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Discover Bath

Discover Bath is a free event for Year 12 students from Widening Participation backgrounds to experience university study and find out about life at university.

Applications for 2025 are now closed.

What is Discover Bath?

Discover Bath is a summer programme which aims to give prospective students a taste of first-year life and study at the University of Bath.

Discover Bath is fully subsidised by the University of Bath (this means that you won't need to pay to attend), including on-campus accommodation, free meals for the duration of your stay, a programme of academic sessions (lectures, seminars, workshops) and fun social activities. Your travel to the University can be reimbursed (reasonable travel within the UK only).

See dates below.

Find out more about what to expect from Discover Bath here

Students working together and chatting during the summer school.

Who can apply

Discover Bath is available to all Year 12 (or equivalent) students who are academically able to study at Bath in their chosen subject and meet our widening participation criteria.

If you do not meet our widening participation criteria then unfortunately you won’t be eligible for Discover Bath but you may wish to consider our Step into Bath residential instead.

Students are not able to join the Discover Bath programme if they are already a Pathway to Bath student so please do not apply for Discover Bath if you are already registered on the Pathway to Bath programme.

group of students arriving on campus with an ambassador

Courses on offer

Here is a list of the subjects on offer.

Engineering

Subject
Architecture & Civil Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

Monday 4 – Wednesday 6 August (2-night stay)

More information

Science

Subject
Biology
Chemistry
Computer Science
Mathematics
Pharmacy
Physics

Wednesday 6 – Friday 8 August (2-night stay)

More information

Social Sciences

Subject
Criminology
Economics
Health & Sport
Languages
Politics
Psychology
Sociology
Education

Monday 11 – Wednesday 13 August (2-night stay)

More information

Management and Business

Subject
Business Management

Monday 11 – Wednesday 13 August (2-night stay)

More information

What will you do?

Discover Bath has a lot to offer

2 students talking together

As part of Discover Bath you will:

  • study a course in your Discover Bath subject area delivered by University of Bath lecturers, researchers and current students
  • find out what it’s like to study at the University of Bath
  • stay on the University campus for 2 nights in actual undergraduate student accommodation
  • complete a self-reflection task following the residential with support provided by University staff and Student Ambassadors
  • receive support on writing a personal statement, understanding the UCAS process, student finance, and much more
  • join in with fun, social activities (led by current university students) to get a flavour of real student life
  • gain skills that will be essential for successful university study (e.g. research skills, independent study, teamwork)
  • network and make new, like-minded friends

Find out more about what to expect from Discover Bath here

What will you get out of Discover Bath?

Here's what some of last year's Discover Bath students said about the programme

'I would highly recommend attending a summer school at the University of Bath to anyone who wants to experience a taste of university life before applying to university, as it made me feel so much more confident with the transition from school to university and gave me memories and friends for life.'

Chardonnay – Discover Bath Biology

'The welcoming environment made me feel at ease during the programme as both the ambassadors and lecturers were really and understanding. The sense of belonging I felt at Bath then helped me make the choice between my university options in year 13, as Bath was a calm environment I felt I would enjoy.'

Aimee K – Discover Bath Psychology

'The Discover Bath program made me more confident about going to university as I developed skills in academic writing, referencing, debating, note-taking, and public speaking, which are hugely relevant and valuable for my degree and career direction... When I came to university, I realised that the Discover Bath program had put me at a head start with the skills I had learnt academically and with being familiar with some of the content taught.'

Lora – Discover Bath Sociology

'I had not previously known about the network of support for those with disabilities and mitigating circumstances alongside the wellbeing support and counselling on offer. I cannot emphasise enough the value of attending Discover Bath as having all of my questions answered by current students at the university was incredibly insightful and useful.'

Yvonne – Discover Bath Psychology

'The academic sessions helped me gain important skills like independent study and teamwork which I currently use in my undergraduate study. The sessions were delivered by lecturers and researchers, teaching us about their own research, which was very interesting and a useful insight into undergraduate study.'

Aimee T – Discover Bath Psychology

Contextual offer

You will be considered for contextual admissions if you meet our Contextual Criteria. A contextual offer is a lower offer made to some applicants based on their circumstances. Contextual offers are available if you are studying A levels or the International Baccalaureate Diploma.
In addition to the possibility of a contextual offer, those who successfully attend Discover Bath may be eligible to receive a guaranteed conditional offer.

Ariel photo of the University campus

Support for elite athletes

If you are either (a) competing regularly in a team in your chosen sport and/or (b) competing nationally as an individual then as part of your Discover Bath experience, we will also be able to offer you some athlete support which may include:

  • give you an experience of what it is like to train in your sport at Bath
  • gain an understanding of how to manage the demands of an undergraduate degree course with training and competing in your chosen sport
  • meet coaches from your sport

Please make sure you inform us about your sporting achievements/level when applying for Discover Bath.

Target Bath

If you're interested in Discover Bath, and you identify as having Black African, Caribbean or Mixed heritage, you may wish to consider our Target Bath programme.

The Target Bath programme includes a guaranteed place on Discover Bath alongside 1:1 coaching and online sessions with Black Student Ambassadors currently studying at Bath.

Target Bath is run in partnership with Rare, a leading organisation in diversity recruitment with a proven track record of supporting Black students to gain places at the UK’s top universities. The programme supports students of Black African, Caribbean and Mixed heritage to gain places at the University of Bath. You may also have the opportunity to gain an reduced offer.

Target Bath is free of charge and is open to UK-based students in Year 12, providing support throughout Year 12 and 13 and insights into life at Bath as a Black student. It will support you with subject choice and preparing for the UCAS process. As part of the programme, you will also be invited to attend Discover Bath.

This event isn't right for me, is there anything else?

Yes, we have other programmes for year 12 students. You can fill in our form which will then send you a personalised list of activities, events and resources that might be helpful for you.

Want to register your interest for Discover Bath 2026?

You can fill in this form to register your interest for next year. We will get in touch with you as soon as applications open.

Applications for 2025 are now closed

Check here later for 2026.

Contact Us

If you have any questions please get in touch