Enroll in an advanced English Literature or English Language and Literature course in your senior year in high school and try to obtain an "A" grade. It's recommended that you take other advanced history and language courses in your senior high school year as well. Because acceptance into an English program in Oxford or Cambridge is very competitive, try to obtain the highest grades you possibly can in your senior-level courses.
Apply to the post-secondary institution of your choice in Oxford or Cambridge through UCAS. When applying, you'll be asked to choose the program you want to enroll in. Make sure you choose the "English" option. You could also be asked to choose the particular college affiliated with the university where you'd like to study. If you don't know which college you'd like to study at, you can make it an open application and the university will choose for you.
Submit a piece of written work you completed in a high school English course. The work should be a marked essay that provides an analytical discussion of a topic in the field of English literature.
Attend the interview in Oxford or Cambridge when contacted by a representative from the English department at the university you selected on your application. You will be chosen for an interview on the basis of your academic record and promise, both of which are gleaned from your application. In the interview, university representatives will try to deduce whether you are suitable for admittance. They make their decision based on the answers you give to questions about such things as your work ethic and your attitude toward English literature.
Complete an English Literature admissions test once you have passed the interview process. This test will demonstrate your skills in close reading, specifically as they relate to language, imagery, allusion, syntax, form and structure. Visit the Cambridge Assessment Admissions Test website for the dates and locations of the test.
Enroll in the appropriate English courses as specified by the university once you accept an offer of admission from the school of your choice. The courses you will typically be asked to take in your first year are introductory English courses and survey courses that cover certain historical periods, such as Victorian Literature.