Interactive Module
Contextual Admissions
What is Contextual Admissions?
Contextual admissions is a university admissions process which considers an applicant’s individual circumstances and background when reviewing their application, rather than solely focusing on their academic achievements.
This means that universities can consider factors such as an applicant’s socioeconomic status, family background, and the quality of the schools they attended when making admissions decisions. The goal of contextual admissions is to create a more diverse student body and provide opportunities for students who may have faced additional challenges in their academic journey.
Each university will have its own contextual admissions policy and will use different sets of data to make decisions. Scroll down to find links to the Russell Group Universities' pages on contextual policies and data.
Did you know?
30% more students from under-represented backgrounds are studying at Russell Group universities now compared to five years ago.
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Resources for you and your students
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Explore Contextual admissions policies at our partner universities
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham Student Recruitment and Outreach team are there to support schools and colleges across the country. They run a range of activities and programmes to support students from Year 7 up to Year 13. These include, but are not limited to: school campus visits; talks and workshops, on and off campus; masterclasses; residentials; and access programmes. They have a dedicated team to provide information, advice and guidance for students, teachers and career advisers.
Entry requirements and contextual offers
University of Cambridge
Widening participation and contextual data
The University and its Colleges are committed to widening participation to higher education. Hundreds of outreach initiatives and events are run each year both in Cambridge and in schools and colleges across the UK.
The University is committed to ensuring that it offers admission to students of the highest academic potential, irrespective of social, racial, religious, and financial considerations. To achieve this, every applicant is considered individually in a holistic assessment, using all available information. As part of this process, the University considers additional information that provides a more complete picture of the educational and social circumstances that underpin students’ applications, academic performance, and performance in our assessments. For more information, see the University’s contextual data webpage.
Cardiff University
Cardiff’s Widening Participation Strategy 2020-2025 builds on our excellent record of putting students at the heart of what we do and is aimed at supporting students from socio-economically deprived and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds to engage, achieve and succeed at Cardiff University.
Discover their carefully tailored programmes designed to break down the barriers young people face, and to support them through their educational journey.
Russell Group University Events
Discover CPD events and student outreach opportunities hosted by our 24 partner universities, including programmes for widening participation.
