UCAS and Higher Education

UCAS stands for the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. It is the British admission service for all students applying to university. At Stepney All Saints Sixth Form we expect all Year 13 students to apply to university. Every year the vast majority of our students are successful in gaining places at their chosen universities, and over 90% choose to progress to university. The remainder go on to study at a wide range of high-level apprenticeships, including prestigious schemes such as those run by the UK Civil Service, KPMG, or Ernst and Young.

We have two dedicated UCAS Coordinators to support students applying to university, from the beginning of Year 12. Their role is to facilitate the UCAS application process and offer personalised guidance and support.

Yvanan and Tamanna, UCAS Coordinator,  are available to offer students bespoke advice and guidance on higher education by supporting students through the UCAS process. They provide personalised guidance on writing personal statements, including proofreading and feedback.

Students, parents, teachers and employers wishing to access information about the UCAS process and for information on higher education should contact either Miss Yvanan or Miss Tamanna.

All students are encouraged at the very start of year 12 to get involved in our in-house programmes such as the SASS Champions and Futures that aim to widen knowledge and cultural capital in their chosen subjects and the world of work. At the start of Year 12, our highest-achieving students from Key Stage 4 are invited to join the Elephant Group, which focuses on supporting top achievers to get to the best universities. This provides students with extracurricular activities, mentoring, lectures, webinars, summer schools and work experience placements. As Year 12 progresses we support students to apply to summer schools and open days at a range of leading universities, including Oxbridge, Imperial and UCL. In the summer term, all students attend the university and apprenticeship fair and visit Queen Mary’s university to get an insight into the university process. Students are also supported to make informed choices by using the Unifrog platform alongside a plethora of UCAS resource booklets provided by the UCAS Coordinators.

Once Year 13 begins, students continue to receive expert advice from their UCAS Coordinators, tutors and the Head of Year 13, who provide individual guidance and feedback on course choices, student finance, personal statements and any other queries. Bespoke support is put in place for students who need to meet the early Oxbridge, Medicine and Dentistry deadline. This includes preparation for admission test such as BMAT and LNAT. These students also receive 1-2-1 guidance not only from their UCAS Coordinators, but also from their tutor, the Head of Year, and outside professionals. In addition to this, we have a close link with Queen Mary’s University Medical School who provide guaranteed interviews for a number of our students. Students also have the privilege of engaging with former Russell group and Oxbridge Alumni who provide them with guidance, advice and mentoring.

UCAS Applications

UCAS stands for the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, it is the British admission service for all students applying to university and college.

At Stepney All Saints all Year 13 students are encouraged to apply to university and we start the decision making process in Year 12.

This may involve specialist university courses, lecture evenings, open days and summer schools. In Year 13 we use outside speakers from London universities who talk to students about writing a personal statement and student finance and ‘in-house’ we also have a team of academic tutors who are always available to help students compile their personal statements. UCAS plays an integral role in our ‘Whole School Tutorial Programme’ where form tutors give advice and guidance on every aspect of your UCAS form. The Head of Year 13, the teacher who oversees every aspect of the UCAS process, also runs after school extension classes where they can check students’ forms, give advice and guidance on course choices, student finance, personal statements and any other query. We also work closely with Connexions and have a careers adviser who visits the Sixth Form on a weekly basis to offer careers advice to all Sixth Form students. We have been very successful at guiding and advising students in their next step allowing them to continue their education at a wide range of universities including Oxbridge and The Russell Group Universities.

UCAS Deadline Dates

Please note: The deadline for students applying to Oxford, Cambridge, medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine is 15 October.

UCAS Timeline

Key Dates & Deadlines

UCAS Tariff and Point Scores

UCAS Qualification Point Scores

All grades carry points for University

UCAS Tariffs Table

UCAS Resources and Useful Links

UCAS

• UCAS tools and resources
• Choosing a course
• Degree Apprenticeships
• Apprenticeship’s guideline
• University guidelines
• Russell group universities

Student Finance

• Student finance how to apply
• Student finance in 30 seconds
• Student finance for undergraduates
• Student finance student toolkit

UCAS Support

General Support

• UCAS Booklet
• Super Curricular Booklet
• Personal Statement Booklet
• Choosing Between Offers Booklet
• Degree Booklets
• Student Profile
• Inspiration Week/Month: Panel speakers share their career/education journeys
• Trips: University open days and specific visits based on student interests.
• Workshops: Focus on student finance, budgeting, and preparation for university.
• UCAT & LNAT Support, led by UCAS Coordinators

Medicine/Dentistry Support

• UCAT Support- led by UCAS Coordinators
• Mock interviews – led by UCAS Coordinators
• K+ Programme
• UCL Target Medicine
• Sutton Trust Medicine Pathway
• NHS Cadet Programme (26weeks) with St. Johns Ambulance 
• Bridge the Gap Programme- Mock interview practice via QMUL
• Medicine reading list (St George’s University of London)
• Springpod virtual work experience
• In2Med in associated with Woosehill GP surgery
• Medicine champions pathway trips – UCL and University of Southampton
• Student-Assisted Medical and Dental Applications (SAMDA) – Introduction to Medicine and Dentistry hosted in school
• SAMDA Taster Day hosted at Queen Mary University
• Aspiring Medics – Online Courses
• Applying to Cambridge Webinars: Interviews & Assessments (Pembroke College)
• Personal Statement Writing Webinar (MyUCAT)
• Medic Mind Medicine course (UCAT/BMAT tutorials, personal statement guidance, interview prep)
• Scrubbed Up Virtual Medicine Open Day

Oxbridge Support

• SLT mentoring scheme
• Support with Oxbridge admissions tests- UCAT (Medicine), LNAT (Law), MAT (Maths), TMUA (Maths/Economics/Computer Science)
• SASS Champions Pathway
• Summer schools
• Mentoring with the application process
• Support with subject-specific Supercurricular
• Mock interviews – led by UCAS Coordinators