I WOULD like to express my opinion on the recent headline news issue about the student Laura Spence who was rejected from Oxford University, yet accepted by Harvard.

It really annoyed me when I heard that she was blaming her Oxford rejection on the fact that she attended a comprehensive school school, rather than a "more favourable private school."

I am aware that she gained all A*s in her GCSEs, has all grade A A-level predictions and passed grade 8 violin, but these by no means necessarily guarantee her a place at one of the world's most elite universities.

The truth is simple -- there were obviously better candidates applying for medicine than Laura, and she is looking for excuses.

I too gained all A*s in my GCSEs, have all grade A A-level predictions, have grade 8 flute, grade 8 piano, and went to a comprehensive school (Rainford High). Yet, unlike Laura, I have a conditional offer for Oxford. My intention is certainly not to blow my own trumpet, I am fully aware that I only have an offer for Oxford -- I still need to get the grades in my A-levels over the coming weeks.

I just want to prove the point that Laura is wrong blaming her rejection on her background. At the same time she is mistaken by believing that her excellent GCSE results should have automatically won her an offer.

I know several students from comprehensive schools with similar qualifications to Laura who were also rejected by Oxbridge and they did not begin a huge inquest. I know that if I too would have been rejected, I would have accepted their decision and concluded that some of the other candidates coped better in the gruelling interviews than I did.

It seems to me that Laura Spence just has sour grapes, and should hurry up and get over it. I cannot understand what she is complaining about -- she has won a £65,000 scholarship at Harvard for goodness sake! That's what I call an opportunity of a lifetime.

Joanne Foster, Rookery Drive, Rainford.