[1] OXFORD: One of the world’s best universities has long struggled to attract students from the poorest parts of Britain. That may be about to change
[1]牛津大学：世界上最好的大学之一长期以来一直在努力吸引来自英国最贫困地区的学生。 这可能即将改变
[2] WHILE at school, the idea of going to Oxford University “might as well have been like going to Mars,” says Varaidzo Kativhu, an 18-year-old from Brierley Hill, a town in the West Midlands. Yet now she is on a foundation year at Lady Margaret Hall, one of the university’s 38 colleges. The scheme, introduced this year, offers smart pupils from tough backgrounds who don’t have the requisite grades a free, year-long course before they go through the regular application process for entry the following year. After the political revolts of 2016, “I think all institutions have to ask what we’re doing to include black, Muslim and white working-class people,” says Alan Rusbridger, a former editor of the Guardian who became principal of Lady Margaret Hall last year.
[2]在学校里，去牛津大学的想法“可能就像去火星一样，”18岁的Varaidzo Kativhu说，他来自西米德兰兹郡的Brierley Hill镇。 然而，现在她在大学38所大学之一的玛格丽特·霍尔女士大学预科课程。 该计划于今年推出，为来自顽固背景的聪明学生提供免费的，为期一年的免费课程，然后再进行下一年的常规申请程序。 在2016年的政治叛乱之后，“我认为所有机构都要问我们在做什么，包括黑人，穆斯林和白人工薪阶层的人，”曾担任玛格丽特·霍尔夫人校长的卫报编辑艾伦·拉斯布里杰说。 去年。
[3] Access is a problem in nearly all good universities, but Oxford, which is the world’s best according to a recent ranking by Times Higher Education magazine, and the alma mater of seven of the past ten British prime ministers, gets criticised for it more often than most. Defenders of the university say the problem lies beyond its ramparts: schools do not send it enough poor, bright candidates. Its critics argue that the admissions process is prejudiced against such children. As a new round of interviews gets under way this month, fresh initiatives are aiming to bring some diversity to its quads.
[3]几乎所有优秀大学的入学都是一个问题，但根据“泰晤士报高等教育”杂志近期的排名，以及过去十位英国首相中有七位的母校，牛津大学受到了批评。 比大多数人更常见。 该大学的捍卫者表示，问题不在于城市问题：学校不会向其发送足够多的贫穷，聪明的候选人。 它的批评者认为招生过程对这些孩子有偏见。 随着本月新一轮访谈的开展，新的举措旨在为其四边形带来一些多样性。
[4] Around 59% of Oxford’s students arrived from state schools this year. That is much lower than the 93% of pupils who are educated by the state nationwide. Yet it is not so far below the 67% of students achieving three “A” grades in A-level exams, the minimum for entrance to Oxford, who come from state schools. And it is far more than in the past (see chart)
[4]今年约有59％的牛津大学学生来自公立学校。 这远远低于全国受过国家教育的93％的学生。 然而，在A-level考试中达到三个“A”级的学生中，有67％的学生不到目前为止，这是来自公立学校的牛津大学入学的最低分。 它远远超过过去（见图表）
[5] But the increasing share of students from state schools disguises the fact that there are parts of the country from which almost no one gets into Oxford, despite having the grades required. Figures seen by The Economist show that between 2010 and 2015, 156 of the UK’s parliamentary constituencies—a quarter of the total—got on average less than one pupil a year into Oxford, despite being home to 12% of all those who got at least three “A” grades in their A-levels and supplying 7% of all applicants to the university. By contrast, the 20 top-performing constituencies accounted for 16% of all successful applicants, despite having just 9% of the students who got three “A” grades.
[5]但是，来自州立学校的学生比例越来越大，这掩盖了这样一个事实，即尽管有所要求的成绩，但几乎没有人进入牛津。 “经济学人”看到的数据显示，在2010年至2015年期间，英国议会选区中有156个 - 占总数的四分之一 - 平均每年不到一名学生进入牛津，尽管在所有那些至少得到的人中占12％。 A级的三个“A”级，并为所有申请人提供7％的大学。 相比之下，尽管只有9％的学生获得了三个“A”级，但表现最好的20个选区占所有成功申请者的16％。
[6] Many poor, bright pupils choose not to apply. Doing so is needlessly tricky, particularly for those whose school sends few people to university, says Sir Peter Lampl of the Sutton Trust, an education charity. Whereas most universities accept applications until January, Oxford (like Cambridge and most medical schools) demands them by October. It sets extra tests, which schools must invigilate. Its interviews are a stomach-lurching prospect.
[6]许多贫穷，聪明的学生选择不申请。 教育慈善机构萨顿信托（Sutton Trust）的彼得•朗普爵士（Sir Peter Lampl）表示，这样做是不必要的，特别是对于那些学校很少有人上大学的人来说。 虽然大多数大学在1月之前接受申请，但牛津大学（如剑桥大学和大多数医学院）要求在10月之前申请。 它设置了额外的测试，学校必须监督。 它的采访是一个令人胃口大开的前景。
[7] Even those poor students who do apply have lower offer-rates than average. Last year one in six candidates from a poor locality was offered a place, compared with one in five of all applicants. That is partly because poor pupils are disproportionatelylikely to apply for the most sought after courses, such as law and medicine. They are also less likely to get the top “A*” grades that a place may depend on.
[7]即使那些申请的贫困学生的录取率也低于平均水平。 去年，来自贫困地区的六分之一的候选人获得了一席之地，而所有申请人中只有五分之一。 这部分是因为贫困学生不成比例地申请最受追捧的课程，如法律和医学。 他们也不太可能获得一个地方可能依赖的顶级“A *”等级。
[8] The university uses increasingly sophisticated data analysis to put applicants’ academic records into perspective, upgrading the results in GCSEs (the exams taken at 16) of candidates from bad schools. It has tried to make interviews as transparentas possible, publishing sample questions online (“Should interviews be used for selection?” is one). And it has pumped cash into sending outreach officers around the country in an attempt to change perceptions. Yet poorer children remain less likely to apply, slightly less likely to be made an offer and to get the necessary grades. “We haven’t been able to fix that with conventional forms of outreach,” says Andrew Bell, the senior tutor at University College.
[8]该大学使用越来越复杂的数据分析来提高申请人的学术记录，提升GCSE（16年考试）的成绩。 它试图尽可能透明地进行访谈，在线发布样本问题（“应该使用访谈进行选择吗？”）。 它已经向全国各地派遣外联官员提供现金，试图改变看法。 然而，较贫穷的儿童申请的可能性较小，提出申请的可能性略低，并且获得必要的成绩。 “我们无法用传统的外展形式来解决这个问题，”大学学院的高级导师安德鲁贝尔说。
[9] So some colleges are trying new approaches. One advantage of the college system, says Samina Khan, the university’s director of admissions, is that it encourages innovation. As one don puts it: “The only way to get Oxford colleges to change is to make them compete.” The Lady Margaret Hall foundation year was based on a scheme at Trinity College Dublin, which found that students from tough backgrounds with low grades did as well as their peers after a year’s catch-up. It is low risk, says Mr Rusbridger, since the college is not accepting anyone it would not otherwise have let in. Participants are nervous about reapplying, but hopeful. “I’ve learnt more in the past seven weeks than I did in the previous two years,” says Ms Kativhu.
[9]因此，一些大学正在尝试新方法。 大学招生主任萨米娜·汗说，大学系统的一个优点是它鼓励创新。 正如人们所说的那样：“让牛津大学改变的唯一方法就是让他们参与竞争。”玛格丽特女士大学预科课程的基础是都柏林圣三一学院的一项计划，该计划发现来自低年级背景的学生 以及一年后赶超的同龄人。 Rusbridger先生表示风险很低，因为学院不接受任何人不会接受的任何人。参与者对重新申请感到紧张，但充满希望。 “我在过去七周里学到的东西比过去两年学到的多，”Kativhu女士说。
[10] University College will take a different approach. Next year it plans to add 10% more places, reserved for those who would previously have just missed out on a spot, and who come from a bad school in an area that sends few children to university. A one-month summer school will hone their skills. Tutors at other colleges are paying close attention.
[10]大学学院将采取不同的方法。 明年它计划增加10％的名额，专为那些以前刚刚错过现场的人而来，并且来自一个很少有孩子上大学的地区的坏学校。 一个月的暑期学校将磨练自己的技能。 其他大学的导师正在密切关注。
[11] Meanwhile, outreach efforts are increasingly focused on raising attainment in school, rather than merely awareness of the university. Pembroke College has developed five specialist subject centres in sixth-form colleges in London and northwest England to familiarise pupils with the style of learning at university. Since 2009, Oxford has put on summer schools for sixth-formers. It works with Target Oxbridge, a charity which aims to get black pupils into Oxford and Cambridge, and Into University, which runs “learning centres” for 900 children from poor families.
[11]与此同时，外展工作越来越注重提高学业成绩，而不仅仅是提高对大学的认识。 彭布罗克学院在伦敦和英格兰西北部的六年级学院开设了五个专业学科中心，以帮助学生熟悉大学学习风格。 自2009年以来，牛津大学为第六代学生开设了暑期学校。 它与Target Oxbridge合作，该慈善机构旨在让黑人学生进入牛津和剑桥，以及进入大学，该大学为来自贫困家庭的900名儿童提供“学习中心”。
[12] Critics say Oxford has been slow to put in place the long-term programmes working with young children which research suggests are the best way to increase participation. Several universities even run schools. But there are signs that Oxford appreciates the scale of the task. In a couple of decades, it may no longer be seen as symptomatic of social immobility if a prime minister passes through Oxford on her way to Westminster.
[12]批评人士说，牛津大学在制定与幼儿一起工作的长期计划方面进展缓慢，研究表明这是增加参与的最佳方式。 几所大学甚至开办了学校。 但有迹象表明，牛津大学非常重视这项任务的规模。 几十年后，如果总理在前往威斯敏斯特途中经过牛津，它可能不再被视为社会不动的症状。
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