Cambridge uses contextual data to understand an applicant’s achievements in context, including individual circumstances, geodemographic or regional data, and school or college performance data.
Contextual consideration does not mean Cambridge systematically makes lower offers or excuses a weak academic record; recent and relevant academic achievement remains central.
Individual circumstances Cambridge may consider include experience of care, refugee or humanitarian protection status, estrangement, free school meal eligibility in the last six years, and submitted extenuating circumstances.
School or college context may include GCSE and A level performance, progression patterns, and whether the post-16 provider has had fewer than five Oxbridge offers in the previous five years.
Some school-performance datasets are only available for England, so Cambridge notes that different forms of evidence may be used for applicants from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or international systems.