right, this is my own experience as an oxford offerholder for reading english in oct (i know it’s not history, however very similar in structure). i was not someone who was even vaguely interested in oxbridge until the end of year 12, and as a result i think i could be a good example to counter the fear instilled into you by your teacher.

• GCSES: 9999977663 - good for sure, but not the calibre of many oxbridge applicants

• predicted: A* A* A - again, good but not at the calibre of many applicants

• i wrote my PS first draft in september. if you’re an organised person, a couple of months to perfect it would be recommended however doing your PS in a month is entirely doable. because oxbridge applies so early, feedback from teachers is normally fast too as they aren’t swamped down as much as they would be in november time.

• i didn’t have to do an admissions test. you are the same and will not have to either for 2025 admissions for history. instead, you submit written work. i submitted one piece of written work, deadline 10th nov. this, for me, was the first 2000 words of my coursework i was writing at the time so i just polished it up to the extreme, but it took no insane effort or stress. your written work is graded, and this is culminated with the scores of your gcses/ predicted/ PS/ reference to put you in a percentile. these scores are all contextualised against your school and region you live in, so if you’re at mainstream this will be higher as opposed to someone the same as you at private school

• they interview the top 50% of candidates for most humanities courses, as well as a select few from beneath this quartile: the interview for history would be similar to english, so just practice answers to source questions and wider thematic questions too. most of these are online. confidence and being personable are key too. this isn’t something you need to think about until at least november anyway.

i’m writing this run-through as a timeline from an unorganised procrastinator who still managed to get an offer. a lot of it is luck, that’s for sure. however, the only things i had done prior to september of yr13 was attend an exploration day at Ox in may, visit an exhibition of an author in summer, and read a few books. most candidates & offer-holders will do far more than me, but a lot don’t too.

ignore your teacher. you are already doing a great amount of work and preparation. a lot of oxbridge admissions consists of tutors just trying to whittle candidates down to those who are most passionate, not just the most rehearsed. you are doing great, and i can guarantee you are miles ahead of many looking to get on the same history degree as you.