Contextual admissions at St George's

If you meet the eligibility criteria for groups 1, 2 or 3 you will be eligible for pre-application support. Examples of some of the support available include:

• travel bursaries to attend St George’s open days
• invitations to St George’s pre-application Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) virtual events
• invitations to Widening Participation activities, such as Insight to General Practice (where relevant).

If you meet Group 1 eligibility criteria specifically you will also receive bespoke advice regarding available support as well as tailored visit days to the University.

I'm eligible, how do I access pre-application support?

You can only be considered for this type of support by notifying our Widening Participation team using this webform. You will not be required to provide proof of meeting our eligibility criteria in order to receive pre-application support.

All applicants who meet eligibility criteria for groups 1 and 2 are eligible to be considered for a contextual offer. Under our contextual offer scheme, you could be made an offer two grades lower than our standard conditional offer (even if your predicted grades are higher).

The two-grade reduction for contextual offers applies to A Level, International Baccalaureate (IB) and Scottish Higher grades only and is applied across two subjects, rather than the requirement for one subject being reduced by two grades. The reduction will apply to the highest-grade requirements.

Below are examples of how we might adjust a grade requirement through our contextual offer scheme.

You will still need to meet all other course-specific academic and non-academic entry requirements. This may include:

• minimum GCSE requirements
• course-specific subject requirements
• minimum non-academic requirements, such as Fitness to Practise requirements
• course-specific interview or assessment requirements
• course-specific aptitude test requirements, such as UCAT.

I'm eligible, is there anything I need to do to inform you of my eligibility?

When you apply to study at St George's, you will be asked to complete a Contextual Admissions declaration. The information you provide on the declaration, along with some information provided to us by UCAS will let us know if you qualify for a contextual offer. If your application is successful and you are completing the qualifications named above, your offer will be issued two-grades lower than our standard requirements. You do not need to do anything further for us to know that you are eligible.

However, if you do receive a contextual offer you will need to provide the Admissions team with evidence of you meeting the eligibility criteria. We may include non-academic conditions in your offer requesting to see evidence that you meet our contextual offer eligibility criteria. The type of evidence you will need to provide will depend on which criteria you meet (please see the list below for more details). 

Evidence required for applicants from groups 1 and 2

Please see the below information for the evidence we may request as proof of your eligibility for each criteria.

Post-application support is split into support available for applicants (pre-offer), and offer holders (post-offer). If you meet the eligibility criteria for groups 1, 2 and 3 you will be eligible for some pre-offer and post-offer support. This includes applicants who have not received a contextual offer (2-grade reduction), such as those applicants with qualifications other than A Levels, IB or Scottish Highers.

Post-application support includes:

• Pre-offer: Travel bursaries to attend a St George’s interview day
• Pre-offer: Live or pre-recorded ‘Preparing for your interview at St George’s’ webinar
• Post-offer:Travel bursaries to attend a St George’s offer holder day
• Post-Offer: Fitness to Practise bursary, if eligible, to assist with costs of meeting police and occupational health check requirements.

I'm eligible, how do I access post-application support?

When you apply to study at St George's, you will be asked to complete a Contextual Admissions declaration. The information you provide on the declaration, along with some information provided to us by UCAS will let us know if you qualify for post-application support. You do not need to do anything further for us to know that you are eligible.

The specific type of support you are eligible for may require evidence. If you are eligible for any of this support you will be given further instructions on how to apply and prove your eligiblity at the appropriate stage of your application.

You will meet this criteria if you are currently, or have previously been:

• living with foster carers
• living in a residential children's home
• being looked after at home under a supervision order
• living with friends or relatives in kinship care - either through a formal arrangement (e.g. special guardianship order) or an informal arrangement without local authority support.

You will meet this criteria if you are a young person aged 14-25 who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member who could not cope without their support. This may be due to illness, disability, a mental health issue or substance misuse.

You will meet this criteria if you are either: 

• A refugee - someone whose claim for asylum has been recognised and they have been granted official 'refugee' status.

Or

• An asylum seeker - someone who has applied for refugee status and is waiting to find out if it has been granted.

You will meet this criteria if you are a young person aged 14-25 who is studying without the support and approval of your parents/guardians due to a breakdown in your relationship.

If you are applying from a school in England with an average A Level grade of C- or below you will meet this criteria.

 A list of eligible schools for 2025 entry can be viewed here. (PDF)

Please note:

• Eligibility is determined based on the school at which you take your A Levels (or equivalent). If you completed your GCSEs at an eligible school, but then undertook your A Levels at a school that is not on these lists, you will not meet the criteria.
• Qualifying schools will be determined based on the three most recent years of school’s performance data available from the Department of Education.

If you are applying from a school in England that is in the bottom 40% in England for progression to Higher Education you will meet this criteria.

A list of eligible schools for 2025 entry can be viewed here. (PDF)

Please note:

• Eligibility is determined based on the school at which you take your A Levels (or equivalent). If you completed your GCSEs at an eligible school, but then undertook your A Levels at a school that is not on these lists, you will not meet the criteria.
• Qualifying schools will be determined based on the three most recent years of school’s performance data available from the Department of Education.

We measure this using the Government’s POLAR4 classifications. POLAR is a measure of how likely young people in different areas of the country are to go on to Higher Education. This measure is updated periodically, and we are now on the fourth version – hence ‘POLAR4’.

It sorts each area into five groups (‘quintiles’) based on this rate – quintile 1 areas have the fewest people going on to higher education, and quintile 5 the most.

To meet this criteria you must live in a quintile 1 or 2 area. In other words, you must live in an area that is in the bottom 40% of the country in terms of young people going into Higher Education.

You can check your POLAR4 quintile number on the Office for Students website.

We measure this using the Government’s Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). IMD uses the seven aspects below to classify the relative deprivation of small areas across the country:

• Income
• Employment
• Education
• Health
• Crime
• Barriers to Housing and Services
• Living Environment.

IMD data sorts each area into ten groups (‘deciles’) based on the classification – decile 1 areas have the most perceived deprivation relative to other areas, and decile 10 has the least.

To meet this criteria you must live in a decile 1 or 2 area. In other words, you must be in an area that is classified in the bottom 20% of the country in terms of perceived deprivation.

You can check your local area by searching your postcode at gov.uk.

If you are in receipt of free school meals (FSM), you will have met the Government's eligibility criteria, which varies slightly depending on where you live. Information on these criteria is available on the relevant Government websites: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, or you could ask your school if you are not sure.

You will meet this criteria if your parent or carer currently serves in the British Armed Forces as a Regular or a Reservist, or has done so at any point during the first 25 years of your life.

The term 'Gypsy, Roma and Traveller' encompasses a wide range of individuals who may be defined in relation to their ethnicity, heritage, way of life and how they self-identify. This includes applicants from the following backgrounds:

• English or Welsh Romany Gypsies
• European Roma
• Irish Travellers
• Scottish Gypsy Travellers
• Showpeople such as people linked with fairground or circus professions
• People living on barges or other boats
• People living in settled (bricks and mortar) accommodation
• New Age Travellers.

You will be considered a mature student if you are a non-graduate applicant who will be aged 21 and over when you enter Higher Education.

Travel bursaries can be claimed via reimbursement, so you will need to purchase your travel before receiving payment from us. No payments ahead of booking are available.

The process for which to claim a travel bursary is as follows:

1. Book onto the St George’s event/interview.

2. Submit a travel bursary application via this application form.

3. Wait to hear the outcome the travel bursary application. Reimbursement is not guaranteed until the application has been approved.

4. Book required travel tickets/plan the journey in advance of event/interview.

5. Complete the travel bursary claim form which will be emailed with the travel bursary applicational approval, and submit it to wp@sgul.ac.uk.

Travel bursaries will be processed after the event/interview in question; reimbursements may take up to 3 weeks to be received by the bank. In the event that you are unable to purchase tickets upfront, you can contact the Widening Participation team who may be able to purchase these on your behalf. 

If you have any questions about claiming for a travel bursary, please contact the Widening Participation team.

FTP bursaries can be claimed at the point of eligibility before any Fitness to Practise checks have been conducted, if necessary. You will be informed of how to claim the bursary by email if you are eligible, and go on to hold a Conditional Firm offer with us.

Payments may take up to 3 weeks to be received by the bank in which case you may be required to start your Fitness to Practise checks before receiving the FTP bursary in order to meet the required deadline (as stated in the condition of the offer). The deadline by which the Fitness to Practise checks are required will not be extended due to a delay in claiming and/or receiving the FTP bursary. 

If you have any questions about claiming for an FTP bursary, and you are a Conditional Firm offer holder with us, please contact the Admissions team.

Our Contextual Admissions schemes are only currently available to applicants from within the UK, so we have selected the main qualifications studied within the UK to be included in the contextual offer scheme. We have evidence to suggest that a two-grade reduction across two subjects for these qualifications does not impact on a Contextual Admissions applicants' progression within Higher Education. In future we may broaden this to include more qualifications; however at present these are the only qualifications eligible for this scheme.

Our Contextual Admissions policy has been produced in line with our requirements for Access and Participation, as set by the Office for Students. Our requirements currently only include Access and Participation for UK students and applicants, however we may look to broaden our policy in future to include international applicants. Read more about the St George's Access and Participation plan.

Our Contextual Admissions schemes are designed to make Higher Education more accessible, and are not designed to disadvantage anyone. We want to ensure that those who have the potential to succeed at St George’s have the opportunity to apply. Whilst the pool of applicants eligible to apply to St George’s may grow, no applicants outside of our Contextual Admissions schemes will be disadvantaged. All applicants will be considered equally and for those courses that interview, offers will be given to applicants based on their interview score. 

You may need to mention Contextual Admissions in your personal statement if this is listed as one of the evidence requirements for a criteria you meet (please read the full criteria evidence requirements under the details for each scheme above).

Otherwise, all you need to do is submit your UCAS application and complete your Contextual Admissions declaration form on the St George's applicant portal. However, you are also welcome to mention anything in your personal statement that you feel demonstrates your motivation to study at St George’s, which may include aspects that qualify you for our Contextual Admissions schemes. 

No. Contextual Admissions and extenuating circumstances are different. Those with extenuating circumstances will have their specific situation considered but this will not make them eligible for our Contextual Admissions schemes. Read more about extenuating circumstances.

Once you have submitted your UCAS application and completed your Contextual Admissions declaration form on the St George's applicant portal, you will see a flag on your applicant portal (below personal details) to confirm if you are eligible. Additionally, if your application is successful and you receive a contextual offer from us, we will include confirmation of this in your offer letter, including specific conditions (if applicable).

If you receive an offer but choose to defer your entry, we will honour your Contextual Offer based on your eligibility during your application year, regardless of entry year. As with all deferred offers, all offer conditions must be met in the application year before you defer. This includes your Fitness to Practise conditions (if applicable) which impacts your eligibility to claim an FTP bursary.

We are using the schools data from the last three years to try to provide some stability to applicants who choose to delay applying. That means if you’re looking at the schools list now, but want to apply next year, you’ll still be eligible for this criteria within Contextual Admissions. 

Currently our Contextual Admissions schemes apply to undergraduate applicants only. However, we are looking to broaden our approach to Contextual Admissions and may update our policy in future years.