PARTNERS Programme Eligibility Criteria
Find out the full eligibility criteria for the PARTNERS Programme Supported Entry Route 2024 Entry.
-->Check your eligibility
To take part in PARTNERS, you must meet all of the Essential Conditions and any one Eligibility Criteria.
You can use our interactive eligibility checker above to find out if you are eligible for the PARTNERS programme. The full criteria for 2024 entry is also outlined below.
If you are still unsure whether you meet the criteria, please do not hesistate to get in touch with the team.
Essential conditions
To take part in the PARTNERS Programme you must meet all of the following conditions.
You must:
- Be resident in the UK.
- Have home student status for fees purposes.
- Not hold a higher education qualification (eg a degree or higher degree).
Predicted grades
You must have predicted grades that are within one grade of the lower PARTNERS offer.
This means that your predicted grades must be no more than one grade lower than the PARTNERS Offer.
- For example, if you're applying to Biomedical Sciences (B940) (PARTNERS offer: BBB) your predicted grades must be BBC or above.
Please note, some courses may require predicted grades to match the PARTNERS offer and initial acceptance on to the programme is provisional. All applications will be assessed by the university admissions team before any offer is made.
Submission deadlines
Applicants to Medicine & Surgery (A100) and Dentistry (A206)
Applications to PARTNERS from Medicine or Dentistry applicants have a deadline of 16 October 2023.
Applicants to all other UG courses
The UCAS and PARTNERS deadline for all other courses during the 2023/24 admissions cycle is 31 January 2024.
The PARTNERS offer
To take advantage of the PARTNERS offer, you must:
- Make Newcastle University your firm choice (CF) through UCAS when you make your final decisions in spring.
- Successfully complete the PARTNERS Academic Summer School, taking place Sunday 30th June - Friday 5th July 2024.
Eligibility criteria
In addition to meeting the essential conditions, you must meet one (or more) of the following 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.
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.
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:
To be eligible via parental experience, the following must be true:
- Neither of your parents/carers have any of the following higher education qualifications:
- Higher Degree (eg MA, MSc, PhD, PGCE)
- First Degree (eg BA, BSc)
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.
- the ‘enhanced’ rate in either the ‘daily living’ or ‘mobility’ 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:
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. This must be confirmed by your referee at your school or college.
If you are not a young carer as outlined above, you are not eligible based on this criteria.
Find out about the support available to student carers at Newcastle University.
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. This must be confirmed by your referee at your school or college.
If you are not an ‘estranged’ student as outlined above, you are not eligible based on this criteria.
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, defined by:
- Study during your GCSEs
AND/OR
- Study during your 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.
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.
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, Physics or Natural and Environmental Sciences degrees programmes.
To find out more and to check which subjects meet this requirement, click here.
Please note: If you are applying for multiple courses at Newcastle University but only meet this specific criteria, you can only be made the lower PARTNERS offer for these listed courses. If you do not meet any of the other PARTNERS widening participation criteria, any application to courses outside of the above list will be processed in the standard way.
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 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
Key educational times
Some criteria refer to 'Key educational times'. We define key educational time as the study periods which affect the completion of your GCSE and/or A-level qualifications (or equivalent).
Evidence required
Most eligibility criteria are confirmed via referee approval of a completed PARTNERS application form, alongside an applicant's UCAS application. The exception to this is if you are applying under the Personal Extenuating Circumstances criteria only. This will be assessed on a case by case basis.
Examples of evidence may include:
- A letter from your GP
- A statement from your school/college
Unsure whether you meet the criteria?
The information you provide on your PARTNERS application form will be used to determine if you meet any of the criteria for eligibility, as listed above.
If you're unsure whether you meet the criteria, use the links below for more support, including detailed information about the data behind each eligibility criteria.