Access to Bristol
Access to Bristol provides local students with an unprecedented opportunity to experience life at the University of Bristol.
The Access to Bristol scheme is for local students taking A-levels, BTECs, Access to HE courses or equivalents. Taking part shows a commitment to further study that will strengthen your application when you apply to university. On completion, you will be guaranteed a contextual offer/interview from Bristol, a top-ten UK University (QS World University Rankings 2020).
Students attend a series of sessions, held at the University on Wednesday afternoons during the autumn or spring term. You will choose to study one subject stream from a selection, representing many of the degree subjects available at Bristol.
You will get an idea of what it is like to study at the University of Bristol, working with academics and current students who can offer advice and guidance about higher education and their subject area.
Access to Bristol 2020/21 Brochure
Find out more about the Access to Bristol scheme and all its subject streams in our brochure:
Term dates & times
The scheme is split into Autumn and Spring term. Due to restrictions in place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we will be running the Autumn sessions of Access to Bristol online. We are currently planning to run Spring term on-campus, but this could change depending on how things progress with regards to COVID-19.
Autumn Term (Year 13 & Access to HE students priority)
Streams that are due to run in Autumn term will take place from 2-3pm on:
- Wednesday 4 November 2020
- Wednesday 11 November 2020
- Wednesday 18 November 2020
- Wednesday 25 November 2020
- Wednesday 2 December 2020
Spring Term (Year 12 students only)
Streams that are due to run in Spring term will take place from 2.30-4.30pm on:
- Wednesday 27 January 2021
- Wednesday 3 February 2021
- Wednesday 10 February 2021
- Wednesday 24 February 2021
- Wednesday 3 March 2021
- Wednesday 10 March 2021
Benefits of Access to Bristol
Students who complete the Access to Bristol scheme can benefit from:
- The Access to Bristol bursary
- A guaranteed contextual offer/interview
Access to Bristol bursary
If you successfully complete the Access to Bristol scheme and choose Bristol as your Firm choice in UCAS you may be eligible for the Access to Bristol bursary, which currently consists of a maintenance bursary of £3,855 for each year of your course.
To be considered for the bursary you need to be Firm with Bristol, a Home UK student and have a household income of £25,000 or below. No bursary is paid in any year where you are entitled to NHS funding as part of your course.
Guaranteed offer at contextual level
A-Level/BTEC Access to Bristol 'completers'
For most courses, you will be guaranteed an offer at the contextual level, provided that you meet the full entry requirements of the course applied for. Students undertaking the appropriate subjects but not predicted the contextual offer will usually be made an aspirational offer.
If the course holds interviews as part of the selection process you will be guaranteed an interview (for example, Medicine or Dentistry). The interview will only be guaranteed if your predicted grades meet the contextual entry requirements and you meet the GCSE subject requirements.
Access to HE Access to Bristol 'completers'
For most courses, you will be guaranteed an offer to study, providing full entry requirements are met.
For a small number of Science Faculty courses, as well as Medicine/Dentistry or other interviewing subjects, Access to HE students will be guaranteed an interview. These courses often interview to ensure that Access to HE students have the required grounding in Mathematics and/or Physics.
Please note: the Access to HE qualification is already at the contextual level, in recognition that students returning to study may face additional barriers to entering HE. This means that your offer will not be made any lower than stated.
Pathways to Health Sciences
If you are a Year 12 or Access to HE student interested in studying Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Science, you may be interested in our extended Pathways to Health Sciences programme.
Virtual resources for school and college students
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Contact us
If you have any questions about Access to Bristol, or if you need any assistance with the application form, please get in touch with Katie (Access to Bristol Coordinator) at access-to-bristol@bristol.ac.uk.
If your query relates to our Pathways to Health Sciences scheme, please get in touch with Alex (Pathways to Health Sciences Coordinator) at pathways-to-health-sciences@bristol.ac.uk.