You will be eligible for a contextual offer if you are applying from an aspiring state school or college, which we define as:

schools in the bottom 40 per cent for either:

• progression to higher education, or
• average attainment in A-levels, International Baccalaureate, Pre-U and Extended Projects qualifications (England)
• average attainment in A-levels or any equivalent qualifications (Wales)

and/or:

• schools that have 75% or more of their students resident in POLAR quintiles 1 or 2

based on the latest school performance and destination data available from the Department for Education.

If you are currently attending school and applying between September 2019 and June 2021, you must apply through a school or college listed in one of the lists via the link below to be eligible.

Schools and colleges eligible for contextual offer 2019/20 and 2020/21 (PDF, 732kB)

We use the 'applying from' school code or the education history on your UCAS form to determine the school or college you have attended, so you must ensure these are correct when you apply.

Inclusion on the contextual offer list is not a judgement of the quality of the institution. We recognise that many of the schools and colleges on the list have been deemed outstanding in many respects.

You will be eligible for a contextual offer if, at the point of application, you live in an area that has a low rate of progression to higher education according to POLAR4 data. To determine this, we use the home address on your UCAS application form.

You can check whether your address qualifies by entering your postcode into the POLAR checking tool. The number in the POLAR4 young participation quintile measure must be 1 or 2 for your address to qualify. You should check your postcode using the MSOA geographic boundary not the CAS.

If your address is in a low progression area, you may also qualify for the University of Bristol Accommodation Bursary which is a discount of up to £1,040 on rent at University-allocated accommodation.

Check your postcode

More information on POLAR classifications can be found on the Office for Students website.

If you complete an academically focused outreach programme at the University, you will be eligible for a contextual offer. These include:

• Access to Bristol
• Insight into Bristol summer school
• Pathways to Health Sciences
• Sutton Trust Summer School at the University of Bristol

If you have spent three months or more in local authority care, you will be eligible for a contextual offer.

Please tick the box in the care questions on your UCAS application. If your reference confirms that you’ve spent three months or more in local authority care, our admissions team will process your application. If not, we’ll ask you to send us some more information, such as an email or letter from your local authority, school/college or other organisation.

Care leavers and estranged students may be eligible for our Standalone Bursary of £1,500 each year in addition to the University of Bristol Bursary of up to £2,060 a year and our Accommodation Bursary which is a discount of up to £1,040 on rent of university accommodation. These students are also encouraged to apply for the Unite Foundation Scholarship which provides free accommodation for three years.

Please note: The above figures are for 2019 entry and may change in subsequent years.

Find out more about the support the University of Bristol provides to care leavers.