, the book's editor's Rachel Spedding and Jane Welsh reaffirm that with many questions 'there is seldom a right answer. You do not need an encyclopaedic memory to answer Oxbridge questions successfully, nor do you have to be a genius in the making. Oxbridge interview questions are designed to get applicants thinking laterally and logically and test how they use their existing knowledge, ascertaining whether the applicant will thrive, learning in the intimate environment of the tutorial or supervision system and whether the tutor will enjoy teaching them for the next three or potentially more years.'

The article concludes with three questions (and answers) posed in the book: 'Can you be trained for cracking the Oxford and Cambridge admissions process? Can you copy what those who have done it successfully did and expect the same results? So does this mean there is nothing you can do to prepare yourself?" The answer to all three, we say, is no.

To read the full article, simply click here.

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