The grades you achieve at GCSE are undeniably used as an indicator of your potential for success at a top university. However, Oxbridge is far more interested in your academic trajectory than finding students who may have already peaked by the time they get to their A Levels. If you have GCSE grades you aren’t particularly proud of but have done much better in your Year 12 predicted grades, don’t let your GCSEs get in the way of putting in an application; simply acknowledge you are on a learning curve. This is particularly the case if extenuating circumstances impacted your grades. Please explain these to us in your application form.