Here, you will find a combination of virtual and in-person opportunities from the University and College Sectors. We ask students and their parents to research fully any opportunities advertised on the noticeboard to ensure they are happy with the organisation they are linking with and its value for money if there is a cost.
Notices & Key Dates
2026 application timeline (UCAS website)
2027 application Timeline (UCAS website)
Clearing – from 2 July – 19 October 2026
- Find out more about the clearing process from the UCAS website
Find an Open Day – Open days are an important way to learn about how a subject is taught and what you will study, from course tutors. Our advice is to prioritise course talks over general talks. If time/money are a constraint you can learn a lot from visiting local universities. If you are on the Sixth Form bursary, you can request that school helps with the costs, please talk to Mr Brown or Lucy.
NOW OPEN! – Student Finance Applications. We recommend that students make their student finance application as early as possible. They should avoid waiting until they get their exam results. Students should apply for student finance based on their first-choice (Firm). They can easily change this before their studies start. The most important thing is to get the application in!
- Applications Open – Aspiring Professionals Programme
Applications are open to Year 12 students for the 2027 Aspiring Professionals Programme cohort! Offering in-person and virtual presentations to schools, starting the week of the 21st September through late November. Find out more by visiting the Aspiring Professionals Programme website. Closing date: Friday 11th December at 12pm.
Oxbridge Focus
Featured New Courses
New Business course for 2027 entry
The University of Leeds is introducing a new Undergraduate Business course for 2027 entry:
BSc Business and Intelligent Technologies
Entry requirements: AAB including Mathematics
A future-focussed degree that blends business and technological insights, preparing you to lead, innovate and manage in a rapidly evolving digital world.
This one-of-a-kind programme is taught in English from the heart of Paris.
Our BA in International Politics, with or without a French option, focuses on the practical aspects of international politics in contemporary society while giving you a unique chance to live and study in the French capital, allowing you to gain invaluable international experience and graduate with a renowned University of London degree.
Join us in powering the next generation of space innovation.
Our new BEng Aerospace Satellite Engineering course has been developed by world-leading academics and industry partners to equip graduates with the key skills required to work and thrive within the rapidly growing space sector.
Students will have the opportunity to build comprehensive technical and transferable skills, utilising our state-of-the-art labs. You will also become part of our North East Skills and Technology Centre (NESST), a £50 million investment with partners including the UK Space Agency and industry prime Lockheed Martin UK Space.
Undergraduate Study – Duration 4 Years
Drawing on the expertise of leading academics and researchers in the field, you will explore the origins and present-day contexts of societal conflicts about power, participation, and resources.
Undergraduate Study – Duration 3 Years
Special and Inclusive Education prepares you to be a forward-thinking professional, with expertise in creating equitable learning pathways and opportunities for diverse learning profiles, including special and additional educational needs.
Latest Opportunities
Sociology/Media
Webinar (16+)
Sociology/Media: Is Social Media Rewriting Our Reality? Globalisation, Digital Communication & Social Inequality.
Wednesday 16th September, 11:10am – 11:55am
In his 2025 book World Builders, Bruno Maçães argues that power is no longer about owning land—it’s about building the worlds we live in. He says, “Each new world is a creation from nothing… and no one has control over the virtual space.” But if no one has control, why does it feel like we are being “programmed” by TikTok algorithms and “manosphere” influencers?
Why You Need to Join
- The Rise (2011): We’ll look back at how social media was once a “World Builder” for freedom, helping people across the Middle East unite during the Arab Spring to challenge the status quo.
- The Fall (Today): We’ll debate what went wrong. Why has the “infinite space” of the internet shifted from democratic hope to addictive short-form media and toxic subcultures?
- The AI Frontier: Is AI creating a new “Global Village” or just a more efficient way for elites to maintain an “intolerable status quo”?
Sociological Lens: What We’ll Cover
- Globalisation: How digital communication transcends borders but also creates “cultural homogenisation.”
- Social Control: Are algorithms the new form of surveillance?
- Inequality: Does AI bridge the digital divide or just build a “walled garden” for those already in power?
Business
Webinar (Year 12)
Business: Venture Capital – Wednesday 16th September, 2:05pm – 2:50pm
This session will provide an understanding on how venture capital firms operate from both the investor and investee perspective. We will touch on sources of funding available to start-ups and young firms, screening, valuations, deal structures, portfolio management and exits.
Physics
Webinar (16+)
The Physics of Space Exploration – Thursday 17th September, 11:15am – 12pm
Discuss why space exploration is hard. She’ll focus on BepiColombo, a mission that arrived at Mercury on 3rd September after an 8 year journey, and discuss the orbital mechanics of the mission, surviving the thermal environment, radiation hazards, and getting data back from 200 million km away.
BepiColombo is Europe’s first mission to Mercury, developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It aims to investigate Mercury’s composition, geology, magnetosphere, and internal structure.
Find out more (Channel Talent website)
All Subjects
Open Days (Year 12)
University of Oxford Open Day: 18th September.
Discover Oxford University at its best by visiting an Open Day. It’s the perfect chance to explore historic colleges, meet world‑class academics, and get a real feel for student life. You’ll experience the atmosphere of the city, learn about courses and admissions, and see whether Oxford feels like the right fit for you.
Business/Accounting/Finance
Virtual Programme (Year 11, 12 and 13)
Get Into Business, Accounting & Finance – a free virtual insight evening
Friday 18 September · 5:00–7:00pm · Virtual.
Accounting and finance is one of the widest doors into business — and almost nobody explains what’s actually behind it.
We’re bringing together PwC, UBS, BDO, CIMA and S&W — with more to be announced — to talk about what the work really involves: audit, advisory, tax, investment banking, wealth management, corporate finance and consulting. Whether you’re at school, college or university, this is a direct line to the people who decide who gets in.
- An honest picture of what accountants, bankers and finance professionals actually do all day — from people doing it.
- The routes in explained properly — school leaver programmes, degree apprenticeships, ACA/CIMA qualifications and graduate schemes, including the ones that don’t need a finance degree.
- Hands-on breakout rooms: smaller, interactive workshops with individual firms — commercial awareness, application and interview practice, and real case-study exercises.
- Live Q&A — bring every question you have to our panel of industry experts.
- A certificate of attendance to add straight to your CV.
Professional Policing
Webinar (Year 12)
Routes into Professional Policing – Thursday 19th November, 5pm – 6:30pm
Thinking about a future in Policing?
Join us for an informative and inspiring event to discover how a Professional Policing degree can prepare you for a rewarding career.
You’ll gain an in-depth understanding of the Professional Policing degree. This includes course content, learning opportunities, and the wide range of career pathways it can support. This event is an excellent opportunity to hear from our expert academics, all of whom have extensive policing experience. You’ll learn how studying at university can help you:
- Build knowledge, confidence, and professional skills
- Prepare to enter the workplace, by gaining a strong platform for future success.
This session will give you a clear insight into what a Professional Policing degree can offer and how it can support your long-term career goals. It’s ideal whether you’re exploring your options after college or considering a career change.
Psychology
Webinar (Year 12)
Psychology: Online Identities & Social Media
Monday 21st September, 2:15pm – 3:00pm
Social media plays a huge role in how we connect with others, present ourselves, and make sense of the world around us. In this interactive workshop, students will explore some of the key psychological theories that help explain online behaviour, from self-presentation and social comparison to the ways we interact with others in digital spaces.
As students begin to think about university, careers, and other exciting opportunities beyond school, we’ll also consider the role social media can play in shaping future opportunities. Through discussion and activities, students will reflect on their own online presence, think about what kind of digital identity they want to create, and explore both the benefits and potential pitfalls of life online.
Along the way, we’ll look at why things sometimes go wrong on social media and how a better understanding of psychology can help us navigate the online world more effectively.
Economics/Business
Webinar (Year 12)
Economics/Business: Understanding Financial Markets – Why They Matter to the Economy
Tuesday 22nd September, 12:45pm – 1:30pm
Financial markets are at the heart of the modern economy, helping to channel funds from savers to borrowers, support business investment, facilitate government borrowing and influence economic growth. But how do these markets actually contribute to the functioning of an economy?
In this session, we will explore the role of financial markets and the ways they enable households, firms and governments to access finance. Through real-world examples, we will examine how stock markets, bond markets and other financial institutions facilitate investment, allocate resources and support economic activity. We will also consider the importance of liquidity, risk management and confidence in maintaining efficient markets.
Drawing on contemporary events and case studies, the session will provide students with a deeper understanding of why financial markets are essential to the operation of national and international economies, and why economists and policymakers pay such close attention to them.
Designed for A-level Economics and Business students, this session directly supports the study of financial markets while offering some real-world applications.
Engineering
Online session (16+)
right4me Engineering – General vs Specialism with University of East Anglia and Glasgow University
Friday 28 September · 4:00pm–500pm
A number of competing factors determine whether a general or specialised engineering pathway is right for you. In this talk, we will explore how to plan your pathway into the engineering profession by managing your own needs with those from industry. We will use our undergraduate engineering courses at UEA to illustrate this – here it is only after the first year that you need to decide about which pathway to choose: Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Energy Engineering, Engineering with Management or Engineering with Entrepreneurship.
This presentation will explore the wide spectrum of study options available at Glasgow, each leading to distinct career paths in exciting engineering fields, including Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, and address the questions that many students have when considering an Engineering degree.
Medicine
Programme (Year 12)
Free Year 12 Oxbridge/Medicine Programme, which provides students with crucial insights and inspiration for applying to highly competitive universities.
This year, we have expanded the free programme, combining live lectures and 1:1 sessions, with 6 hours of total support across the year. Drawing on our latest research, we share high-impact, practical guidance on applications that have helped our learners achieve a 43% Oxbridge success rate, compared to a national average of 16%.
Over the past 3 years, we have supported over 4,300 students from UK schools through the free programme, so we thought your current Year 12 cohort might also be keen to take advantage of it.
Free Year 12 Oxbridge/Medicine Programme
Sign-up deadline: 22nd July
Flyer: https://leadingeducation.co.uk/Y12-26-Sinfo/
Students can sign up directly using the link or QR code on the flyer.
Medicine and Health
Virtual Session (Yr 12 & 13)
Medicine and Health Taster Sessions: Various dates
Bangor University’s College of Medicine and Health is delighted to invite you to our upcoming series of free online Taster Sessions – a programme of live lectures designed specifically for students exploring their options ahead of university.
Sessions are available across the following subject areas:
Sport Science, Medicine, Pharmacy, Pharmacology, Nursing, Midwifery, Biomedical Science, Medical Science, Psychology, Health and Social Care
These sessions offer students the chance to:
• Hear directly from Bangor University’s leading researchers and academics
• Get a genuine feel for university-level study in medicine and health
• Ask questions live during dedicated Q&A segments
• Attend from anywhere – no travel required, and no commitment to attend every session
Registration is completely free, and students can sign up for as many or as few sessions as they like. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to deepen your subject knowledge, build confidence, and make more informed decisions about your future studies.
Webinar (Year 12)
Think Tank – Cutting Edge University Perspectives & Debate with UEA and University of Reading
Tuesday 22nd September, 4:15pm – 5:15pm
Think Tank is a series of interdisciplinary online events for 16+ pre-university students, engaging academics and students in debate. We tackle some of the pressing national and global issues being faced today.
Our panel of academics each have 5 minutes at the beginning of the session to outline the key issues, as they see them, relating to The Oil Industry.
Ahead of the event, we invite students to submit questions and arguments HERE (SurveyMonkey website) within the overall session theme which, following the introductory inputs from our academics, are then either posed by the student themselves or by the host, depending upon each student’s preference.
The academics will then share their perspectives with plenty of opportunity for students to engage in the discussion. The event will progress in a similar way to ‘Question Time’.
Woven into the discussion, the speakers are encouraged to shed light on how undergraduates engage in these critical issues during their studies.
Physics
Webinar (Year 12)
Physics: Explosions in Space – The Sun’s Bad Days! – Thursday 24th September, 1:35pm – 2:20pm
Modern life depends on satellites that allow navigation and communication, and on the power infrastructure that keeps everything running. But what if that all collapsed overnight? What could cause that? What would the effects be?
In this presentation, we will see how the Sun on a bad day could cause such blackouts. And we’ll look at how we try to forecast the Sun and space weather to keep our technology safe.
All Subjects
Online Information Sessions (Year 12)
Edinburgh University – Various dates
We run a range of online events that you can access wherever you are in the world.
Our regular ‘Introduction to the University of Edinburgh’ sessions provide an overview of what it’s like to study with us, and the opportunity to ask questions. View the event details and book a session below.
As well as our regular sessions, from time to time we will run online events which are specific to a particular subject area. We will update those on our mailing list when booking opens for relevant events.
Medicine & Dentistry
Advice on Preparing for applications (Year 12)
Medical Schools Council – Preparing to apply
The Medical Schools Council recommend that students start preparing now for dentistry and medicine applications so that they have everything in place for this time next year.
Writing a personal statement for Medical School & Dental School
Competitions
Languages
Poetry Prize
Calling all young translators! Bring creative translation into the classroom this summer with the Stephen Spender Poetry Prize 2026. Translate ANY poem from ANY language, or a Polish poem for the Polish Spotlight. Free entry for all UK and Irish schools, for pupils of all ages!
Cateogries include the Individual Youth Entry (ages 18 and under, and ages 14 and under).
Useful Resources/Opportunities
All Subjects
On Demand Webinars
Yrs 12 & 13
UniTasterDays
These impartial videos have one key aim. To support students who are considering university to make informed future subject decisions. They feature guest speakers from a range of different universities, who are always experts in the subject being explored.
Dentistry
Online Resource
Yrs 12 & 13
University of Sheffield
This resource provided from the University of Sheffield gives an insight into the world of dentistry. Resource provided via the Futurelearn portal.
Medical Sciences
Online Lectures
Yrs 12 & 13
UCL
UCL have an online medical sciences lecture series which is free and open to everyone to get inspired.
Natural Sciences
Spotlight
Yrs 12 & 13
Durham University
At Durham, we actively provide our students with opportunities to develop attributes we hope they have by the time they graduate. One way in which we do this is through our excellent multi-subject degree programmes.
Explore our Natural Sciences webpages to discover whether Natural Sciences at Durham could be a good match for your students.