Access to Leeds
University of Leeds
Access to Leeds is the University of Leeds contextual admissions scheme, applied for alongside your UCAS application by anyone in the UK who meets at least two of its criteria. Eligible applicants get an alternative offer two grades below standard, then complete an online module from April to July before starting. There is no limit on places, but Leeds must be your firm choice to keep the offer.
- Open
- Now until 21 Oct 2026 at 12pm
- Programme
- Online module Apr to Jul 2027 after your offer
- Run by
- Leeds Access to Leeds team
- ABB offer for Medicine and Dentistry, with Chemistry and Biology and an A in one of them
- Medicine GCSE minimum drops to 6 at grade 4 instead of 6 at grade 6, though scoring still uses your top 8
- No interview advantage for Medicine: Access to Leeds is not a shortlisting factor, and no UCAT cut-off applies
- Make Leeds your firm choice
- Complete both parts of the online module between April and July of Year 13
- Live anywhere in the UK
- Not already hold a degree or be taking a foundation course
Two of these must apply to you, not just one.
- First in family to university
- Deprived postcode
- Free school meals or low household income
- Low-progression school
- Young carer, estranged from parents or refugee or asylum seeker
- Care-experienced
- Submit the Access to Leeds form and a referee form at the same time as your UCAS application
Every UK medicine and dentistry widening participation programme, in one place
Every UK medical and dental school runs widening participation programmes, and most come with a real admissions advantage: a guaranteed interview, an offer one or two grades lower, extra points in the ranking, or a lower UCAT cut-off. Each school publishes its own scheme on its own pages, with its own name, catchment, criteria and deadline, so students who would qualify often never hear about them.
This tool lists all 60 access programmes that give a benefit for medicine or dentistry at a UK university, from university-run schemes like Access to Sheffield and Routes to the Professions to national ones like the Sutton Trust's Pathways to Medicine and Scotland's Reach programme. Set your location, year group and the contextual factors that apply to you, and the list narrows to the programmes you are actually eligible for.
Guaranteed interview
Invited to interview as long as you meet the programme's academic minimums, instead of competing on UCAT score. Birmingham, Leicester, Sheffield, Lancaster, Keele, Queen Mary, Manchester, Bristol and Queen's Belfast all run schemes like this.
Lower offer
A contextual offer one to two grades below the standard one, typically ABB or AAB instead of AAA or A*AA. Some are conditional on making the university your firm choice.
Extra points
Points added to your application score, a lower UCAT cut-off, a UCAT uplift, or a flag that moves you up the ranking. Smaller than a guaranteed interview but often enough to tip a borderline application.
Who can apply
Eligibility nearly always comes in three layers. Location: most programmes serve a region, a travel time from the campus or a list of partner schools, though a growing number are national and online. Year group: most recruit in the autumn of Year 12 (S5 in Scotland, Year 13 in Northern Ireland), a few start in Year 10 or 11, and some are applied for in Year 13 alongside UCAS. Background: you usually need at least one contextual factor, such as free school meals, being the first in your family to go to university, a low-progression school or postcode, care experience, caring responsibilities or refugee status.
Most also set academic minimums, typically five or more GCSEs at grade 6 with English and Maths, and ask you to be studying Chemistry or Biology. Every programme in the tool shows its exact requirements as a checklist.
When to apply
Most Year 12 programmes open in September or October and close between November and January, with the programme itself running from the following January to the summer. A few are applied for in Year 13 alongside UCAS. The tool shows this cycle's dates, or the last published dates where this year's have not been announced, and sorts by the soonest deadline.
Joining a programme does not commit you to that university, and you can usually be on more than one. Schemes in the UKWPMED group (Birmingham, Brighton and Sussex, Hull York, Keele, Manchester and Plymouth) recognise each other's programmes, so one completion can unlock benefits at several schools.
All 60 programmes
Grouped by where you need to live or go to school to apply.
UK-wide14 programmes
- Guaranteed Interview Scheme, Anglia Ruskin
- Confident Futures, Cardiff
- Access to Medicine, Lancaster
- PARTNERS, Newcastle
- Discover Bristol, Bristol
- Next Step Bristol, Bristol
- Virtual Summer School, Bristol
- Exeter Scholars, Exeter
- Access to Leeds, Leeds
- Leeds Futures: Dentistry and Medicine, Leeds
- Ambition Nottingham 16-18, Nottingham
- Access to Sheffield Summer School, Sheffield
- Ignite your Journey, Southampton
- Widening Access to Medicine, Southampton
England27 programmes
- Wesleyan Pathway to Medicine, Aston
- BrightIdeas, BSMS
- BrightMed, BSMS
- Brunel Medical Summer School, Brunel
- Widening Access to Medicine, Edge Hill
- K+, King's
- Medical Sciences Summer School, Newcastle
- Access to Queen Mary, Queen Mary
- Bridge the Gap, Queen Mary
- Routes to the Professions, Birmingham
- Bristol Scholars, Bristol
- Preparing for Medicine, UEA
- Lancashire Scholars, Lancashire
- Medicine Work-Based Selection, Leeds
- Reach for Excellence, Leeds
- Access Leicester: Medicine, Leicester
- Lincs to Medicine, Lincoln
- Liverpool Scholars, Liverpool
- Lancashire Access Medics, Manchester
- Manchester Access Programme, Manchester
- Preston Widening Access Programme, Manchester
- Peninsula Pathways, Plymouth
- Access to Sheffield, Sheffield
- Learn with US, Southampton
- First Choice: Medicine, Sunderland
- Black Access, York
- Next Step York, York
England and Wales5 programmes
- Steps2Medicine, Keele
- Access to HE Diploma (Medicine), Access to HE
- Pathways to Medicine, Sutton Trust
- Pathways to Birmingham, Birmingham
- Access to Bristol, Bristol
Scotland9 programmes
- Aspire North
- FOCUS West
- LEAPS
- LEAPS Transitions Course, LEAPS
- Lift Off
- Reach, Reach Scotland
- SWAP Access to Medical Studies, SWAP
- Highland Pathway to Healthcare, UHI Inverness
- First Chances Fife, St Andrews
Wales4 programmes
- North Wales Dentistry Scheme, Cardiff
- Step Up to University, Cardiff
- Doctoriaid Yfory, Coleg Cymraeg
- Seren Academy, Welsh Government
Northern Ireland1 programme
- Pathway Opportunity Programme, Queen's Belfast
Frequently asked questions
What is a widening participation programme for medicine?
A widening participation programme (also called an access or outreach programme) is a free scheme run by a medical or dental school for students from backgrounds that are under-represented in medicine. Most run through Year 12 and include campus days, a summer school or online sessions. The ones in this tool all give an admissions benefit when you apply, such as a guaranteed interview or a lower offer.
Does completing one guarantee a place at medical school?
No. A guaranteed interview means you skip the UCAT ranking that most applicants are shortlisted on, but you still have to pass the interview. A contextual or reduced offer lowers the grades you need, usually by one or two A-level grades, but you still need to achieve them.
Do I still need to sit the UCAT?
Almost always, yes. Most programmes still require the UCAT and some set a minimum score or a band 1 to 3 in the situational judgement test. The difference is that the programme replaces or lowers the cut-off that other applicants are ranked on.
Can I apply to more than one widening participation programme?
Yes, if you meet each one's criteria. Many students join a local programme and a national one. Check the time commitment, as most ask you to attend every event, and a few universities only allow you to be on one of their own schemes at a time.
What counts as a widening participation background?
Each programme sets its own list, but the common criteria are free school meals, being the first in your family to go to university, a low household income, living in a postcode with low progression to higher education, attending a school with low progression, being care-experienced, a young carer, estranged from your parents, or a refugee. You normally need one of these, and sometimes two.
When do applications open and close?
Most Year 12 programmes open in September or October and close between November and January, with the programme itself running from the following January to the summer. A few are applied for in Year 13 alongside UCAS. Each entry in the tool shows this cycle's dates, or the last published dates where this year's have not been announced.
What if my school is not a partner school?
Some programmes only take students from named partner schools, and your school nominates you. Others are open to any state school in a region or across the UK. Set your location in the tool and it will show which programmes you can apply to directly.