PARTNERS Programme Eligibility Criteria

You are eligible for PARTNERS if you live in a neighbourhood that has a low progression rate to higher education, or you live in a neighbourhood that has a high level of financial, economic or social deprivation.

• Check whether your home postcode meets the PARTNERS criteria

How do we assess postcode data?

English student postcode eligibility is determined as:

• POLAR4 quintiles 1 or 2, and/or;
• IMD score of 40 or less, and/or;
• One of the classified WP groups through ACORN (groups M, O, P or Q) and/or;
• Tundra quintiles 1 or 2

Northern Irish student postcode eligibility is determined as:

• POLAR4 quintiles 1 or 2, and/or;
• One of the classified WP groups through ACORN (groups M, O, P or Q)

Scottish student postcode eligibility is determined as:

• SIMD40 (the 40% most deprived postcodes), and/or;
• One of the classified WP groups through ACORN (groups M, O, P or Q)

Welsh student postcode eligibility is determined as:

• WIMD40 (the 40% most deprived postcodes), and/or:
• One of the classified WP groups through ACORN (groups M, O, P or Q)

If you attend/attended an identified low performing school/college for your GCSEs or A-levels, you would be eligible for PARTNERS.

• Click here to check whether your school/college is automatically eligible for PARTNERS.

How do we assess school & college data?

School performance data is taken from the Department for Education data (2019).

You are eligible for PARTNERS if:

• You attended a school in England at age 16 where the GCSE Attainment 8 score is 41 or less.
• You attended a school in Northern Ireland at age 16 where the number of students achieving five or more GCSE grades A* to C, including English and Maths, is 35% or less.
• You attended or attend a school in Scotland with over 50% of pupils who live in the 20% most deprived data zones in Scotland.
• You currently attend a school in England where the average point score per A Level entry is 24 or less.
• You currently attend a school in Northern Ireland where the number of students achieving three or more A-Levels grades A* to C is 35% or less.
• You attend a school in the UK where over 50% of pupils receive or are eligible for Free School Meals.

You are eligible for PARTNERS if you are:

• From a Black, Asian or Minoritised Ethnic Group, AND
• Attend/attended a state school or college in the United Kingdom, when sitting your A levels (or equivalent).

The following ethnic groups are eligible under this criteria:

• Arab
• Asian or Asian British – Indian
• Asian or Asian British – Pakistani
• Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi
• Black or Black British – Caribbean
• Black or Black British – African
• Chinese
• Mixed White and Black Caribbean
• Mixed White and Black African
• Mixed White and Asian
• Other Black background
• Other Asian background
• Other Mixed background

If you are not from a Black, Asian or Minoritised Ethnic Group and attending a state school or college in the UK, you are not eligible based on this criteria.

Find out about some of the support & resources available from Newcastle University and the Students' Union:

• NUSU Welfare & Support Centre: Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic Student Resources (NUSU website)
• Newcastle University Black, Asian & Minoritised Ethnic Groups Student Experience (Facebook video - 5 minutes)

You would be eligible for PARTNERS if you are currently in receipt of, or entitled to, any of the following:

• Free school meals.
• Pupil Premium funding (please speak to staff in your school/college if you are unaware if you are entitled to this funding).
• Discretionary school/college payments that are directly linked to financial hardship.

If you have experienced any time in care during your life you would be eligible for PARTNERS.

This experience could include any of the following:

• Living with foster carers.
• Living in a residential children's home.
• Being looked after at home under a supervision order.
• Living with friends or relatives in kinship care – either through a formal arrangement (e.g. a Special Guardianship order) or an informal arrangement without local authority support.

Find out about the support available for care experienced students while at Newcastle University:

• Support for Care Experienced Students

To be eligible via parental experience, both of the following must be true:

1. Neither of your parents/carers have any of the following higher education qualifications you may be eligible for PARTNERS:
   • Higher Degree (eg MA, MSc, PhD, PGCE)
   • First Degree (eg BA, BSc)
2. The main wage earner in your household is in a non-professional occupation.

We classify occupations using the SOC2020 database in line with governmental guidance:

• SOC2020 Major Groups 1-3: professional.
• SOC2020 Major Groups 4-9: non-professional.

Contact the PARTNERS team to check whether your parent/carer's occupation is classed as professional.

You are eligible for PARTNERS if you:

• Have a disability/long-term health condition
  AND
• Are in receipt of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) at either:
  • the ‘enhanced’ rate in either the ‘daily living’ or ‘mobility’ components
    OR
  • the ‘standard’ rate in both components.

If you do not have a disability/long-term health condition and are not entitled to the PIP at the necessary level, you are not eligible for PARTNERS based on these criteria.

Find out about the support available at Newcastle University:

• Student Health & Wellbeing

You are eligible for PARTNERS if you have sole or shared responsibility for the care of a relative because they are ill, have a disability, are experiencing mental distress, or are affected by substance abuse.

You are required to provide supporting documentary evidence to confirm your status as a recognised carer from one of the following sources (on headed paper):

• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Carer’s Allowance statement/letter
• carer’s support group
• social Services/Local Authority
• your relatives NHS or Private Support Worker
• a letter from your GP

If you are not a young carer as outlined above, or are unable to provide the necessary supporting evidence, you are not eligible based on these criteria.

You are eligible for PARTNERS if you are an estranged person, who no longer has the support of your family due to a breakdown in the relationship which has led to ceased contact. This might mean your biological, step or adoptive parents, or wider family members who have been responsible for supporting you in the past.

You are required to provide supporting documentary evidence to confirm your ‘estranged’ status from one of the following sources (on headed paper):

• Estranged student support group/network, such as StandAlone or the Unite Foundation.
• Social Services/Local Authority.
• A letter from your GP.
• A statement from your school/college.
• A headed letter from a professional body.

If you are not an ‘estranged’ student as outlined above, or are unable to provide the necessary supporting evidence, you are not eligible based on this criteria.

• Find out about the support available to estranged students at Newcastle University.

As a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, Newcastle University is proud to support those who serve in the military and their families.

You are eligible for PARTNERS if either of your parents/carers are serving or have served in the armed forces at key educational times (ie during study for GCSEs or A levels, or equivalent). 

You are also eligible for PARTNERS if you have served in the armed forces. This must be confirmed by your referee at your school or college.

The British Armed Forces consist of:

• Royal Navy
• Royal Marines
• British Army
• Royal Air Force
• Regular Reserves
• Volunteer Reserves
• Sponsored Reserves

If neither your parents/carers nor yourself have served in the armed forces, you are not eligible based on this criteria.

You are eligible for PARTNERS if you are from a Gypsy, Roma or Traveller community.

This must be confirmed by a referee at a school or college that you are attending or have attended.

Refugee Status

You are eligible for PARTNERS if you have refugee status.

You must have been given 'leave to remain' or 'leave to enter' by the UK Government and be able to prove this.

Asylum Seeker

You are eligible for PARTNERS if you are seeking asylum in the United Kingdom.

• Please note: asylum seekers do not need to hold 'right to remain' status to be eligible for PARTNERS, but must be in the process of gaining this status. We may require evidence to confirm that you are seeking 'right to remain' status.

Applicants must meet the English language criteria for their course or have relevant qualifications to indicate their English language competency. To check requirements for individual courses please refer to our subject web pages.

Your status will be verified by our admissions team on the submission of your UCAS application.

• Find out about the support available for Asylum Seekers at Newcastle University.

Humanitarian Protection

You are eligible for PARTNERS if you are currently under Humanitarian Protection, granted by the UK government. Your status will be verified by our admissions team on the submission of your UCAS application.

You are eligible for PARTNERS if you are a parent/carer and responsible for the care and wellbeing of a child under the age of 17.

• Find out about the support available for student parents.

You could be eligible for the PARTNERS programme if you have applied or are planning on applying to one or more of our Engineering, Maths or Physics degrees programmes.

To find out more and to check which subjects meet this requirement, click here.

You have experienced personal extenuating circumstances (PEC) relating to social, economic or educational disadvantage at key educational times. 

Disruptions considered include, but are not limited to, significant absences from education as a results of students who: 

• Are experiencing/have experienced significant family issues. 

• Have a disability or health condition . 

• Identify under the trans umbrella*. 

*Those defined as identifying under the trans umbrella are students whose gender identity and/or expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth and includes students who live permanently or temporarily in one or more genders. 

Eligibility via the PEC criteria will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, upon receipt of a PARTNERS application form.

Please note: with the exception of extreme circumstances, disruption caused by the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic will not be considered as personal extenuating circumstances. If you believe that your personal circumstances have been extremely impacted as a result of Coronavirus, please refer to our FAQs