This residential aims to give autistic students and their parent/carer the chance to experience higher education and university life. The event also aims to equip students with some of the skills to ease their transition to the next stage of their educational journey.

Overnight accommodation will be provided. The bedrooms are single occupancy ensuite bedrooms and students will be in a room next to their parent/carer. In addition, all meals, information and guidance sessions and social activities are included. Travel (reasonable travel within the UK only) to the University can be reimbursed for anyone who meets our Widening Participation criteria.

During the residential, a variety of sessions will be on offer for the students, some with and without their parent/carer. The aim is to equip the students with the skills for managing independent learning and living skills, stress and anxiety amongst many others.

The 2025 summer school will take place from Friday 1st to Saturday 2nd August.

Before the summer school

A member of the team will be in contact with the parent/carer/student attending the programme to answer any questions regarding the residential and to discuss individual requirements. To make the experience as comfortable as possible, we encourage as many questions or discussions as necessary.

During the programme (2 days, 1 night)

Students will take part in a range of activities, including a tour of the campus and the accommodation, talks from the Disability Service Team at Bath, sessions on life tips and independent living, a chance to join in with some group work, a session on wellbeing, an academic skills session, and optional social activities led by current students. You will also get the opportunity to talk to some autistic university students about their experience at university.

Some of the activities will be for students to attend with their parent/carer, and some activities are designed to be just for the students (parents/carers can attend the student sessions if their child doesn’t feel comfortable without them). Our friendly team and student ambassadors will also be attending sessions.

None of the sessions are compulsory, although we would recommend that you attend what you can, and you are free to take breaks whenever you need to.