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Advice for schools, colleges and teachers

Read our advice and guidance to help you support your students on their journey to university. We have information on accepted qualifications, Foundation Years, personal statements and references, school visits and more.

• qualifications
• Foundation Years
• Sussex Access Programme and contextual offers
• student finance and cost of living
• personal statements and references
• visit campus
• why study at Sussex
• contact us.

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Qualifications – what we accept

We accept a range of qualifications from students applying to study with us. The most common qualification is A-levels, but we also accept BTECs, International Baccalaureates, Scottish Highers and more.

See the full range of qualifications we accept.

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Foundation Years

If you have students who are not sure which degree they would like to study, or don’t quite have the grades required for first-year entry, a Foundation Year can be a great option. Benefits include:

• lower entry grades, typically around CCC at A-level
• B-TECs accepted (slso accepted for first-year degree entry – see individual course pages for required qualifications)
• progression onto the first year of a degree after successfully passing the Foundation Year
• flexibility to decide which degree to progress on to
• being part of the Sussex community just the same students on undergraduate degrees, including access to facilities and societies.

Find out more about our Foundation Years.

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Access Programme and contextual offers

We recognise that not everyone has had the same opportunities leading to university and it is important for us that Sussex is a diverse community.

The Sussex Access Programme has been created to give advice and support to students considering Higher Education, including online support and access to our Student Ambassadors. Our Access Plus Programme is for students from a range of backgrounds who meet more targeted criteria. We also work directly with schools and colleges on access events and opportunities for their students.

Contextual offers are one of the ways we remove the barriers to higher education, ensuring that we have fair access to all, regardless of background. A contextual offer is a reduced grade offer which allows us to recognise the educational context and the challenges which some of our applicants face.

Learn more about contextual offers.

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Student finance

Alongside student finance loans, which students can apply for to help with the cost of tuition and living costs, many universities also offer scholarships and bursaries, which do not need to be repaid.

Students can regularly check our available scholarship opportunities throughout the year for new opportunities.

Students will receive the Sussex Bursary if they are a new undergraduate, or foundation year student, with an assessed household income of less than £25,000. (2024 entry – future years to be confirmed.)

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Personal statements and references

Personal statements are short, reflective statements that students submit as part of their UCAS application. During the admissions process we read them to decide if students are suitable for the course they’re applying for.

Share our tips for writing a great personal statement with your students.

Independent applicants who are not currently attending school or college must ask for a reference from in an academic or professional capacity. .

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Visit campus

There are many ways you and your students can visit us, including school and college visits, Open Days and campus tours.

School and college visits

If you would like to bring a group of students from years 10-13 to visit our beautiful campus, we’d be delighted to discuss this with you. Our team can work with you to plan a visit to suit your students’ needs and interests.

Learn more about how to plan and book a visit.

Hosting an event?

If you would like one of our team to attend your Higher Education Fair or give a talk to a group of students, email study@sussex.ac.uk and we’ll get back to you. We typically work with students in years 10-13 who are looking to progress on to university. You can see our list of talks and workshops, but we’d be happy to discuss any specific topics you require.

Open days and campus tours

If a student would like to visit our campus, we have a few options available.

The best way to see the campus buzzing with activity is at one of our Open Days. These can be booked online, and usually run in June and October.

We also run frequent campus tours as well as an online virtual tours.

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Why study at Sussex

Explore the benefits students will get by studying with us, including accommodation guarantees, placement opportunities and career support.

Guaranteed accommodation

We guarantee housing to all new first-year undergraduate students, providing they meet some essential criteria. Find our more about our Accommodation Guarantee. 

By staying in housing on campus students will be at the heart of the Sussex community. We have a wide range of accommodation styles and prices to suit all needs.

Placements and Study Abroad

Most of our students have the opportunity to study abroad or do a work placement. We have dedicated teams who support students wanting to explore either of these oppourtunities.

See our full list of courses with dedicated experience years.

Careers support

We’re ranked 16th in the UK for employment outcomes (out of 90 Higher Education institutions) in the .

We are committed to helping our students prepare for their futures. There are opportunities to find part-time jobs, meet industry professionals and attend skills workshops. Students can also see Careers Consultants during their studies and for three years after graduating.

Find out more about our career support.

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You might also be interested in:

• improving access to higher education
• our virtual events
• chat to a student ambassador
• information for international students.