At a glance
- March 2025 - March 2026
- Online tutorials after school during term time
- For Year 12 students studying Chemistry or Physics A Level
- Minimum of one visit to South Kensington Campus
- Applications will open in November 2024
About Accelerate
Accelerate is a year-long academic and pastoral support programme for Year 12 students who intend to study science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or medicine at university.
Through a range of online academic tutorials, university information sessions, and additional activities hosted by Imperial College London, Accelerate aims to support you with your A-level studies and ensure that you are as prepared as possible for the next step in your educational journey.
Through this programme you will:
- Develop the skills you need to achieve a top grade in A-level Physics or Chemistry;
- Build your confidence when applying to research-intensive universities like Imperial College London, which require an A/A* in your chosen subject;
- Gain an insight into undergraduate level study, and what it is like to be a student at Imperial College London.
What to expect on the programme
For 2025 entry, we will be running two strands: a Physics strand and a Chemistry strand.
Both strands will consist predominantly of fortnightly after-school online tutorials on either Tuesdays or Thursdays, with one in-person event held at Imperial’s South Kensington Campus on a Saturday in March 2025.
You may only apply for one strand - Physics or Chemistry.
Accordion widget - what to expect
There are three main aspects of Accelerate: Physics :
- Specialised tutoring and support designed to stretch your knowledge and challenge you in Physics;
- Sessions to support you in your transition into higher education, enabling you to build on your current skills and tailor these to undergraduate level study;
- Familiarising yourself with Imperial College London and higher education more generally, encouraging you to become a part of the College community.
The programme is structured into four different types of session:
Self-study tutorial content |
|
---|---|
Physics tutorial |
|
University information and preparation session |
These sessions will be delivered through a mixture of online, and in-person activities at Imperial College London |
There are three main aspects of the Accelerate: Chemistry programme:
- Specialised tutoring and support designed to stretch your knowledge and challenge you in Chemistry;
- Sessions to support you in your transition into higher education, enabling you to build on your current skills and tailor these to undergraduate level study;
- Familiarising yourself with Imperial College London and higher education more generally, encouraging you to become a part of the College community.
The programme is structured into four different types of session:
Self-study tutorial content |
|
---|---|
Chemistry tutorial |
|
University information and preparation session |
These sessions will be delivered through a mixture of online, and in-person activities at Imperial College London. |
Applicant information
Accordion widget - applicant information
To apply for Accelerate, you must be:
- In Year 12 at the time of application;
- Attending a state-funded, non fee-paying school or college.
This outreach programme 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 recommend that you use our eligibility checker tool to see if you are eligible to apply.
We will prioritise your application if:
- You have been in care;
- You live independently (estranged), meaning you no longer have the support of your family due to a breakdown in the relationship which has led to ceased contact.
We will give preference to your application if:
- You do not live near London.
We will also assess whether:
- You are a young carer and have caring responsibilities for a close relative with a disability, long-term illness, mental health condition, or drug or alcohol problem that is a significant demand on your time;
- Your family income is below £50,000 each year;
- 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.
Academic requirements
To be considered for this programme, you must:
- Be studying Maths (compulsory) and either Physics (for the Physics strand) or Chemistry (for the Chemistry strand) at A-level;
- 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 a grade 5 in GCSE English Language.
Applications for Accelerate will open in mid-November 2024. Please check back then to apply.
Applications are made through Aspire (our online application system). You must create an account with Aspire before you can fill out your application.
We recommend you use a personal email address, as opposed to a school email address, when creating an Aspire account. Security settings used in some school email servers will prevent you from receiving emails from Aspire.
As part of your application, you will be asked to provide details for a parent/guardian and a teacher. Both your parent/guardian and your teacher will be contacted to provide a supporting reference and verify some of the information you provide.
We will ask for the subjects you are currently studying. If you do not have predicted grades for your current subjects you can type NPG or N/A in the grade field.
For more information about applying, please see our Outreach FAQs. Unfortunately, we cannot accept late applications.
Contact us
For more information, please see our Outreach Programme FAQs or email the Accelerate team.
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