Author: Amy Williams

The University of Exeter has specialist provision to support care-experienced students’ progress to Higher Education. I hope that the following information helps when you are discussing future pathways with students who have been or are currently in care. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with our team if you have any questions.

Support before university studies:

• Exeter Scholars
  If your students are care experienced they may be eligible to be part of the Exeter Scholars programme, by completing one of three pathways which feature events and activity. The free programme provides opportunities to develop knowledge about university and experience what it’s like to study a subject at University level. Find out more about Exeter Scholars
• Admissions support
  During our admissions processes we recognise the impact that being in care can have on a student’s attainment and this may be taken into account when we are considering their application. This might mean that the applicant is made an offer at the lower end of the grade range, or made an ‘aspirational’ offer if their predicted grades aren’t quite in line with our expected levels. In addition, some GCSE requirements may be waived.

• Designated contact points
  If your students are considering higher education and need advice or guidance before (and during) the application process please do point them in the direction of our designated point of contact for care experienced students: Natalie Bracher: careleaver@exeter.ac.uk

Financial support for care leavers *

• Fee Waiver Care Leavers starting undergraduate or PGCE courses at the University of Exeter will not have to pay tuition fees. In order for the University to provide this support, a care leaver must indicate they they have been in care on their UCAS application form. Our Admissions Team will contact the student asking for further information.
• Care Leavers’ Bursary The bursary is intended to help with the cost of accommodation during the summer vacation period after first and subsequent years of study (but not final year). The bursary amount is not fixed, but is decided by taking into account the additional cost of accommodation needs.

* At the University of Exeter we define a care leaver as a young person (up to the age of 25) who has been looked after by the local authority for more than 13 weeks since they were 14, including some time at age 16 or 17.

Academic and careers support

While studying at the university of Exeter, students who are care experienced  have access to a range of support services including:
– one on one meetings with the university’s designated member of staff for care leavers and care experienced students.
-care experience support groups
-Peer mentoring scheme for care leavers and estranged students
– career and employability support and guidance throughout the duration of their degree, and continued support after graduation.

For further details regarding how the University of Exeter supports care experienced students please visit https://www.exeter.ac.uk/students/wp-support/supportfor/careleavers/

Please get in touch with our outreach team if you have any questions about how we support students considering their university options: outreach@exeter.ac.uk

Here at the University of Exeter, we think it’s really important to support all students to make informed decisions about Higher Education and help them decide whether it’s the right pathway for them. Our longitudinal access programme, Exeter Scholars, does just that! Exeter Scholars is designed to give participating students the opportunity to find out more about the options available to them and to experience a ‘taster’ of university life. There are opportunities for students in the South West of England to join the programme in Year 9, Year 10, and Year 12, and the support continues right through until the end of Year 13 (and beyond, if they go on to study at the University of Exeter)! Read More

Students in schools and colleges require access to information in order to make informed decisions about their educational pathways. Normally, these sources of information have taken the form of in person information fairs in schools/colleges or large UCAS exhibitions alongside in-school/college careers guidance where available. These have complimented on-campus visits, open-days and other opportunities. The current pandemic has altered our world and provided limited opportunities to engage with prospective students in this way. Universities and other guidance providers have developed a multitude of distinct digital offerings over the last few months in an attempt to fill this void and support students. The use of TEAMS and Zoom are now common place amongst our outreach team although it is acknowledged that it is difficult to replicate the on campus experience through a digital lens. There are however some very valuable lessons learnt over the last few months which enable us to reflect on good practise whilst considering our output over the coming year;

• Is there a need to increase our carbon footprint, frequently travelling several hundred miles each week when these may be replicated through digital means?
• Is there a difference in the way key messages are received by the audience, either in person or through digital platforms when our target audience are so accustomed to digital engagement?
• What are the implications, with the reduction of travel and the move to digital engagement, on our team’s welfare and well-being?

Digital engagement does not necessarily need to wholly eradicate in-person exchanges – this does not need to be an either/or scenario. The last few months have demonstrated that there is a place for the roll out of digital output that permits the user to access content at a time and place that is suitable for them and those who support them. In addition to the many bespoke in-school sessions, my team have created fantastic resources aimed at different audiences;

www.exeter.ac.uk/teachers – Our Teachers and Advisers website contains a wide selection of resources and activities available to teachers/advisers to download and share with your students.

www.facebook.com/DiscoverUniExe – Students, parents & guardians can keep up to date with all our activities and events via our Discover Uni facebook page.

@DiscoverUniExe – a Twitter handle aimed specifically at teachers and advisers providing all the latest information about our activities.

https://www.exeter.ac.uk/teachers/activities/booking/login/ – Log in a request for outreach delivery via our dedicated School Booking system.

The forthcoming academic year is likely to see the team deliver a blended approach to outreach combining lessons learnt through our digital output thus far alongside our excellent opportunities to engage with our campuses when circumstances allow. Please do have a look at the above resources and engage with us through our different platforms. Where we can, we will help.

Dr Karl Devincenzi

Schools Relationship Manager

If your students are due to receive results tomorrow, we hope the day goes as smoothly as possible for you all. The University of Exeter remains committed to ensuring as many students as possible progress onto Higher Education and we’ll be on hand tomorrow to help in any way we can.

The best way to contact our admissions team is through the live chat function on our website. It’s available from 08:00-20:00 tomorrow https://www.exeter.ac.uk/clearing/contactus/

Confirmation of results
If your students hold an offer for the University of Exeter they have the option of using the live chat or contacting the admissions team via our phone line: 0300 555 6060 (UK callers)
Please note – this phone line is reserved for offer holders and teachers/advisers only.

Clearing
Each Clearing Vacancy published on our clearing webpage has an ‘apply’ button which links through to an online form: https://vacancies.exeter.ac.uk/clearing/
By completing the form, applicants will be considered for a place faster than by any other means of enquiry.

We know how important it is for your students to feel prepared and well-equipped in the run up to A Level results day. A really key part of this is getting to grips with the Clearing Process.

We’ve gathered together some advice and guidance to help your students navigate Clearing, in the videos below.

If your students have received a Clearing Offer or are preparing their options for results day, there are a number of ways for them to virtually visit our campuses and find out more about life and study at our campuses.

• Take a virtual campus tour

Though current events mean we can’t welcome your students onto our campuses in person, we do have a series of campus tours available: Visit Streatham, Visit Penryn or Visit St Lukes in the videos below.

• Chat to a current student

Students interested in courses at our Exeter-based campuses (Streatham and St Lukes) can chat to current students via our dedicated Unibuddy page. We have a huge range of courses supported on the platform, so it’s very likely they will be able to connect with someone from their discipline or college.

Students interested in courses at our Cornwall campus (Penryn) can email where the team will put them in touch with a current student ambassador.

• Visit our Online Open Day platform

Our dedicated Online Open Day platform is open throughout July and August. The platform showcases content which explores accommodation, student life, subject specific information and more. Your students can access the platform here.
More useful links:
Hear from our students about their experiences of Clearing: www.exeter.ac.uk/clearing/studentstories/
Clearing vacancies for Home/EU students: https://vacancies.exeter.ac.uk/clearing/home/
Clearing vacancies for International students: https://vacancies.exeter.ac.uk/clearing/international/