I was bemused to see in TES (November 30) a picture of a young man being helped into a morning suit, supposedly in preparation for his Oxbridge interview. He will be shocked when he arrives here and finds that many Oxford tutors’ dress sense may not be up to these high standards and that we normally encourage applicants to wear what they are most comfortable in.
He is not to blame, though - he has clearly been ill-advised by people who did not engage with Oxford and its colleges directly to find out about what is important to tutors admitting students to Oxford.
I recently took part in a podcast where, among other things, we address all those worries about dress code and appropriate behaviour at interview. I would have welcomed the TES giving the link to its readers rather than plugging classes on etiquette, which is not something we consider at all when selecting applicants.
Search for PodOxford on the web and have a listen - you may be surprised.
Liora Lazarus, Senior Fellow and Tutor in Law, St. Anne’s College, Oxford; Lecturer in Human Rights Law, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford; Associate, Centre for Criminological Research, University of Oxford.
