All of our Widening Participation programmes are funded by the RVC’s Widening Participation funds, to support learners who are under-represented at RVC.

In order to be eligible for our Widening Participation activities, you must meet the essential criteria. You will be more likely to be selected if you meet a number of additional criteria.

Essential Criteria

In order to be eligible for a Widening Participation programme you must meet both of the following criteria:

• You must attend a non-selective state-funded (non-fee paying) school or college in the UK
• You must have the academic potential to attain the entry requirements for an undergraduate degree offered at the RVC

Prioritised Criteria

Priority will be given to students who meet any of the following under-represented criteria:

• Attend a state-funded mainstream school, are currently in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM) whilst attending secondary school OR who have been in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM) during their secondary education AND who will be under 21 when one plans to join their first undergraduate degree. 
• Your ethnicity is Asian or Asian British; Black, Black British, Caribbean or African; Mixed or multiple ethnic groups; or the Other ethnic group category on the gov.uk list of ethnic groups. 
• You are care-experienced (e.g. spent time living with foster carers under local authority care AND/OR in residential care e.g. a children’s home AND/OR looked after at home under a supervision order AND/OR in kinship care with relatives or friends either officially e.g. a special guardianship order or informally without local authority support

Additional Criteria

• You live in a neighbourhood where few people go to university/higher education, or a neighbourhood with high levels of deprivation:
• IMD Quintile score: If your home address is in an area with an Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) quintile score of 1 or 2. 
• TUNDRA MSOA score: If your home address is in an area with a TUNDRA MSOA score of 1 or 2. You can check this via the Office for Students website. 
• You attend a Contextual School:
• Level 2 School: If you are currently taking Level 3 (A-level or equivalent) qualifications, or have taken them within the last 12 months and the school at which you took your GCSEs is a school with an RVC contextual flag. You can check this here.
• Level 3 School: If you are currently taking Level 3 (A-level or equivalent) qualifications, or have taken them within the last 12 months, and your school is a school with an RVC contextual flag. You can check this here.   
• You are a forced migrant, asylum seeker or refugee
• You are a carer
• You are estranged from your family (this means that you have no contact with either of your parents)
• You would be in the first generation of your family to attend university

*The RVC is dedicated to being an organisation in which equity, diversity and inclusion underpin all that we do. Eligibility for these activities are targeted to support under-represented individuals, as we believe students from every background should be able to access advice, guidance and support in order to help them progress to and benefit from the transformative experience of higher education. For more information on our commitment to improve equality of opportunity for under-represented groups please read our Access & Participation Plan (APP).