Our Programmes and COVID-19

Sutton Trust Summer Schools will take place once again in 2021.

The Sutton Trust and our university partners are committed to providing you an inspiring programme of academic sessions, social activities, information about university, the opportunity to meet other participants and the chance to engage with current students.

Keeping students and staff safe is of paramount importance to us so we are keeping a close eye on government guidance and the developing situation. If we are unable to deliver the programmes face to face, we will have a digital programme of support through our new platform Sutton Trust Online.

Having successfully launched Sutton Trust Online last year and run our Summer Schools on it we are confident that this year’s programmes, however they take place, will be hugely useful for you as you make decisions about the next steps in your educational journey.

Find out how each university will be running their summer schools below.

How we're supporting students through a pandemic

When the first lockdown was announced, The Sutton Trust and our university partners responded by transitioning all of our programmes online. While we could no longer provide a residential experience, we were committed to creating a digital programme that could rival and exceed our face-to-face programmes in terms of support and impact.

We launched Sutton Trust Online as a digital platform where we could host our summer schools. Now it is evolving into so much more. Not only have students used it to access resources and live sessions as part of their programme but have also been able to explore hundreds of pages of curated content and speak to current university students. This has helped programme participants prepare for, apply to and succeed at university.

The transition to digital delivery has given us the opportunity to expand our support to students by offering more personalised resources, more opportunities to connect with other students and universities, and a programme of exclusive events throughout their final year of school or college.

In 2020, we supported over 8,000 students with personal statement support and mentorship via Sutton Trust Online. Our partners have held hundreds of hours of live programming from lectures and Q&A panels to cook-along and games nights! In 2021, we will build on our success of the previous year and provide an outstanding experience and unparalleled support for our students.

University Programme Formats

Throughout the application period, we will keep this table updated with specific details of how each university will be running their programmes. Once the application period has finished universities will contact you directly if there are changes to the format of the programme.

This page will be the most up to date information so please do not contact the universities to ask.

University	Status*
The University of Bristol	Face-to-face
Cardiff University	Face-to-face
The University of Cambridge	Virtual and face-to-face
Durham University	Face-to-face
The University of Edinburgh	Virtual
University of Glasgow	Face-to-face
Imperial College London	Face-to-face
King’s College London	Face-to-face
The University of Nottingham	Face-to-face
Royal Veterinary College	Face-to-face
The University of St Andrews	Face-to-face
UCL	Virtual
The University of Warwick	Face-to-face

_{*Last updated Jan 5 2021}

Sutton Trust Online

What people say

Though it was not the ideal situation, I found the programme adapted to the online form well and we still had the regular sessions an in person summer school would have. I loved the more social sides of the day, like the tutor meeting in the morning which helped it feel more personal.

Jasmine, UK Summer Schools 2020 - The University of Nottingham

The 'Virtual Work Experience' was an incredible way of staying productive during this difficult time. It distracted me from the darkness of the current pandemic and allowed me to dream of a brighter future.

Participant, Pathways to Law 2020

Even though it was a virtual programme, I still enjoyed it immensely as I was able to form new connections, and meet other students also applying to medicine... Even though it was digital, I appreciated how easy it was to log onto the Sutton Trust portal and watch videos about the university life, and complete activities.

Kirthana, UK Summer Schools 2020 - Cardiff University

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