University admissions -- A foot in the door
[1]OXFORD: One of the world’s best universities has long struggled/'strʌɡl/to attract students from the poorest parts of Britain. That may be about to change
[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 therequisite/'rɛkwəzɪt/grades a free, year-long course before they go through the regular application process for entry the following year. After the political revolts/rɪ'volt/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/'ɡɑrdɪən/who became principal/'prɪnsəpl/of Lady Margaret Hall last year.
requisite/‘rɛkwəzɪt/
adj. 必备的，必不可少的；需要的
Lady Margaret Hallhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Margaret_Hall,_Oxford
revolts/rɪ'volt/
n. 反抗；叛乱；反感
working-class
adj. 工人阶级的；劳动阶级的
Guardian/'ɡɑrdɪən/
n. [法] 监护人，保护人；守护者
principal/'prɪnsəpl/
n. 首长；校长；资本；当事人
[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/'ælmə/mater of seven of the past ten Britishprime ministers, gets criticised for itmore often than most.Defenders of the university say the problem lies beyond its ramparts/'ræmpɑ:t/: schools do not send it enough poor, bright candidates/'kændɪdət/. Its critics argue that the admissions process is prejudiced/'prɛdʒədɪst/against such children. As a new round of interviewsgets under waythis month, fresh initiatives are aiming to bring some diversity[dai'və:səti]to its quads.
alma/'ælmə/
n. 阿尔玛（女子名）；舞女；歌女
prime ministers
首相，总理
ramparts/'ræmpɑ:t/
n. 壁垒；垒壁阵（rampart复数）
prejudiced /'prɛdʒədɪst/ against
adj. 怀偏见的；有成见的；偏颇的
gets under way
启航
开船
出发
（事业等）开始实现（get under way的第三人称单数）
[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).
[5]But the increasing share of students from state schoolsdisguisesthe 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’sparliamentaryconstituencies—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 supplying7% 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.
parliamentaryconstituencies议会选区
[6]Many poor, bright pupils choose not to apply.Doing so isneedlesslytricky,particularly for those whose school sends few people to university, says Sir Peter Lampl of the Sutton Trust, an education charity/'tʃærəti/. Whereas most universities accept applications until January, Oxford (like Cambridge and most medical schools) demands them by October. It sets extra tests, which schools mustinvigilate. Its interviews are astomach-lurching prospect.
trickyADJIf you describe a task or problem astricky, you mean that it is difficult to do or deal with. 难对付的
[7]Even those poor students who do apply have loweroffer-ratesthan average. Last year one in six candidates from a poorlocalitywas offered a place, compared with one in five of all applicants.That is partly because poor pupils aredisproportionatelylikely to apply for the mostsought aftercourses, such as law and medicine.They are also less likely to get the top “A*” grades that a place may depend on.
[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 transparent as possible, publishing sample questions online (“Should interviews be used for selection?” is one). And it haspumpedcash into sendingoutreachofficers around the country in an attempt to changeperceptions. 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'tʊtɚ/at University College.
[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.
foundation yearhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_programme
[10]University College will take a different approach. Next year it plans to add 10% more places, reserved for those who would previously have justmissed outon a spot, and who come from a bad school in an area that sends few children to university. A one-month summer school willhone/hon/their skills. Tutors at other colleges are paying close attention.
hone/hon/V-TIf youhonesomething, for example a skill, technique, idea, or product, you carefully develop it over a long period of time so that it is exactly right for your purpose. 磨砺
[11]Meanwhile, outreach efforts are increasingly focused on raising attainment/ə'tenmənt/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/fəˈmɪljəˌraɪz/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.
attainment/ə'tenmənt/
n. 达到；成就；学识
familiarise/fəˈmɪljəˌraɪz/
vt. 使熟悉（等于familiarize）
sixth-formers
（英）六年级中学生
centres or center
http://grammarist.com/spelling/center-centre/
sixth-form
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_form_college
[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/'sɪmptə'mætɪk/of social immobility/ˌɪmoˈbɪlətɪ/if a prime minister passes through Oxford on her way to Westminster.
put in place
到位；落实到位；正在实施
long-term programmes 长期计划
symptomatic/'sɪmptə'mætɪk/
adj. 有症状的；症候的
immobility/ˌɪmoˈbɪlətɪ/
n. 不动，固定
symptomaticof social immobility
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Words
requisite/‘rɛkwəzɪt/
adj. 必备的，必不可少的；需要的
prejudiced /'prɛdʒədɪst/ against
adj. 怀偏见的；有成见的；偏颇的
revolts/rɪ'volt/
n. 反抗；叛乱；反感
working-class
adj. 工人阶级的；劳动阶级的
Guardian/'ɡɑrdɪən/
n. [法] 监护人，保护人；守护者
principal/'prɪnsəpl/
Sentences
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 supplying7% of all applicants to the university.
Many poor, bright pupils choose not to apply. Doing so is needlessly tricky, particularly for those whose school sends few people to university,
Even those poor students who do apply have lower offer-rates than average.
That is partly because poor pupils are disproportionately likely to apply for the most sought after courses, such as law and medicine.
has tried to make interviews as transparent as possible, publishing sample questions online (“Should interviews be used for selection?” is one)
The only way to get Oxford colleges to change is to make them compete.”
which found that students from tough backgrounds with low grades did as well as their peers after a year’s catch-up.
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