Access to Bristol
Access to Bristol provides local students with an opportunity to experience life at the University of Bristol.
Applications for Access to Bristol are now closed. Unfortunately, and in the interest of fairness, we are unable to accept late applications under any circumstances.
Please complete this form if you wish to be notified when applications for Access to Bristol 2024-25 open in September 2024.
What is Access to Bristol?
Eligibility
Benefits
Term dates and times
Subjects
What is Access to 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 2024).
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.
Please note that Pathways to Health Sciences has merged with Access to Bristol, so Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Sciences will now run as subject streams on Access to Bristol rather than as a standalone programme.
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 your chosen subject stream and studying any required Level 3 subjects)
The scheme is very popular and there is a 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).
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.
If you are studying A-levels/BTEC
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. Entry requirements are displayed on our course pages. 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.
Please note: we do not currently have BTEC contextualised offers. This means that your BTEC subject(s) offer will not be made any lower than stated on course pages.
If you are studying Access to HE
For most courses, you will be guaranteed an offer to study, providing full entry requirements are met. Entry requirements are displayed on our course pages.
For a small number of courses within the Faculty of Science, 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.
Term dates and times
Sessions will take place on campus every Wednesday from 2 pm to 4 pm on the dates shown below.
Autumn term 2023: 1 November, 8 November, 15 November, 22 November, 29 November, 6 December
Spring term 2024: 24 January, 31 January, 7 February, 21 February, 28 February, 6 March
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 2023-24 (PDF, 2,388kB).
Click on a subject to view the term they are running, year groups and specific requirements.
Arts and Humanities
English Literature
Term(s) running
Autumn and Spring
Year group(s)
Year 12, Year 13, Access to HE
Specific subject requirements
This stream is only open to students studying English Literature or combined English Literature and Language at A-level or equivalent.
Film and TV
Term(s) running
Autumn
Year group(s)
Year 13, Access to HE
Specific subject requirements
No specific subject requirements at A-level or equivalent.
History
Term(s) running
Spring
Year group(s)
Year 12 only
Specific subject requirements
Students must be studying History at A-level or equivalent.
Modern Languages
Term(s) running
Spring
Year group(s)
Year 12 only
Specific subject requirements
Previously, this stream was only open to students studying a modern language A-level or equivalent. Where a candidate is not taking an A-level in a modern language, we may accept ABB plus a standalone language qualification at CEFR level B1. Further details are available on our Modern Language Requirements page.
Engineering and Computer Science
Engineering
Term(s) running
Autumn and Spring
Year group(s)
Year 12, Year 13, Access to HE
Specific subject requirements
This stream is suitable for students studying Mathematics and any one of Physics, Chemistry, Further Mathematics, Computer Science or Electronics at A-level or equivalent.
As Engineering is such a broad subject, we do our best to showcase the different types of Engineering on offer at Bristol during your time on Access to Bristol.
Computer Science
Term(s) running
Autumn
Year group(s)
Year 13, Access to HE
Specific subject requirements
Students must be studying Mathematics at A-level or equivalent.
Life Sciences
Biological Sciences
Term(s) running
Autumn
Year group(s)
Year 13, Access to HE
Specific subject requirements
This stream is suitable for students studying Biology and a science-related subject at A-level. Science-related subjects can include: Biology; Chemistry; Computer Science; Economics; Electronics; Environmental Sciences; Further Mathematics; Geography; Geology; Mathematics; Physics; Psychology; and Statistics.
Biomedical Sciences
Term(s) running
Autumn and Spring
Year group(s)
Year 12, Year 13, Access to HE
Specific subject requirements
This stream is suitable for students studying Chemistry and a second Core science subject or Mathematics at A-level. Core science subjects include: Biology, Further Mathematics, Human Biology, Mathematics and Physics.
Psychology
Term(s) running
Autumn and Spring
Year group(s)
Year 12, Year 13, Access to HE
Specific subject requirements
This stream is suitable for students studying at least one science-related subject (Biology; Chemistry; Computer Science; Further Mathematics; Geography; Mathematics; Physics; Psychology; Statistics). Applicants must have 6/B in GCSE Maths and 4/c in GCSE English.
GCSE/additional requirements
This stream is only open to students with a grade 6/B in GCSE Maths or equivalent. If you do not currently have these grades but plan to re-sit, please let us know in your Access to Bristol application.
Science
Chemistry
Term(s) running
Spring
Year group(s)
Year 12 only
Specific subject requirements
This stream is only open to students currently studying Chemistry at A-level or equivalent.
GCSE/additional requirements
This stream is only open to students with a grade 6/B in GCSE Maths or equivalent. If you do not currently have these GCSE grades but plan to re-sit, please let us know in your Access to Bristol application.
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Term(s) running
Spring
Year group(s)
Year 12 only
Specific subject requirements
This stream is suitable for students studying two science-related subjects. Science-related subjects include: Biology, Chemistry, Further Mathematics, Mathematics, Physics, Environmental Science, Geology, Computer Science, Geography and Marine Science at A-level or equivalent.
GCSE/additional requirements
This stream is only open to students with a grade 6/B in GCSE Maths or equivalent. If you do not currently have these GCSE grades but plan to re-sit, please let us know in your Access to Bristol application.
Geography
Term(s) running
Autumn
Year group(s)
Year 13, Access to HE
Specific subject requirements
No specific subject requirements at A-level or equivalent, however, a lower entry requirement is available to students who are studying three specified subjects at A-level. Specified subjects include: Biology; Chemistry; Computer Science; Computing; Design and Technology: Product Design 3D; Environmental Science; Further Mathematics; Geography; Geology; Human Biology; Information Communication Technology; Marine Science; Mathematics; Physics; and Statistics.
Mathematics
Term(s) running
Autumn
Year group(s)
Year 13, Access to HE
Specific subject requirements
This stream is only open to students studying Maths and another Maths-related subject at A-level or equivalent. Maths-related subjects include: Biology; Chemistry; Computer Science; Economics; Physics.
Physics
Term(s) running
Spring
Year group(s)
Year 12 only
Specific subject requirements
This stream is only open to students studying both Maths and Physics at A-level or equivalent.
Social Sciences and Law
Business
Term(s) running
Spring
Year group(s)
Year 12 only
Specific subject requirements
No specific subject requirements at A-level or equivalent.
GCSE/additional requirements
This stream is only open to students with a grade 6/B in GCSE Maths or equivalent. If you do not currently have these GCSE grades but plan to re-sit, please let us know in your Access to Bristol application.
Childhood and Education Studies
Term(s) running
Autumn
Year group(s)
Year 13, Access to HE
Specific subject requirements
No specific subject requirements at A-level or equivalent.
Economics
Term(s) running
Autumn
Year group(s)
Year 13, Access to HE
Specific subject requirements
Students must be studying Mathematics at A-level or equivalent.
Law
Term(s) running
Autumn and Spring
Year group(s)
Year 12, Year 13, Access to HE
Specific subject requirements
No specific subject requirements at A-level or equivalent.
Social Sciences: Sociology, Politics, Criminology and Social Policy
Term(s) running
Spring
Year group(s)
Year 12 only
Specific subject requirements
This stream is only open to students studying at least one essay-based subject at A-level. Essay-based subjects include: Ancient History; Anthropology; Archaeology; Art and Design (all pathways); Business Studies; Chinese; Classical Civilisation; Classics; Drama; Economics; English Language; English Language and Literature; English Literature; Environmental Science; Environmental Studies; Film; French; Geography; German; Government and Politics; Greek; Health and Social Care; History; History of Art; Italian; Latin; Law; Media Studies; Music; Performance; Philosophy; Politics; Portuguese; Psychology; Religious Studies; Russian; Social Care; Social Policy; Sociology; Spanish; Theatre Studies and Welsh.
Specific subject requirements
This stream is only open to students with a grade 4/C in GCSE Maths or equivalent. If you do not currently have these GCSE grades but plan to re-sit, please let us know in your Access to Bristol application.
Health Sciences
Dentistry
Term(s) running
Autumn
Year group(s)
Year 12, Access to HE
Specific subject requirements
Students must be studying Chemistry, and one of either Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Further Mathematics at A-level or equivalent.
GCSE/additional requirements
This stream is only open to students with a grade 4/C or above in GCSE English (Lit or Lang), and a 7/A in GCSE Maths or equivalent. If you do not currently have these GCSE grades but plan to re-sit, please let us know in your Access to Bristol application.
Medicine
Term(s) running
Autumn
Year group(s)
Year 12, Access to HE
Specific subject requirements
Students must be studying Chemistry, and one of either Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Further Mathematics at A-level or equivalent.
GCSE/additional requirements
This stream is only open to students with a grade 4/C or above in GCSE English (Lit or Lang), and a 7/A in GCSE Maths or equivalent. If you do not currently have these GCSE grades but plan to re-sit, please let us know in your Access to Bristol application.
Veterinary Science
Term(s) running
Autumn
Year group(s)
Year 12, Access to HE
Specific subject requirements
Students must be studying Chemistry, and one of either Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Further Mathematics at A-level or equivalent.
GCSE/additional requirements
This stream is only open to students with a grade 4/C or above in GCSE English (Lit or Lang), and a 4/C in GCSE Maths or equivalent. If you do not currently have these GCSE grades but plan to re-sit, please let us know in your Access to Bristol application.
Please note that where a stream is undersubscribed, students in Year 12 may be invited to take part in subject streams that are running in Autumn for Year 13 students. If you are a Year 12 applicant, you will be able to indicate your Autumn subject stream preference on the application form.
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 Kath (Access to Bristol Coordinator) at access-to-bristol@bristol.ac.uk.
I owe my university experience to Access to Bristol - without the programme, I would not be where I am today. Knowing I had the contextual offer in my back pocket allowed me to control some of that A Level exam stress, but also motivated me to achieve those grades so that I could go to Bristol, as the Access to Bristol programme really made me want to go here.