Applications for Access to Bristol are now live. You can apply online here. Applications will close on Sunday 8th October at 23:45. 

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 2023).

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.

To find out more about the subjects we have on offer for 2023-24 and their subject requirements, please download our brochure Access to Bristol brochure 2023-24 (PDF, 2,388kB). 

Eligibility

To apply for Access to Bristol you must:

• be in your first or second year of A-level study (or equivalent);
• be resident in a BA, BS or other local postcode within an hour’s journey of the University of Bristol (this includes South Wales);
• attend a local state school or college;
• have the academic ability to study at the University of Bristol (meeting the GCSE entry requirements for their chosen subject stream and studying any required Level 3 subjects)

The scheme is very popular and there is high demand for places. If a subject stream is oversubscribed, we will give priority to those who meet all or most of the following criteria:

• are part of the first generation in their family to go to university;
• live in an area of low participation in higher education as defined by POLAR4, which is a score of 1 or 2 for the category 'POLAR4 young participation quintile';
• identify as being Asian, Black or from a Minority Ethnic background, or Mixed Heritage featuring one or more of these ethnicities;
• attend an aspiring state school or college;
• are or have been eligible for free school meals;
• have spent three or more months in local authority care;
• are currently an estranged student;
• be considered a mature student (over 21 years old when you will begin your degree).

If you are interested in Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Science, please note that our Pathways to Health Sciences scheme has now merged with Access to Bristol and will be running as streams under the Access to Bristol Programme.

We recommend that you discuss your application to the programme with your head of sixth form/college. You will need permission from your school or college to attend the sessions and we ask for a contact at your school on your application form.

Benefits of Access to Bristol

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.

*Figures may be subject to change.

Guaranteed offer at contextual level

If you successfully complete the Access to Bristol scheme, you may be eligible for a contextual offer to study at Bristol.

Term dates and times

Sessions will take place on campus every Wednesday from 2 pm to 4 pm on the dates shown below.

Subjects

You can view a brief overview of the subjects we offer and the term(s) they run below. For more information on our subject stream content and Access to Bristol more broadly, please download our Access to Bristol brochure.‌