Care experienced students

If you have spent three months or more in local authority care, you will be eligible for a contextual offer.

Our contextual offer is a grade reduction of up to two grades below the standard entry requirements. 

If you’re at school or college in Bristol you may also be eligible for our Bristol Scholars programme.

As a care leaver, you are eligible to apply for our Gateway to Medicine, Gateway to Dentistry, and Gateway to Veterinary Sciences courses, regardless of the school or college that you attend.

Our 'Gateway to...' courses are aimed at students who have the potential to become doctors, dentists or vets, but do not meet the academic entry criteria to apply directly to our five-year undergraduate courses.

Care leavers are normally eligible to be independently assessed for student finance. This means that your household income will not be taken into account when your student finance is calculated. If your independent household income is deemed to be below £25,000, you will qualify for maximum financial support. Find more information about funding.

Specialised support

Contact our Money Advice Team who can give advice and guidance throughout the student finance application process, including on how to apply for independent status with Student Finance England/Wales/Scotland/NI.  

Bristol Standalone Bursary

Our Bristol Standalone Bursary offers care leavers (under the age of 25) £1,500 for each year of study (excluding NHS funded years).

Further financial support

The University offers a number of bursaries including the University of Bristol bursary, take a look at what you might be eligible for using our Financial support search tool. Further information about funding your studies is available on our Fees and Funding page.

You may be eligible for some support from your Local Authority. Please contact your Local Authority Leaving Care Services in order to find out more about the funding and support they have available for you.

University of Bristol Accommodation Bursary
Our Accommodation Bursary offers up to £1,158 off first year accommodation in University allocated accommodation for eligible students. You must make sure that you have applied for financial support from your regional funding provider and you have given them your consent to your household income information. The University will automatically contact you if you are eligible. There is no further application process. 

Unite Foundation Scholarship
Having somewhere of your own to call home matters; we are delighted to be working with the Unite Foundation, supporting students who have previously been in care or are estranged from their parents. The Unite Foundation Scholarship provides recipients with free en-suite accommodation in Unite House or Orchard Heights. With the Unite Foundation scholarship, you’ll have accommodation and bills covered for up to 3 years of study. That includes through the holidays too, so you don’t have to wonder where to go during reading weeks or over Christmas or the summer break. You can even stay the summer after you graduate to plan your next move. You can find more information about the scholarship and how to apply on the Unite Foundation Scholarship webpage. We recommend you read their information and guidance document before applying.

Summer Accommodation
For those not in receipt of the Unite Foundation Scholarship, the Accommodation Office offers self-catered accommodation in Bristol throughout the summer for incoming and current University of Bristol students from £24 per night.

Help with guarantors
Most of our halls of residence do not require a deposit or for you to have a guarantor. If you’re living in private rented accommodation, we have established a relationship with Housing Hand, a company that offer a fully comprehensive guarantor service available to all students.

If you are unable to find a co-signatory for your guarantor application, or the fees are a barrier for you, please get in touch with Maria ([email protected]) for help.

During your time as a student with us, you can contact Maria Tottle at any point in the year for wellbeing support. This might be for a chat to work through any challenges you may be facing or for 1:1 coaching. We have a range of support at the University which Maria can help you to access.

You are not on your own. There is always a friendly face and listening ear nearby. Find out about the services we have, what they do and how they can help you.

Peer mentoring

If you would like to talk to a current student before and during the first few months of university, peer mentoring is available for any first year undergraduate. The mentors are current students themselves and can answer any questions that you might have and help you settle into university life. You have the option to indicate a preference for a mentor who shares similar characteristics.

Care Leavers and estranged students’ network

The SU Care Leavers and Estranged Students Network was set up by students in 2019. To find out more about the network, their events and support on offer or to join this free network please see the SU Groups Webpage. Networks are an exciting way for students to build communities and create change through collective action. They are representative bodies that can lead campaigns, hold forums and organise social events.

Tea and cake events

Care leavers can meet students from similar backgrounds at events run by our dedicated staff contact.

For more information about our support for students from a care experience or background please contact our Care Experienced support team at [email protected].

As well as University support, there are organisations that provide support and information for care leavers. These include:

• National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL) – www.nnecl.org
• Become - www.becomecharity.org.uk
• Propel – www.propel.org.uk