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Pathways to Medicine

     At a glance
    Cohort programme with non-residential summer school
For aspiring medics from state-funded school/college
Applications for the 2024/25 programme are now closed

  

About Pathways to Medicine

This programme supports highly motivated young people from state-funded schools and colleges who demonstrate a keen interest in pursuing a career in medicine. The programme recruits Year 12 students at the beginning of their A-level (or equivalent) courses and provides ongoing support into Year 13.

If you are a successful applicant, you will take part in activities that provide insight into the medical profession, support your medical school application and prepare you for starting university.

The programme is delivered by Imperial College London in partnership with the Sutton Trust and with support from Health Education England. It is coordinated by the Outreach Team with support from the School of Medicine, led by Professor Kevin Murphy (Admissions Tutor). The programme is also supported by Vision – a student-run medical society that aims to widen participation in medicine. Medical students from the society provide ongoing mentoring support, as well as organising events to show what it is like to study medicine at university.

What to expect

During your time with Pathways to Medicine, you will participate in events and activities throughout Year 12 and 13.

Every aspect of the programme is designed to help you make a strong and informed application to study medicine at university. Most activities take place on campus at Imperial, with a few events hosted online (there is more information in the Programme Schedule below).

Activities could include:

Taster sessions in different areas of medicine
Informative talks by admissions tutors, academics and practicing clinicians
Opportunities to meet and interact with Imperial medical students (including ementoring)
Professional insight and university experience days.

As well as support for their medical school application, participants get lots of hands-on experience.

Learning how to suture

Summer School session with Royal College of Surgeons

Taking blood from dummy arm

Clinical Skills workshop with St Mary's Hospital tutor

Experiment to measure insulin

Taster Event practical on Diabetes using ELISA equipment

Performing an ultrasound scan

Summer School session with Royal College of Radiologists

Learning about the human body

Anatomy Masterclass with School of Medicine tutor

Measuring blood pressure

Clinical Skills session during the Junior Conference

Feedback from previous participants

"Throughout my 2 years on this scheme, I have gained a lot of insight into medicine and the life of a doctor and medical student, but I have also grown as a person and become more confident in my abilities and in pursuing medicine as a career. I have met such wonderful, like-minded people, who are determined to achieve their potential, which also inspires me to do the same." - Year 13 participant

"I want to say thank you to everyone at Pathways for supporting us with this journey. This programme has been really insightful and has helped to reinforce my love of medicine." - Year 13 participant

"I have become a much more well-rounded, confident individual thanks to this programme and it has played a pivotal role in my (hopefully) imminent entry to medicine." - Year 13 participant

"I was part of Pathways last year and now I’m a first-year medical student at Imperial! The programme helped me so much with my medical school application and getting into Imperial, so I am always really grateful for the programme." - Programme alumni

"Being part of Imperial's Pathways to Medicine has given me access to consistent and reliable information that I would otherwise never have, which I am forever grateful for. I have gained a realistic insight into all the marvellous pathways that can lead to medicine and that medicine can lead into, and learnt how to look at medical cases and news through the lens of a medical student." - Year 13 participant

"The day at St Mary’s [Hospital]... absolute slay." - Year 12 participant, when asked what they liked most about the summer school

be studying biology and chemistry at A-level;
be interested in pursuing medicine 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;
be on track to achieve at least two A grades out of a minimum of three subjects at A-level (or equivalent).

Additional criteria

This programme is funded by the Sutton Trust, which supports students from backgrounds under-represented in higher education. That includes if:

you are eligible for free school meals
your family income is below £46,350 each year
you have been in care or are a young carer
you live independently (estranged), meaning you no longer have the support of your family due to a breakdown in the relationship
your parents do not have a university degree
you are studying in a non-selective state school that has below average attainment
your school has a high percentage of students receiving free school meals

How to apply

Applications for the 2024/25 programme are now closed.

Applications are made through the Sutton Trust online application system.

We recommend that you use a personal email address - rather than a school email address - when making your application. Security settings used in some school email servers stop applicants from receiving emails from the application system.

All information you provide on your application form will be stored by The Sutton Trust and shared with Imperial College London. To read about how The Sutton Trust will use your information, please see their privacy policy.

Programme schedule for 2024/25

Please see below an outline of core events and activities with provisional dates for our 2024/25 programme.

Year 12

Welcome event – evening of Thursday 21 November 2024
Junior conference – weekend day in early December 2024 (date tbc)
Ementoring workshop * – full day on Saturday 25 January 2025
Taster session – Thursday 20 March 2025 from 5pm
Ementoring workshop * – full day on Saturday 26 April 2025
Mastering the UCAT – full day online in May/June 2025 (date tbc)
Taster session – Thursday 19 June 2025 from 5pm
Summer school – 7-11 July 2025 (full days, non-residential)

* You will be required to complete a small project following each ementoring workshop. Project support from current Imperial medical students will be available through a dedicated online mentoring platform (Brightside).

Year 13

1:1 ementoring – ad hoc during August 2025 until January 2026
Personal statement reviews - submit during August/September 2025
MMA Day aka Senior conference – weekend day in November 2025 (date tbc)
Interview workshop – weekend morning online in November/December 2025 (date tbc)
Finale event – Thursday evening in December 2025 (date tbc)

General

We aim to provide you with insights into the medical profession through virtual and/or in-person work experience opportunities. These are likely to take place during the school holidays. Optional ementoring outside of the time periods outlined above will also be available.

If you think your participation in any in-person activities will not be possible due to the costs associated with travel to our campus, please get in touch with the programme team (no later than a week before the activity/event) and they will be happy to discuss these circumstances with you.

Contact us

For more information, please go to the Sutton Trust website or contact the Pathways to Medicine team.

Pathways to Medicine

At a glance

About Pathways to Medicine