UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD
Ref: FOI/20190925/3
17 October 2019
Reply to request for information under Freedom of Information of Act
Your Ref
Email dated 25 September 2019
Address
whatdotheyknow.com
Request
Could I have the following information about admission into the undergraduate
Maths (G100) course for the admission cycles 2016, 2017 and 2018:
1) Number of applicants taking the IB diploma with 7 subjects
2) Number of successful applicants with IB diploma and 7 subjects
3) Mean grade of applicants taking 7 subjects in the IB
4) Mean grade of successful applicants taking 7 subjects in the IB
5) Criteria for shortlisting for interview ranked by importance of criteria
6) Weighting of the criteria (MAT, GCSEs, predicted grades, etc.)
Dear Rohan Soni
I write in reply to your request for the above information.
ITEMS 1 - 4
Applications with 7 IB Subjects
10
Average IB Subject Grade of Applicants with 7 IB Subjects
6.2
Offers made to Applications with 7 IB Subjects
5
Average IB Subject Grade of Offer Holders with 7 IB Subjects 6.4
Notes:
Applicants may change course during the application process. The course shown here
reflects the most recent course on record.
Successful applicants are defined as those in receipt of an offer
Applications with (exactly) 7 subjects at International Baccalaureate Standard, or Higher
Level, where the subject grade conforms to a numerical result are shown.
We consider that disclosure of this information in the form requested might enable those with
access to other information or knowledge (e.g. those associated with individuals who are known to
have applied) to identify individuals and learn new information about those individuals. For this
reason, we have aggregated the requested admissions cycle years.
2
In taking these measures, we are applying the exemption in section 40(2) of the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Section 40(2) provides an exemption from
disclosure for information that is the personal data of an individual other than the requester, where
disclosure would breach any of the data protection principles in Article 5 of the General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR). We consider that disclosure of the information requested in the exact
form requested would breach the first data protection principle, which requires that personal data is
processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner. Disclosure would be unfair to the individuals
concerned, as it would be contrary to their reasonable and legitimate expectations. They would not
reasonably expect that information about their qualifications or other information relating to their
application to Oxford would be made public under the FOIA without their consent.
For the disclosure of personal data to be lawful, it must have a lawful basis under Article 6 of the
GDPR. There are six possible lawful bases in Article 6; we do not consider that any of them would be
satisfied in respect of the disclosure.
The exemption in section 40(2) is an absolute exemption and is not subject to the public interest test
provided for in section 2(2)(b) of the FOIA. To the extent that the public interest is relevant in this
case, the University considers it is satisfied by the attached information.
ITEMS 5 & 6
The admissions criteria are published on the following webpages:
http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses-listing/mathematics
https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/study-here/prospective-undergraduates/how-
apply/admissions-criteria
INTERNAL REVIEW
If you are dissatisfied with this reply, you may ask the University to review it, by writing to the Head
of Information Compliance at the following address:
University Offices
Wellington Square
Oxford
OX1 2JD
Alternatively, you may request a review by e-mailing xxx@xxxxx.xx.xx.xx
THE INFORMATION COMMISSIONER
If, after the internal review, you are still dissatisfied, you have the right under FOIA to apply to the
Information Commissioner for a decision as to whether your request has been dealt with in
accordance with the FOIA. The Information Commissioner’s address is:
Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123113
3
Further information for submitting complaints to the Information Commissioner is
available at http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints.aspx
Yours sincerely,
FOI OXFORD