What is ‘Futures’?
Our three programmes, Dental Futures, Healthcare Futures and Medicine Futures, are designed to inspire and support Year 12 students interested in pursuing careers in Dentistry, Healthcare or Medicine. Running for twelve months from January, your chosen programme will also help you develop your skills and subject knowledge, giving you the opportunity to take part in talks, workshops and other enrichment activities alongside your current studies.
What’s included in the Futures programmes?
Each of our programmes are slightly different in terms of the scheduled activities throughout the year: specific details will be confirmed at the start of each programme. Each of our programmes runs from January in Year 12 to December in Year 13. The details below give you a general idea of the activities involved in each of our programmes.
Year 12
- Launch event, providing you with more information about the programme and applying to University.
- Subject taster sessions, helping you develop your insight into your chosen subject area.
- Skills workshops, helping you develop the skills you need to apply to your chosen subject area.
- Study skills sessions, helping you develop the study skills required to help you do well in your current and future studies.
- Personal statement workshops, helping you understand how different universities use your personal statement and how best to write it.
Year 13
- Support for students sitting the BMAT and UCAT exams, required for application to the Medicine and Dentistry programmes at university
- Interview skills workshop, helping you find out about the different types of interviews and the skills and attributes universities are looking for.
- Futures Graduation, celebrating your achievements over the 12 month programme
How is it delivered?
Sessions will be delivered via an online platform such as Zoom or MS Teams. University staff and current students will deliver content, with opportunities for you to interact and participate. Most of the activity is planned to take place online, however we do hope that there will be an opportunity to welcome you to the University of Leeds campus and for you to meet your fellow participants face to face. Subject to restrictions, we plan to offer two campus days for each programme.
Online sessions will take place on a weekday evening, during term-time, so that they do not interfere with your current studies.
What are the eligibility criteria?
Our Futures programmes are open to current Year 12 / first year college students who have a genuine interest in applying to study health-related courses at university. We are committed to ensuring equality of opportunity to students from all backgrounds, recognising that some groups are under-represented on university courses and in certain health careers.
Students applying to Futures must meet the following criteria:
- Year 12 / first year college student. Although this is a national programme, priority will be given to students studying in Yorkshire and the Humber.
- Have achieved / be studying suitable GCSE’s and A Levels (or equivalent) to study the relevant degree course at a selective university.
- Able to commit to joining the online sessions on a fortnightly basis (one weekday evening throughout term-time)
Students must also meet two of the following criteria:
- your parents / carers did not go to university
- you are eligible for free school meals or from a household with an annual income of £25,000 or below
- you live in an area with low progression to higher education (use our online postcode checker)
- you attend a school achieving below the national average at GCSE (Attainment 8 score)
- you live or grew up in public care
- your studies have been disrupted by circumstances in your personal, social or domestic life. (Except in extreme circumstances, disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic will not be considered)
Consideration will also be give to applicants who meet just our postcode criteria (use our online postcode checker)
For further guidance on eligibility, please refer to our our Additional Information and Eligibility Guidelines.
How do I apply?
Applications to Futures 2022 have now closed.
Information about our 2023 Futures programmes will be available in the autumn of 2022.