Latest news with #Oxbridge
Spectator
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Spectator
An unlikely alliance: Drayton and Mackenzie, by Alexander Starritt, reviewed
Alexander Starritt has form with satire. His 2017 debut The Beast skewered the modern tabloid press, drawing comparisons with Evelyn Waugh's Scoop. For his third novel, Drayton and Mackenzie, he is back at it, mercilessly mocking everything from Oxbridge and management consultants to tech bros and new parents in a story that hinges on whether two unlikely friends can make a success of their tidal energy start-up. It's more fun that it sounds. The narrative opens in the early 2000s with James Drayton – someone who gets his kicks by finishing his maths A-level exam in 20 minutes and who finds undergraduate life disappointingly basic. 'He supposed he'd been naive to think of university as concerned with intellect… At this level, Oxford was just an elementary course in information-processing, a training school for Britain's future lawyers, politicians and administrators,' writes Starritt, using the omniscient voice. Lest this seem too obnoxious, James is self-aware enough to realise that finishing his exams so quickly meant 'he would have to leave the exam room alone while the rest of his class stayed inside together'. One of Starritt's many skills is how he ratchets up the poignancy, creating real characters rather than caricatures. The yang to Drayton's yin comes in the form of Roland Mackenzie, an Oxford slacker who scrapes a 2:2. They're at the same college but barely clock each other. Later, when James is the subject of articles and interviews, he will be asked if it's true that they were both in the same rowing boat. 'James didn't notice him at the time.' After Roland takes a gap year or two teaching in India, he somehow winds up at McKinsey, working alongside James. Roland finds it catastrophically boring. 'But even that he quite enjoyed, since the boringness was so authentic, like going to New York and it being just like the movies.' As the duo strike out on their own, seeking to disrupt electricity generation with a scheme to turn tidal power into light, at least initially, Starritt's granular detail over 500-odd pages skirted a similarly fine line between boring me and impressing me with its authenticity. There are even cameos from the central bankers Ben Bernanke and Mario Draghi as the world economy tanks, although the step-by-step exposition in these chapters is overkill. What with the emotion of the escalating bromance and making James someone 'who hasn't read a novel since university', Starritt goes all out to hook the same sort of elusive male reader who lapped up Andrew O'Hagan's tear-jerking Mayflies. And good luck to him. He certainly hooked me.
The Star
06-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
British edge for Malaysian students
All smiles: (From left) Pike and Prof Lee inking the partnership. ENTRY into Oxbridge and the Ivy League is often competitive. But with the right platform and preparation, the opportunity to receive an education at these prestigious institutions is within grasp. Thanks to the latest partnership between Sunway International Schools (SIS) and Magdalen College School (MCS) Oxford, students in Malaysia are set to benefit from Cambridge International Programmes that open doors to leading universities. Through this partnership, MCS - a premier British school with a distinguished heritage spanning over five centuries and ranked within the top 1% of over 2,400 independent schools in the United Kingdom - will introduce the Waynflete Programme, an extended research initiative that helps prepare students for entry into top-tier universities in the UK. SIS students will also have the opportunity to attend a summer camp at MCS, offering first-hand exposure to British academic culture. To further enhance the British learning experience, bespoke spaces within the SIS campus will be purposefully designed to reflect the traditions and academic rigour of a premier British school. The partnership also represents a major opportunity for academic development and knowledge-sharing between the two schools, benefiting both students and educators. Sunway Education Group chief executive officer Prof Datuk Dr Elizabeth Lee said the collaboration heralds a transformative chapter in the pursuit of providing world-class education. 'This significant milestone not only enhances our educational offerings, but also paves the way for innovative approaches that will benefit students in both nations. 'We eagerly anticipate welcoming the first cohort of the A-Level programme at SIS, prestigiously endorsed and academically led by MCS, this August,' she said in a recent press release. MCS master Helen Pike emphasised the importance of a shared commitment to academic excellence and innovation, while also embracing a holistic approach to nurturing creativity and leadership among students. She said the partnership - MCS' first in Malaysia - is a pivotal opportunity to broaden educational horizons. 'It will allow students to engage with diverse perspectives and experiences, opening doors to a rich tapestry of cultural exchange for an enriched educational experience,' she said. Deputy Head of Mission at the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur David Wallace said the partnership marks an exciting chapter in the UK-Malaysia transnational education journey. 'It reflects our shared commitment to fostering excellence, innovation and cultural exchange – enriching the learning journey while nurturing our next generation of leaders,' he said. According to the press release, MCS consistently delivers exceptional academic outcomes, as proven by the 2024 A-Level results, where 95% of grades were awarded at A*-B, with 81% at A*-A and 42% at A*. In addition, 47 students – more than a quarter of the year group – attained 3A*s or more, while 19 pupils achieved 4A*s or more. The school's academic excellence is complemented by outstanding pastoral care and celebrated achievements across sports, music, art and drama, it added.
Economic Times
02-07-2025
- General
- Economic Times
Best in Class: UK, US highschools take the lead in HSBC Hurun Global Rankings
iStock Westminster School, London London's Westminster School has topped the HSBC Hurun Education Global Highschools list for the third consecutive year, with a commanding academic record and centuries of legacy. The annual index, unveiled this week, ranks the world's top-performing high schools based on student placement into elite universities like Oxbridge and the Ivy to the Hurun report, all Top 10 schools are located either in the United Kingdom or the United States, and together they boast an average history of 278 years. Half of them are co-educational, while the other half are single-sex institutions — three for girls and two for boys. School Snapshots: Westminster School (London) led the list, sending over 40% of its 200 annual graduates to Oxbridge. Boys join at 13, girls at 16. St Paul's School (London) moved to second position, with around 40 of 220 students each year heading to Oxbridge or Ivy League institutions. The Dalton School (New York) fell to third place, still placing 20% of students at top US universities like Harvard and MIT. St Paul's Girls' School (London) remained at fourth, consistently sending a third of its 120 graduates to Oxbridge or the Ivy League. King's College School (London) climbed into the top five, driven by improving placement results, as per the report. Winchester College (UK), a fully boarding institution with 600+ years of history, surged seven spots to rejoin the top tier. The Brearley, Spence, and Collegiate Schools (New York) each maintained strong records, despite minor drops in rankings. With 10th position, Saint Ann's School (Brooklyn) concluded the list. More than 30% of its students progressing to top US colleges. Trends and Geography: Geographic dominance: 45% of the top high schools are in the US, followed by 40% in the UK, said the Hurun list. China ranks third globally with 9% representation. City leaders: London and New York are home to the largest number of top schools, followed by Boston, Washington DC, and Shanghai, which surpassed Oxford. (Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Delhivery survived the Meesho curveball. Can it keep on delivering profits? Why the RBI's stability report must go beyond rituals and routines Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro: Are GLP-1 drugs weight loss wonders or health gamble? 3 critical hurdles in India's quest for rare earth independence Stock Radar: Apollo Hospitals breaks out from 2-month consolidation range; what should investors do – check target & stop loss Add qualitative & quantitative checks for wealth creation. 7 small-cap stocks from different sectors with upside potential of over 25% These 7 banking stocks can give more than 20% returns in 1 year, according to analysts Wealth creation is about holding the right stocks and ignoring the noise. 13 'right stocks' with an upside potential of up to 34%
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Business Standard
30-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Escape Trump era: Why foreign students are flocking back to UK universities
For the past 15 years, Don McMillan, a college-admissions consultant, has worked just down the road from Harvard University, one of the most prestigious schools targeted by his clients from the US and around the globe. This month, he expanded his business 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) and an ocean away to tap into what's becoming a rapidly growing line of work: Advising the students who are souring on America and looking to go to college in the UK instead. 'There's more of an interest now for US students to study in the UK,' said McMillan. 'In the past our American students might only apply to Oxbridge and St. Andrews. Now they will look at a broader range.' The shift is an early indication that President Donald Trump's unprecedented effort to reshape higher education around his America-first politics may turn into a boon for UK universities, whose prestige and English-language curricula make them a natural alternative to those in the US. The main deadline for UK undergraduate admission was at the end of January, too early for the impact of Trump's recent policies to have had an effect. But interest has since surged as his administration started slashing funding, revoking the visas of foreign students and trying to block Harvard's overseas students from entering the US, escalating a clash with the university that's been playing out in court. Studyportals, a platform widely used to research colleges, said that foreign students' searches of British universities rose 10% in the year through May, with the number of those looking at American schools falling by a similar amount. Among Americans, the focus on UK schools was up 12%. An influx would be a welcome shift for UK universities whose finances have been squeezed in recent years as domestic tuition failed to keep pace with rising costs and international enrollment fell short of expectations. Over 40% had deficits in 2024, according to a report last month by the Office for Students, which warned that the pressure could continue if fees from foreign students don't rise as much as expected in the years ahead. The British Council, which promotes UK cultural institutions abroad, said earlier this year that Trump's return to the White House — along with heightened restrictions on studying in Canada and Australia — could increase the number of those opting to come the UK. At Bayes Business School in London, Andre Spicer, the executive dean, has already started trying to recruit them. His school recently hosted its first alumni networking event in Manhattan since the pandemic and he has been utilizing US-educated faculty members in a push to market the school to Americans. One selling point: It costs £50,400 ($69,200) to earn a Master of Business Administration degree in 12 months, less than the cost of the typical two-year programs in the US. 'And you can escape the Trump years,' he said. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government has stopped short of actively encouraging such efforts, in contrast to the European Union, which recently announced a €500 million ($586 million) plan to lure research scientists after the Trump administration started slashing such funding. In fact, facing political pressure from Nigel Farage's anti-immigration Reform UK party, whose popularity has surged in opinion polls to overtake his own Labour Party, Starmer has been weighing steps that could discourage international enrollment. His government is considering imposing a 6% levy on university income from tuition fees from such students, as well as cutting the amount of time that students can stay in the country after graduating to 18 months from two years. Yet those are fairly small disincentives compared with the steps taken by the Trump administration. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio — who earlier this year moved to expel some foreign students who were engaged in anti-Israel demonstrations — said last month that the government is planning to 'aggressively' rescind the visas of Chinese students who have ties to the Communist Party or are studying in 'critical fields.' He also instructed embassies worldwide to stop scheduling interviews for student visas ahead of the US government's decision to implement stricter reviews of applicants' social-media profiles. Amer Mourad, the London-based chief executive officer of Global Study UK, said that has been particularly worrisome to students in the Middle East. Last month, he was contacted by the mother of an Egyptian student who was trying to make fallback plans, worried the US would block his enrollment due to politically oriented social-media posts. Mourad has recently seen other prospective students from countries in the region switching their focus to UK universities instead of those in the US. 'Clearly there is fear,' he said. Ewen Nemeth, an 18-year-old from Chester, in northwest England, was accepted to Edinburgh and Warwick universities but had planned to take a gap year and apply to Harvard, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania for the next year. Now, he's opting for a backup plan — taking an offer from Warwick to start this fall at the school in Coventry, about 95 miles northwest of London. He'll avoid the hassle of working on US applications, and skip the uncertainty of heightened visa scrutiny. 'I would have to devote my entire summer to it and then maybe be rejected because of my social media — that's insane to me,' he said. For Americans, interest in the UK had already been on the rise, with US undergraduate applications up 12% by the January deadline for the upcoming academic year. City St. George's, in London, has been among the beneficiaries. Mattias Frey, deputy dean and department head of media, culture and creative industries, said the number of US graduate students applying to its creative writing program more than tripled in 2025 and he's expanding staff to accommodate them. He said the students haven't been directly citing US politics as a driver of their decisions 'but there's something in the air about it.' 'I would call it a safe space that maybe they're not feeling right now in the United States,' he said. McMillan, the Boston admissions consultant, said he's been picking up on that, too. He said roughly half of the Middle Eastern students he has been advising are planning to apply to an English-speaking university outside the US in the next application cycle, a sharp in increase from just one in five in previous years. For his American clients — who were almost always focused on US schools — it has shot up to 15%. 'I expect this number to rise,' he said. Since Trump's return to the White House, McMillan has spent more time researching and visiting campuses in Europe, where his company already has consultants in Italy and France. This month, the 18-person firm hired someone in the UK for the first time, anticipating it will become a more prominent destination. 'There's a real gap between the administration and the vast majority of Americans who value and understand the importance of this intellectual richness that's coming to the US,' McMillan said. 'We're concerned about the brain drain.'
Times
28-06-2025
- General
- Times
How to get into Oxbridge — by the state schools that do it best
Hereford Sixth Form College has a philosophy that has earned it one of the highest numbers of offers from Oxbridge in the UK. 'Find your weird interest, a niche within your subject, and pursue that,' said Vicky Orsmond, the college's senior progression lead. Rather than worrying about building up an impressive CV of extra-curricular sports, artistic talents, volunteering and leadership roles, Orsmond said students instead pursue the 'super-curricular'. They are encouraged to take a deep-dive into their academic subjects by reading journal articles, debating with fellow enthusiasts and watching talks. It is a formula that has worked. Students at the non-selective college achieved 21 Oxbridge offers last year, a success rate of 37 per cent of the pupils who applied. This compares with a national average of 21 per cent at Oxford and 19 per cent at Cambridge.
