Frequently Asked Questions

We accept applications from students who have gone to school in other countries where paying school fees are the norm.

When completing an application, please select that you attended an international school. You can then select the qualification, subjects and grades achieved.

In the space below here, you can then provide more detail such as the school’s name and address, and any alternative qualifications achieved there.

Our UK Summer Schools are only open to students who attend non-fee-paying schools, however, if you were unable to attend a state school due to legal reasons, please email [email protected] to inform us of your individual circumstances so we can provide extra guidance.

You can still apply, but we would like to let you know that our UK Summer Schools are heavily oversubscribed 7:1. If you do not meet the academic criteria of grades (or equivalent), it is unlikely your application will be successful.

If you do not meet the academic criteria but there are extenuating circumstances to explain this, please apply and give reasons for this on Step 3 of the application form. You can enter details in the text boxes provided. There will also an opportunity for teachers to provide further details during the verification process.

The course requirements are set by the university and are based on the subject requirements to study the degree at the undergraduate level. If you do not meet the subject requirements, it is unlikely your application will be successful.

Thank you for your interest in Sutton Trust UK Summer Schools. This programme is only open to students currently in Year 12. Students in Year 13 or above may not apply. If you are in Year 11 or below, you are a bit ahead of the game!

We can accept applications from students who have always attended state schools, and are in Year 12 in England and Wales, S5 in Scotland or Year 13 in Northern Ireland. You do not need to fulfil any of our other criteria to apply, but the more you meet, the more likely you are to be offered a place. 

If you have been home schooled in your early school years or at GCSE, you can still apply for the programme. Please select “Home-educated” as your school’s name in Step 3 of the online application and be sure to fully explain your circumstances.

For the verifying teacher, you can add a tutor’s details or a parent.

Some of our partner universities do allow students in Year 12 (or equivalent) who are over the age of 18 on their programmes. The following universities allow this:

• Durham (must be 18, not over 18)
• Cambridge
• St Andrew’s
• UCL

If you don’t know your predicted grades for your A-Levels or equivalent you can select the option ‘NOT KNOWN YET’ when inputting your current qualifications on the application site. Please note your  predicted grades may not be the same as your target grades. If you only have target grades please select ‘NOT KNOWN YET’ when filling out the application.

Please be assured not knowing your predicted grades will not disadvantage your application. Universities are looking for the subjects you are studying.

There is space in the application form to detail and explain any alternative qualifications. We recommend contacting the university you are applying to directly, as some programmes may have specific subject requirements.

Yes, you can enter “International School” as your school’s name in Stage 3 of the online application.

You can then select the qualification, subjects and grades achieved. In the space below here, you can then provide more detail such as the school’s name and address, and any alternative qualifications achieved there.

No. You are technically not a first generation student if your parent attended university internationally. There is a section on the application form where you can list the country, type course/qualification obtained and their age at the point of graduation.

No. You are not a first generation student if your parent attended university as a mature student, whether or not they have yet completed their degree. There is a section on the application form where you can list the country, type course/qualification obtained and age at the point of graduation.

We use a combination of POLAR4, IMD and ACORN statistics to determine whether a neighbourhood has a low rate of progression to higher education and/or a high level of socio-economic deprivation.

A postcode lookup for POLAR4 is publicly available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/young-participation-by-area/search-by-postcode/. Students who are in POLAR4 quintiles 1 and 2 will meet our neighbourhood criteria.

Please note that even if you do not fall into these POLAR4 quintiles, you may still meet the criteria based on IMD or ACORN scores.

Yes. If you have been rejected from the Pathways programme and have access to STO, you may still apply to the UK Summer Schools.

Yes, we would like to know if you currently receive or previously received Free School Meals. Please tick the box for Free School Meals on the form.

No. Students can only complete one programme with us. If you have been accepted onto another programme, such as Pathways to Professions, then you are not eligible to apply to the UK Summer Schools.

We now accept applications from eligible students from the Crown Dependencies of the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark. This brings our criteria in line with the UK government’s removal of the separate ‘Islands’ fees category. Note that if you are from the Channel Islands or Isle of Man, you will be entitled to different financial support to that of students from the rest of the UK. Find out more at:
• States of Jersey
• States of Guernsey
• Isle of Man

Yes, when you have created your account you can save your application at any stage and return to it at a time convenient to you. You can do this by clicking ‘Save’ at the bottom of each section before leaving the page. You will only be able to submit your application when all sections are fully completed.

You may only attend one Sutton Trust programme at a time.

You may not apply to a UK Summer School if you are currently enrolled in a Pathways programme. You may apply to both the UK Summer School and the US Programme, but you may only attend one. If you accept a place on the US Summer School, your UK Summer School application will be withdrawn.

Please note, you will be required to make a decision for the US Programme before you hear your outcome for the UK Summer School.

Only UK state schools and colleges are listed on our application system and can be searched using both school name and postcode. If you attend an independent school, you are not eligible for the programme. If you are unsure of the type of school you attend, please visit the following website to check: http://www.education.gov.uk/edubase/home.xhtml.

If you attend a state school which is not listed on the application system, please email [email protected] with the full name and address of your school so we can investigate further.

If your teacher reference does not receive the email, please take the following steps:

1. Check you have entered their email address correctly. Please note the system will only accept emails with an official domain (e.g. [email protected])
2. Make sure they check their junk mail folder

If you have entered the email address correctly and they cannot find the email in their junk mail folder then it is likely that the security blocks on the school email system have filtered out the invitation email. In this instance, you should ask your teacher to contact us at [email protected] and we will provide them with a link to the reference form.

Due to the volume of applications we receive, it is not possible to comment on individual applications.

You will receive an email notification after you have submitted your application form. This can sometimes come through to your junk folder or be marked as ‘spam’ so please check this first before emailing us at [email protected].

Your application will be reviewed by the university you applied to and they will be in contact with you by early May. In the meantime, please make a note of the dates of the Summer School you have applied for to ensure you are available to attend if you are selected.

Your teacher will receive an email requesting them to submit your reference and this must be completed by 11th of March, 2025. We suggest that you check with your teacher whether this email has been received. You will be notified when your application has been verified.

No, we do not have a rolling applications system. All applications will be sent off at the same time once the deadline has passed. Please take your time to choose your ideal course and complete the application to the best of your ability!

We aim to reach as many students as possible with our programmes so we only accept one UK Summer School application per student. You may not select multiple courses. Please take your time to pick your top choice and ensure you meet all subject requirements before applying.

You only need to enter the details of two parents/guardians if you are in contact with both parents/guardians. We understand that certain family circumstances mean that it is not always appropriate for both parents/guardians to be included on the application form and so this is not a requirement.

If you are currently in care, please enter your social worker’s contact details. If you are unsure on who to add, please contact [email protected]

For most programmes, young people apply to our programmes directly through our website. Please visit the page for the programme your child is interested in for further details and timelines for applications. Please note, your child may only take part in one Sutton Trust programme at one time.

Nothing, our application form is designed for students to fill out. If your child’s application is successful, you will be sent consent forms to fill in and may have to provide information on your child’s medical history. Please do keep an eye on your inbox.

All of our programmes are free of charge. This includes travel, accommodation and food.

In most cases, our programmes are targeted at students in Year 12 in England and Wales, S5 in Scotland, and Year 13 in Northern Ireland. There are exceptions, so please do check the individual programme page that your child is interested in.

All of our programmes are very popular and unfortunately, we get many more applications than we have places. For example, there can be up to seven applications for each place on our Summer School. This means that we often have to reject many good applications.

When they apply, students can list any requirements that we will need to take into account (e.g. medical, religious, or dietary requirements etc.). We will do all that we can to ensure that any and all necessary adjustments are made so that your child is supported across their time on the programme.

On our residentials, students will stay at the university’s Halls of Residence. All programmes are well-staffed, including staff on-call throughout the night, and all staff are DBS/PVG checked.

The Sutton Trust is committed to providing an environment on our programmes which is welcoming and safe and enables young people to speak up in confidence knowing that their worries, fears or concerns will be heard and acted upon. We work with our partner universities to take all reasonable measures to ensure that the risk of harm to a young person’s welfare is minimised. All staff who work on our programmes are DBS/PVG checked. Please click here for our full safeguarding policy and procedure.

Engage with your child as early as possible about their post-18 steps. Take time out to talk to your child about their plans. The more they are able to discuss their ideas with you, the easier it will be for them to put them down on a UCAS statement. Encourage your child to read around the areas that they are interested in. We recommend looking at the UCAS website for a full listing of other access opportunities: https://www.ucas.com/events/exploring-university/learn-about-uni-taster-course

We target high-attaining, socio-economically disadvantaged students. To identify these students, we use a range of criteria focusing on:

• The student and their family – eligibility for Free School Meals (FSM) and first-generation status
• The school that the student attends – higher than average rates of FSM at the school or lower than average performance/progression to Russell Group universities
• The area that the student is growing up in – Participation in Higher Education (POLAR) and socio-economic makeup (ACORN/IMD)
• The grades that the student has attained. Grade requirements differ across programmes

For most programmes, young people apply directly through our website. Please visit the page for the programme your student is interested in for further details and timelines for applications. Please note, your student may only take part in one Sutton Trust programme at one time.

They may submit applications to multiple programmes however, if accepted students may only enrol in one programme. They may not apply to multiple courses or universities for the same programme. If students apply to both UK Summer School and the US Programme, please note that the US programme makes their selections during the UK Summer School application period, so any successful students must decide whether to take up their US place at that point.

Our programmes are designed to support students in UK state schools. The only exception to this is if a student’s place at an independent school is completely covered by the local authority.

Students are expected to fill out their application themselves. Once these have been completed, you will receive an email from us asking you to verify important details from the student. This will include, grades, Free School Meal eligibility, in care and first-generation status.

If the details are correct, you simply have to confirm this. If the details are not correct, there is space available for you to make corrections. Correcting information in a student’s application will not disadvantage them, as this will be amended on our system before the information is sent to universities.

There’s also an opportunity for you to provide any extenuating circumstances but you do not need to provide a UCAS style character reference for the student. Please complete this form to the best of your knowledge.

As our programs are reserved for high-achieving and highly disadvantaged students, we ask teachers to corroborate the students’ claims regarding academic achievement and background.

You will be asked to verify the students’ qualifications and background including if they have ever received Free School Meals, lived in care, received a bursary or would be the first generation to attend university.

No, you will not need to submit a character reference. However, if there are any extenuating circumstances that should be considered when reviewing the student’s application, there will be space provided to outline the details in the verification process.

If you are unable to verify the application by the deadline, your student’s chosen university team may contact you directly to verify details. Your student’s application will not be negatively impacted.

Please email us with the full name, contact email address and telephone number of the appropriate teacher. Please note you do not need to be the students’ current teacher if you can accurately verify their information.

Please ensure your students has completed and submitted their application then contact [email protected] and we will rectify this.

Yes. If you have been nominated to verify a students application, we will send a summary of all students from your school who have applied following the application deadline. We will send a follow up with student outcomes once we received all the decisions from our university partners.

All of our programmes are free of charge. This includes travel, accommodation and food. In some cases, students may be asked to pay some travel costs upfront, but these will always be reimbursed. If paying upfront costs is a concern for a student, please contact the university that your student has applied to.

All of our programmes are very popular, and unfortunately, we get many more applications than we have places. For example, there can be up to seven applications for each place on our UK Summer Schools. This means that we often have to reject many highly eligible students. To understand which criteria students are meeting on our programmes, please see above for the demographic makeup of students enrolled last year.

Applications are assessed on how many of our eligibility criteria students meet. The more of these students meet, the more likely they are to get a place. Since we receive so many applications, we are unable to provide individual feedback.

Due to having a small team we are unable to make school visits. However, we have created a number of resources to help you advertise the programme including videos, assembly presentations and posters. Please click here for the full range of resources.

Students will be notified of the university’s decision by the end of April/beginning of May.

The Sutton Trust is committed to providing an environment on our programmes which are welcoming and safe and enables young people to speak up in confidence knowing that their worries, fears or concerns will be heard and acted upon. We work with our partner universities to take all reasonable measures to ensure that the risk of harm to a young person’s welfare is minimised. All staff who work on our programmes are DBS/PVG checked. Please click here for our full safeguarding policy and procedure.