Your say / Member news
‘We hope that the skills and confidence our support provides helps locals flourish’
Live local? Here’s how you can study at the University of Bristol.
Many dream of going to a top university, but not everyone wants to up sticks and move hundreds of miles across the country.
Here at the University of Bristol, we have support and community outreach programmes, scholarships and extra help for older learners – all focussed on helping locals learn with us.
is needed now More than ever
Outreach and support programmes
Every year thousands of young minds are inspired through our science workshops, campus taster sessions and talks from our academics.
Hundreds more take part in our summer schools or join our Access to Bristol programme, a course of weekly taster sessions for local pupils, all of whom get an offer of a place at the University (or an interview, if applying for one of the courses that requires at an interview) once the course is over.
With the charity IntoUniversity, we run support centres in south and east Bristol – both areas where pupils are less likely to go to university. They help children aged seven and up with academic support, mentoring and aspiration-raising workshops and trips.
Near the Bristol East centre is the University’s Barton Hill Micro Campus, which hosts taster courses and events.
Our contextual offer scheme gives lower entry offers to a range of students – for instance those who received free school meals or who went to one of the schools on our ‘aspiring state schools’ list. We were the first university to bring in contextual offers, and it’s been really encouraging to see other universities following suit.
Scholarships
Each year, thousands of students receive financial support through our scholarships and bursaries.
Locals can benefit from scholarships like Bristol Scholars and the Black Bristol PGCE Scholarship, and the Futures Scholarship has helped hundreds of people in Bristol and the wider UK access the University.
Talented musicians and sportspeople can also get funding, while those who study with us after the Access to Bristol course get a bursary if they are from low-income households.
And there are more options still, take a look at all our scholarships and bursaries here.
Adult learners
We also provide help for older learners, including training courses, campus taster tours and tailored support from a named University contact.
Thinking of getting back into education? You can dip you toe into learning with our short courses – everything from Master English Literature to Exploring Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Not everyone who uses our support goes on to study here – some may go to other universities or decide on a different path altogether.
But we hope that the skills and confidence our support provides helps them flourish, whatever their next steps may be.
This is an opinion piece by Doug Jennings, acting director of home recruitment & conversion at the University of Bristol
Main photo: University of Bristol
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