STEM SMART

STEM SMART is a free, 16-month programme* to support students (including mature students) in raising their attainment at sixth form level and develop their confidence to apply to study physical, biological or behavioural sciences, engineering or computer science at top universities.

The programme starts in the January of Year 12 (or equivalent) and features the following three phases:

Phase 1 

12 January 2026 – 19 July 2026 (online launch 10 January 2026)

Consolidating Knowledge and Building Problem-Solving Skills

This phase begins with an online launch event welcoming students to the programme. Each week students will be set some work that will complement the work that they are doing as part of their school studies. A large group online tutorial in each subject will be provided in each week to go over the work. Students will also be assigned a current university student as a mentor, whom they will meet online once a fortnight to discuss a number of themes concerning studying at university, for example; university life, choosing courses and applying to university. Live subject-focussed talks also feature, given by researchers from the university about their cutting-edge work.

Progression to Phase 2

All students progress to Phase 2, but additional opportunities are offered to those students who have demonstrated the most active engagement in Phase 1, measured by how much of the work they have attempted each week across all of their subjects, their attendance in tutorials and their attendance at mentoring sessions.

The additional opportunities  that are offered are small group tutorials with Cambridge subject specialists and a 4-day residential in Cambridge. These opportunities are more intensive and therefore it is vital that students are well prepared.

Phase 2

7 September 2026 – 13 December 2026

Preparing for Application to Competitive Universities

In Phase 2, students will participate in either small or large group tutorials each week for every subject they are engaging with, as well as having the opportunity to attend a 4-day residential programme in Cambridge which will take place in the week from  16 –22 August 2026 . There is no cost to participate in the residential.

On completing this stage (in December), students will be provided with an award that reflects their commitment to the programme and the additional STEM SMART work that they have been doing. They will also be provided with advice on how to describe their engagement in the STEM SMART programme in their UCAS personal statement.

Phase 3

11 January 2027 – 3 May 2027

Securing Strong Examination Performance and Achievement

The focus in Phase 3 will be on the finish line, working with students to practise and consolidate all of their learning across their science and maths subjects, to help them to secure the best possible grades in their public examinations and meet their university offer, wherever that may be. Weekly work will continue to be set and large group tutorials will continue to be provided in each subject, each week.

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* Dates exclude school holidays, except for a 4-day residential which will take place in the week 16-22 August 2026 .

The University of Cambridge is committed to widening participation in higher education. As part of this work, we would like to work with and support students who may have experienced either educational disadvantage or belong to a group that is statistically less likely to progress to higher education. We are able to offer all eligible students a place on Phase 1 of the programme and we are anticipating around 3000 students will start in January, but places offered may need to be prioritised according to our eligibility criteria.

This programme is specifically designed for students who are considering applying to Engineering, Computer Science, Physical Sciences (eg physics, chemistry, earth sciences, materials science) or Biological and Behavioural Sciences (eg plant sciences, pharmacology, physiology, evolution and behaviour, biochemistry) courses at university and are studying A Levels (or equivalent) in maths and sciences.

This programme is not designed to support students who are considering applying to medical courses such as Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Dentistry or Sport Science. Other programmes, such as the Sutton Trust Summer Schools, have specific courses relevant to these subjects. Students interested in medical courses can also consider other initiatives such as Cambridge WAMS and the Widening Participation Medics Network.

Academic criteria

Eligible students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will normally satisfy ALL of the following academic criteria:

• Have achieved at least a grade 7 (A) in GCSE Maths
• Have achieved either at least grades 66 (BB) in double Science GCSE or grade 6 (B) in two separate sciences from Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
• Currently be studying or have studied Maths and at least one additional subject from Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science and Further Maths at A Level or equivalent (eg IB Higher Level).

Eligible students in the Scottish system should have achieved an A grade in National 5 Mathematics, and at least a B grade in two separate sciences from Physics, Chemistry and Biology. They should also be taking Mathematics at Higher, and plan on taking Mathematics at Advanced Higher along with at least one from Chemistry, Physics, Biology or Computer Science.

If you are a mature student (21 or over when starting university) and are unsure about whether you are eligible for the programme, please contact ug-admissions@wolfson.cam.ac.uk for advice. If you intend to attend our university 
open days, we also recommend that you discuss this programme with an admissions tutor from one of the mature colleges.

Non-academic criteria

Eligible students will attend a non-fee paying (state school) or are currently self-studying students who will be 21 years or over when starting university (mature students) and also satisfy one or more of the following, in addition to the academic criteria above:

• Are resident in areas with less advantaged socio-economic characteristics (IMD deciles 1,2,3 or 4);
  - You can check your IMD index of your home address here.
• Have been eligible for:
  - free school meals in the last six years or
  - are eligible for, or in receipt of, the 16-19 bursary or
  - are pupil premium students;
• Have been in the care of their local authority for more than three months at any point in their lives;
• Attend a school/college whose performance places it in the lowest two quintiles for average QCA points per A level student (or equivalent) as identified by the Department for Education or has performed poorly in an inspection in the past four years.
  - Look up school performance details (16-18 examination data). For a school or college to be in the lowest two quintiles in 2024, the Average 16-18 Results would be lower than 31.78 points.
  - Inspection report for schools/colleges in England. To qualify, your school/college would be rated ‘Requires improvement’, ‘Inadequate’ or ‘Special Measures’.
  - Inspection report for schools/colleges in Wales. To qualify, your school/college would be rated ‘Adequate and needs improvement’ or ‘Unsatisfactory and needs urgent improvement’.
  - Inspection report for schools/colleges in Scotland. To qualify, your school/college would be rated ‘Weak’ or ‘Unsatisfactory’.
  - Inspection report for schools/colleges in Northern Ireland. To qualify, your school/college would be rated ‘Inadequate’ or ‘Unsatisfactory’.
• Are an asylum seeker or have refugee status.
  - The University defines a refugee as someone whose claim for asylum has been recognised and they have been granted official ‘refugee’ status. You will also be eligible under this criterion if you have been granted humanitarian protection which has resulted in permission to stay in the UK for humanitarian reasons. An asylum seeker is defined as someone who is in the process of seeking asylum, or the decision is still pending.

We will also prioritise those students who:

• Have significant caring responsibilities;
  - regularly provide emotional and/or practical support and assistance for a family member who is disabled, physically or mentally unwell or who misuses substances.
• Are estranged from close family members (parents/carers);
  - Estrangement means that you were completing all or part of your secondary education without the support of a family network. This is typically understood as having had no contact at all with your parent(s)/carer(s) for at least 12 months and that this is unlikely to change.
  - You would not qualify under this criterion if you live separately from your parents but communicate with them. You also would not qualify if have recently fallen out with them, or your parents do not support your decision to study at university. These are challenging circumstances but are not classed as estrangement.
• Have had significant disruption to their education (disruption caused by COVID-19 will not be considered) such as:
  - Medical / health issues (including mental health), particularly those that have resulted in long or extended periods of absence (more than 6 weeks in the last 3 years) from school/college;
  - Bereavement of a close family member (e.g. parent/carer) whilst in secondary education;
  - Becoming a parent while in education;
  - Became homeless while in education;
  - Moved schools two or more times whilst in secondary education;
  - You experienced a gap of more than one year (for example leaving school at 16 but returning to complete Level 3 qualifications after several years of work);
• Would be in the first generation in their immediate family to go to university (neither parents/carers nor grandparents went to university).

If you are not 100% sure whether you are eligible, please apply, we do not want students to miss out on this opportunity, and we will confirm whether or not you have been awarded a place.

Applications open on the 1 September 2025 and the deadline for completion of the online form is 31 October 2025. 

To apply for the programme students should complete the online registration form (the form will not be active until 1 September). If you are studying at a school/college/or other educational institution, you will be asked to provide the name of a contact teacher at your school who we may contact to help us provide you with co-ordinated support during the programme or to confirm your examination results to date.

All applicants will be told whether they have been accepted on the programme by 20 November 2025.

All those who have been accepted on to the programme will be asked to complete a survey by the 26 November which will enable us to tailor the subject specific content and workload for the programme, which will begin in January 2026 with an online launch event on Saturday 10 January 2026.