Help & Support

PARTNERS applications for 2023 entry closed at 5pm on Friday 24th February 2023. Register your interest for 2024 entry here.

You submit your application to the PARTNERS Programme at the same time as you submit your UCAS application. For students in sixth form/college, this would be in year 13/second year of college.

If you've already submitted your UCAS form, we can amend the Further Details field retrospectively, to notify the admissions team that you are applying through PARTNERS.

If you're in this position, please contact us to let us know, including your name, course and UCAS number in your email.

Please note that after 15 October we cannot amend the Further Details field for applicants to Medicine and Dentistry.

If you've checked the eligibility criteria for PARTNERS and you meet at least one of them, along with the essential conditions (including the predicted grade requirement for the course that you're applying to), then we will be able to accept you to the Programme. This will be confirmed upon receipt of a verified PARTNERS application form.

There is no limit to the number of students that we can accept to PARTNERS and the process of being accepted to PARTNERS is not competitive.

Please note: acceptance to PARTNERS does not guarantee an offer of study. This decision is made by the admissions department upon review of your UCAS application.

• Check whether you're eligible for PARTNERS

Check with your teacher that they are happy to act as your referee, then contact us with the following information:

• your school/college's name and postcode
• your referee's name
• your referee's job title
• your referee's email address

Upon receipt of this information, we'll add your referee to the system, so that they appear on the PARTNERS application form.

Applicants to Medicine and Dentistry may receive a lower UCAT threshold. However, this can't be guaranteed as it depends upon the performance of each individual cohort. 

However you can look at previous threshold on our website here and here.

Yes, you can apply to PARTNERS after you have left school/college. You will need to ask a former teacher/tutor to verify your PARTNERS application so please do bear this in mind.

Please also factor in attendance at the PARTNERS Academic Summer School when planning your gap year.

Yes.

Please keep in mind that you must attend the Academic Summer School in the year that you apply.

For example, if you apply during the 2022/23 entry cycle and defer your entry to 2024, you still need to complete the Summer School during Monday 3 to Friday 7 July 2023.

If you are applying for the same (or similar) subject and you have already successfully completed the PARTNERS Academic Summer School up to two years ago, you do not need to complete PARTNERS again but can receive the lower offer if you're still eligible. So that we can assess your eligibility, you must still submit a PARTNERS application form. For example:

• you completed PARTNERS in 2021 for the same subject area that you're applying for 2023 entry, you don't need to do the Summer School again
• you do need to submit a PARTNERS application form so that we can assess your eligibility for the lower offer

If you are applying to a different subject area and/or it's over two years since you took part in PARTNERS, you will need to apply to PARTNERS and successfully complete the Summer School. For example:

• you completed PASS 2022, but it was in a different subject area than what you're applying for 2023 entry
• you will need to submit a PARTNERS application form and successfully complete the Summer School in the subject area that you're applying for 2023 entry

Students can apply to PARTNERS if they have or are working towards the following qualifications, but the grade requirements cannot be lowered any further.

• Foundation Year
• Higher National Certificate (HNC)
• Higher National Diploma (HND)
• Certificate of Higher Education (awarded after stage 1 of a degree programme)

100% attendance at the PARTNERS Academic Summer School (PASS) is compulsory as successful completion would make up part of your offer to study at Newcastle University.

We can only make exceptions in cases of personal circumstances where evidence is provided, for example in the form of a doctor’s note. Students are made aware of the dates of the Summer School at the point of application.

PASS 2023 will take place from Sunday 2 July to Friday 7 July, you must keep these dates free in order to successfully complete the programme.

You can still apply.

The list of schools on our website means that a student attending one of these and applying for PARTNERS would be automatically eligible for the programme. Although we have never put a cap on the number of students who can apply for the programme, due to the implications on numbers we do have to manage the number of automatically eligible schools.

If your school is not listed on this page, students from your school would still be able to apply for the programme if they meet one of our other eligibility criteria.

Yes.

The PARTNERS Programme is open to all applicants to all of our undergraduate degree programmes, regardless of age.

No.

The PARTNERS Programme is not available to students who have successfully made the transition to higher education and completed a degree (eg BSc or BA) or higher degree (eg MA, MSc or MRes).

No, we are unable to consider the general disruption caused by the Coronavirus pandemic as personal extenuating circumstances. This is recognising that all students across the country have been affected by this.

However, if you consider the impact of Coronavirus on your personal circumstances to be extreme then we may be able to make an exception. Circumstances we would consider include:

• you have experienced serious illness and spent a prolonged period in hospital as a result of Coronavirus
• you have suffered a close family bereavement due to Coronavirus
• you have significant caring responsibilities as a result of Coronavirus (e.g. caring for someone extremely clinically vulnerable/shielding)
• it has created or exacerbated a very difficult or dangerous living situation

Contact the team and we will consider circumstances on a case by case basis. Please note, you and your referee must be willing to detail your circumstances and in some instances may be asked to provide supporting evidence to determine your eligibility.

Through the PARTNERS Programme, the entry requirements to Newcastle University are up to three A level grades (or equivalent) lower than the typical entry requirements.

This means that if you're concerned about your predicted/achieved grades being too low for entry to Newcastle University, then PARTNERS could help! 

PARTNERS is available to any Newcastle University undergraduate course. Check the link below for more information. 

Find out more about the lower contextual PARTNERS offer.

Provided that you hold a UK passport and are resident on the Isle of Man, you will be classed as Home for fees purposes and therefore eligible for entry via the PARTNERS Programme.

Most recent update: 15 June 2022.

You can apply to PARTNERS with a range of other qualifications such as BTECs and Cambridge Technicals however, this is course dependent. To find out the entry requirements for your course, head to our course pages here. If you’re still unclear, get in touch.

No, our admissions team will make a decision on inviting you to interview based on your UCAT score. You can read about the selection process for Medicine here and contact the school of Dental Sciences here.

You would lose your reduced offer and our admissions team would then adjust your offer accordingly, in most cases this would revert back to the ‘typical’ grades for your chosen course – but this is not a guarantee.

Our 'On Course to PASS' series is designed to prepare you for university life and the PARTNERS Academic Summer School. These events are optional, but you'll get the chance to meet current students, take part in activities with fellow PARTNERS applicants and ask the PARTNERS team your questions. These events are completely optional.

You can see what's coming up by heading to our events page here.

By registering for an online event, you are agreeing to adhere to the following:

- PARTNERS Online Code of Conduct

- PARTNERS Online Etiquette