Data on law students who enrolled in 2017 and 2018
Dear Durham University,
The request relates to students who enrolled in your single honours law course (name: Law LLB; course code: M100) in September/October 2017 and September/October 2018. I refer to these as the “relevant students”.
The Request:
1. A complete, anonymised list of all (I)GCSE grades achieved by the relevant students who enrolled in each year;
2. A complete, anonymised list of all A-level grades achieved by the relevant students who enrolled in each year;
3. A complete, anonymised list of all IB grades achieved by the relevant students who enrolled in each year;
4. A complete, anonymised list of all the scores for the LNAT multiple-choice section that were achieved by the relevant students who enrolled in each year.
Notes:
A. Please provide the data for 2017 and 2018 separately.
B. Please do not include data from other law-related courses (such as Law with a Language, Joint Honours Law, or Law with a Year Abroad) if these courses are available.
C. Please express your response in such a way that each row or bullet point represents a separate, anonymous student.
D. Please provide the data under the following sub-headings, in the following order:
List of (I)GCSE scores for 2017
List of (I)GCSE scores for 2018
List of IB Scores for 2017
List of IB Scores for 2018
List of A-level Scores for 2017
List of A-level Scores for 2018
List of LNAT Multiple Choice scores for 2017
List of LNAT Multiple Choice scores for 2018
Yours faithfully,
Dominic Razenstein
Dear Mr Razenstein
Freedom of Information Request
I acknowledge receipt of your email below requesting information from Durham University.
Please be advised that the University will respond as soon as possible and in any event within 20 working days.
Yours sincerely,
Information Governance Unit
Durham University
Information Governance Unit, University Secretary’s Office
t: +44 (0) 191 334 6103/46246 e: [Durham University request email]
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
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Dear Mr Razenstein
Colleagues have asked me to get in touch with you to request clarification
in relation to your request below. Specifically, they would be grateful
if you could clarify the following.
The University would not provide individual data (even anonymised) as
there is still the potential of identifying an individual – for example if
there is only one student with a unique combination of A Levels then they
could be identified along with their grade.
We would be able to provide aggregated data. We also do not hold
information on International GCSE.
Please confirm that you would like us to continue with your request on
this basis.
Your request will be placed on hold until we receive the requested
clarification from you. If however we do not receive clarification within
30 days of this email we will consider the request closed.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Information Governance Unit
Durham University
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Information Governance Unit, University Secretary’s Office
t: +44 (0) 191 33 46103/46246 e: [1][Durham University request email]
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Hello,
My reply is as follows:
- If you feel that there is a risk of identifying an individual, I would like to ask you to please take the best three grades achieved by the individual (e.g. A*AA) and provide a count of how many people achieved this grade (e.g. 45 people achieved A*AA, 25 people achieved 39 points in the IB, etc.).
- If fewer than 5 people have achieved a combination of grades, it is HESA practice to express the count as '<5' instead of refusing to provide data altogether.
- Even if you do not hold data on the international GCSE, please do provide data on the new and old 'regular' GCSEs.
Do let me know if there is anything else I need to clarify. As always, thank you for your time and attention.
Yours sincerely,
Dominic Razenstein
Dear Mr Razenstein
Thank you for your request for information from Durham University.
Colleagues have provided the information below/attached in response to
your questions.
The request relates to students who enrolled in your single honours law
course (name: Law LLB; course code: M100) in September/October 2017 and
September/October 2018. I refer to these as the “relevant students”.
The Request:
1. A complete, anonymised list of all (I)GCSE grades achieved by the
relevant students who enrolled in each year;
2. A complete, anonymised list of all A-level grades achieved by the
relevant students who enrolled in each year;
3. A complete, anonymised list of all IB grades achieved by the relevant
students who enrolled in each year;
4. A complete, anonymised list of all the scores for the LNAT
multiple-choice section that were achieved by the relevant students who
enrolled in each year.
Notes:
A. Please provide the data for 2017 and 2018 separately.
B. Please do not include data from other law-related courses (such as Law
with a Language, Joint Honours Law, or Law with a Year Abroad) if these
courses are available.
C. Please express your response in such a way that each row or bullet
point represents a separate, anonymous student.
D. Please provide the data under the following sub-headings, in the
following order:
List of (I)GCSE scores for 2017
List of (I)GCSE scores for 2018
List of IB Scores for 2017
List of IB Scores for 2018
List of A-level Scores for 2017
List of A-level Scores for 2018
List of LNAT Multiple Choice scores for 2017 List of LNAT Multiple Choice
scores for 2018
We clarified the following:
We would not provide individual data (even anonymised) as there is still
the potential of identifying an individual – for example if there is only
one student with a unique combination of A Levels then they could be
identified along with their grade.
We would be able to provide aggregated data.
We also do not hold information on International GCSE.
You clarified your request as follows:-
If you feel that there is a risk of identifying an individual, I would
like to ask you to please take the best three grades achieved by the
individual (e.g. A*AA) and provide a count of how many people achieved
this grade (e.g. 45 people achieved A*AA, 25 people achieved 39 points in
the IB, etc.).
- If fewer than 5 people have achieved a combination of grades, it is HESA
practice to express the count as '<5' instead of refusing to provide data
altogether.
- Even if you do not hold data on the international GCSE, please do
provide data on the new and old 'regular' GCSEs.
Please see the response attached and note that under section 40 of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (personal data) the University refuses to
release figures which total fewer than five, in order to ensure that no
individual can be identified. Where this is the case, we have stated such
figures as ‘<5’.
If you are dissatisfied with the University’s response to your freedom of
information request, you can ask us to internally review our handling of
your request, including the application of any exemptions applied. To do
this, please email [1][Durham University request email] or write to:
Information Governance Unit
The Palatine Centre
Stockton Road
Durham
DH1 3LE
Please state the grounds on which you wish the decision to be reviewed and
enclose any other information that may be useful in considering the matter
further. We aim to inform you of our decision within 20 working days from
the date your request for internal review is received.
If you are not satisfied with the results of the internal review you may
apply to the Information Commissioner's Office for an independent review.
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
[2]www.ico.org.uk
Yours sincerely
Information Governance Unit
Durham University
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Governance Unit, University Secretary’s Office
t: +44 (0) 191 33 46103/46246 e: [3][Durham University request email]
Hello,
I looked through the data you provided, and the IB grades seem to be expressed as UCAS tariff points (going up to 200 and above), when I asked for them to be provided as IB total points (which only go up to 45).
Would it therefore be possible for a member of the team to provide the IB grades as IB total points? The figures would look something like this (I'm making up the numbers for the purposes of this example):
45 - <5 students
44 - 5 students
43 - 8 students
42 - 14 students
etc.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Dominic Razenstein
Dear Mr Razenstein
Please see the information you requested below.
Using the overall score for IB the figures are as follows:
+--------------------------------+
| Score | 2017/18 | 2018/19 |
|---------+-----------+----------|
| 45 | | <5|
|---------+-----------+----------|
| 44 | <5| |
|---------+-----------+----------|
| 43 | <5| <5|
|---------+-----------+----------|
| 42 | 6| <5|
|---------+-----------+----------|
| 41 | 6| <5|
|---------+-----------+----------|
| 40 | 14| <5|
|---------+-----------+----------|
| 39 | 9| 6|
|---------+-----------+----------|
| 38 | 10| 10|
|---------+-----------+----------|
| 37 | <5| <5|
|---------+-----------+----------|
| 36 | <5| |
|---------+-----------+----------|
| 30 | <5| |
|---------+-----------+----------|
| 29 | | <5|
|---------+-----------+----------|
| 28 | <5| |
|---------+-----------+----------|
| 27 | <5| |
+--------------------------------+
Yours sincerely
Information Governance Unit
Durham University
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Governance Unit, University Secretary’s Office
t: +44 (0) 191 33 46103/46246 e: [1][Durham University request email]
Information Governance Unit, University Secretary’s Office
t: +44 (0) 191 33 46103/46246 e: [3][Durham University request email]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #594096 email]
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...
For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
References
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1. mailto:[Durham University request email]
Thank you for the update. The additional information is much appreciated.
Yours sincerely,
Dominic Razenstein
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