Discover Bristol

Applications for the 2025-26 iteration of Discover Bristol have not opened yet. If you’d like to be notified when applications open, please complete this expression of interest form.  

About the programme
A guaranteed contextual offer
How to apply
Eligibility

About the programme

This virtual programme is designed to enhance students' understanding of Higher Education and provide insight into how the University of Bristol supports them in making the most of their opportunities. 

Discover Bristol offers a range of online sessions for students, including academic tasters, UCAS and personal statement guidance, student funding and financial literacy, study skills, careers and employability, and the range of support available to students at the University of Bristol. These sessions are delivered in collaboration with current students, student societies, central student services, and the Widening Participation team. 

As part of the Discover Bristol programme, students will be supported to attend our Autumn Open Day, on Saturday 1st November 2025.  

Successful completers of the scheme will be guaranteed a contextual offer/interview from Bristol, a top ten UK university (QS World University Rankings 2025). 

Accessibility statement

We want to provide a positive and equitable experience to all participants on our outreach programmes. This involves providing reasonable adjustments to help individuals who may need additional support due to a disability, health condition or specific learning difference. Please let us know on your application form if you would like to request any reasonable adjustments to support you to participate in this programme. 

Parents and carers

Discover Bristol will also provide opportunities for parents and carers to get involved in bespoke information and guidance sessions to learn more about Higher Education and the opportunities that their child may benefit from at the University of Bristol.  

Sessions for parents and carers will explore topics such as the benefits of attending university, how to support a young person in making higher education decisions, and an overview of student finance. 

Dates and times

All virtual events will run during after-school hours from October through to late-January. There will be up to six online sessions for students and additional sessions for parents and carers. Exact dates and times will be confirmed upon joining the programme. 

Students will also be supported to attend our Autumn Open Day, on Saturday 1st November 2025, where they can explore our university campus and meet current staff and students. 

A guaranteed contextual offer to the University of Bristol

If you successfully complete the Discover Bristol programme and depending on the course(s) that you choose to apply for, you may be eligible for a guaranteed contextual offer or interview to study at the University of Bristol provided you meet the relevant entry requirements for that course. 

For courses that do not routinely interview as part of the admissions process, you will be guaranteed a contextual offer (typically two A-Level grades below standard entry requirements) to study at Bristol provided you are studying any specified A-Level subjects and meet any additional requirements for your chosen course (e.g. GCSE or equivalent grades). 

For courses that require an interview as part of the admissions process, such as Medicine or Dentistry, you will be guaranteed an interview for that course provided you are predicted to meet or exceed the contextual entry requirements for that course; you meet any GCSE or equivalent requirements; and you have completed the relevant aptitude test such as the UCAT by the appropriate deadline. Following interview, you may be made an offer at the contextual level.  

This benefit can apply to multiple courses should you choose to submit multiple course applications to Bristol. 

Please note that terms and conditions apply. 

How to apply

Applications will open online in Summer 2025. If you’d like to be notified when applications open, please complete this expression of interest form. 

Eligibility criteria

Discover Bristol is open to all students who have not already taken part in a University of Bristol Widening Participation programme (Access to Bristol, Bristol Scholars, Insight into Bristol, Next Step Bristol or the Virtual Summer School) and meet all of the following criteria:

You must:

• Be a Home Fee student;
• Currently attend a state school or college;
• Be in your final year of A-level study (or equivalent);
• Have the academic ability to study at the University of Bristol (including meeting the GCSE entry requirements for your chosen course and studying any required Level 3 subjects). Applicants must have the potential to meet the contextual entry requirements for their chosen course;
• have applied or will apply for an undergraduate course at the University of Bristol via UCAS. (You may be offered a place on the programme before you submit your UCAS application. We reserve the right to withdraw you from the programme at a later date if you have not applied to study with us);  
• be eligible to receive Free School Meals OR live in an IMD quintile 1 or 2 postcode area

Find out more about our accepted qualifications. 

If the programme is oversubscribed, we will give priority to applicants who meet our widening participation criteria: 

• be considered a mature student (over 21 years old when you will begin your degree);
• are from a Black or Asian background or of a mixed background featuring one of these groups*;
• have spent three or more months in local authority care;
• are currently an estranged student;
• are from Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showmen and Boater (GTRSB) communities;
• attend an aspiring state school or college;
• are from any other Global Majority background;
• are part of the first generation in their family to go to university;
• have caring responsibilities;
• have refugee status;
• have a disability;
• have a parent or carer who currently serves in the UK Armed Forces, or who has done so in the past. 

*With additional priority assigned to the following underrepresented ethnic groups at UoB: Asian Pakistani; Asian Bangladeshi; Black Caribbean; Black African; or of a mixed backgrounds featuring one of these groups. 

We are dedicated to ensuring our programmes are inclusive and welcoming to all. We welcome applications from students living with disabilities, learning difficulties and other physical and mental health conditions.