INFORMATION COMPLIANCE TEAM
University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD
Ref. FOI/20210328/1
28 April 2021
Reply to request for information under the Freedom of Information Act
Your ref
Your emails (x12) of 28th March
_
Request
SEE ANNEX
Dear Eric Nilsson / Ariyan Hoque
I write in reply to your emails of 28th March detailing 12 queries, which between them request the above
information.
The data as disclosable is provided in the attached workbooks.
Your request, in part, is for detailed individual level data. We consider that disclosure of this information in the
exact form requested might enable those with access to other information or knowledge to identify individuals
and learn new information about those individuals e.g. those from the same school as the candidates. For this
reason, we have taken a number of measures to reduce the risk of identification, including aggregating data in
some areas, redacting numbers where 2 or fewer (including 0), and redacting or removing any average data
relating to a cohort of 2 or fewer individuals.
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 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 information provided.
INTERNAL REVIEW
You may request an internal review of this response by e-mailin
g xxx@xxxxx.xx.xx.xx. A request for internal
review should be submitted no later than 40 working days from the date of this letter.
2
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. You
can do this online using the
Information Commissioner’s complaints portal.
Yours sincerely
Information Compliance Team
3
ANNEX
With respect to the following UG course:
I.
Biochemistry (Molecular and Cellular)
II.
Biology
III.
Biomedical Sciences
IV.
Chemistry
V.
Computer Science
VI.
Economics & Management
VII.
Engineering Science
VIII.
Law (Jurisprudence)
IX.
Mathematics
X.
Medicine
XI.
Physics
XII.
Psychology
Could you please provide the data for all home undergraduate applications in the past 5 complete application
cycles separated by state and independent schools for the course:
1. The number of applicants, applicants interviewed and applicants given an offer separated by gender
2. The number of applicants, applicants interviewed and applicants given an offer separated by ethnicity
For the next two requests, please provide the average raw mark and average point-based score (if applicable
where raw marks are converted and used in scoring system)
3. The average score on the admissions exam (separated by section if applicable) of all offer holders
separated by gender
4. The average score on the admissions exam (separated by section if applicable) for each section of all offer
holder separated by ethnicity
If they cannot be separated by state and independent schools, please provide any data stored.
