Year 12 Sutton Trust Summer School

Two students in EE lab looking at equipment

This summer school will broaden your knowledge of your chosen STEM subject and give you a taste of what it’s like to study at university.

At a glance

  • Applications closed: 10 March
  • Decisions: 5 May
  • Week 1: 17 - 21 July 2023
  • Week 2: 24 - 28 July 2023
  • Residential
  • For year 12 students

About Sutton Trust Summer School

This year 12 residential summer school is designed to give students a taste of what it’s like to study at Imperial. Over the course of a week, you’ll increase your subject knowledge, gain practical skills and work in groups just like real university students.

This summer school is fully funded (free to successful applicants), which includes all course fees, materials, accommodation, three meals a day as well as any trips that are part of the summer school. We will also reimburse your travel to and from the summer school (by public transport), but you will need to make your own travel arrangements. If your application is successful, we will provide further guidance on travel.

What to expect

When you apply, you choose one of eleven subject strands to study from the list below and can select the one that interests you the most. We’ve created each subject strand to reflect the choice of subjects you can study at Imperial. The content of each strand is similar to what our undergraduate students cover in their first year.

You’ll have the chance to take part in practical workshops throughout the week where you will learn new skills, under the guidance of College staff and student ambassadors. College staff are on-hand throughout to answer any questions you have about choosing your course, applying to Imperial and student finance.

At the end of the week, you join a small group of fellow students to present a concept you’ve learned from your subject strand to a panel of judges and guests. This is a great chance for you to develop some of the key skills you will use at university – like presenting and working in groups.

Year 12 Sutton Trust summer school promo

Students in Year 12 Sutton Trust summer school

"I was very surprised to find so many like-minded people enthusiastic about the subject and how diverse the mentors were. The favourite parts of the week were the sessions (especially the ones about space) and the activities where we were able to just relax and have fun. I was surprised to see how well the social group worked as well as we all just seemed to click after only a day! To other people applying, I would say go for it and make sure just to have fun, but most importantly to engage!"

— Jane, year 12 student, Sutton Trust Summer School 2020 (mathematics stream)

Applicant information

You have a choice of two sets of dates (each a week long). When you apply you will be asked to select one of the following weeks and one of the subject strands available. For 2023 these are:

WEEK 1: 17 - 21 July 2023

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • Materials Science and Engineering
  • Molecular Bioengineering
  • General Engineering
  • Physics

 OR

WEEK 2: 24 - 28 July 2023

  • Biological Sciences
  • Chemistry
  • Design Engineering
  • Mathematics
  • Physics

To apply for the Y12 Sutton Trust Summer School, you must be in Year 12 at the time of application.

Please note, due to the nature of residential programmes we cannot accept applications from students who will be 18 or over during the programme. 

This outreach programme is funded by Imperial College London in partnership with the Sutton Trust and aims to support state school students from backgrounds under-represented at university and Imperial. We use the criteria below to assess who is eligible to participate. The more criteria you meet, the more likely your application will be successful.

 We will prioritise your application if:

  • You have been in care

 We will also assess whether:

  • You are eligible for free school meals and/or pupil premium
  • Your parents/guardians did not attend university
  • You live in a neighbourhood with low overall progression rates to higher education (POLAR4 Quintile 1 or 2 areas) or high levels of deprivation (IMD Quintile 1 areas)
  • Your school has a high percentage of students receiving free school meals
  • Your school has below average attainment

To be eligible for this programme, you should: 

  • Expect to study a science, technology, engineering or maths subject at university
  • Have achieved a minimum of eight GCSEs with at least five at grades 7-9, including maths and sciences
  • Have achieved a minimum of grade 5 in GCSE English Language

Please note that there are specific A-level (or equivalent) subject requirements for each subject strand. These are outlined below. Further information such as a description of each subject strand will be available from the Sutton Trust Website.

  • To apply for Biological Sciences you need to be studying Biology and either Maths, Physics or Chemistry.
  • To apply for Biomedical Engineering you need to be studying Maths and Physics.
  • To apply for Chemistry you need to be studying Chemistry and Maths.
  • To apply for Design Engineering you need to be studying Maths
  • To apply for Electrical and Electronic Engineering you need to be studying Maths and Physics.
  • To apply for General Engineering you need to be studying Maths and Physics.
  • To apply for Materials Science and Engineering you need to be studying Maths and either Chemistry or Physics.
  • To apply for Mathematics you need to be studying Maths and Further Maths.
  • To apply for Molecular Bioengineering you need to be studying Maths and Chemistry.
  • To apply for Physics you need to be studying Physics and Maths.

Applications for summer 2023 are now closed. Late applications cannot be considered. We will release decisions on 5 May.

Contact us

For more information, please see our Outreach Programme FAQs.

If your query is not answered in the FAQs, please email us via outreach.scienceactivities@imperial.ac.uk or phone +44 (0) 20 7594 3575.

Want to stay up to date with Imperial outreach events? Click on the links below to follow us on our social media sites and follow the hashtag, #icoutreach