Step into Bath

Step into Bath is a residential summer school experience for students to experience life at Bath before deciding to apply to study at Bath.

Apply now for Step into Bath 2026

What is Step into Bath?

Step into Bath is a 2-night residential for Year 12 students on track to meet our typical offer considering applying to study at Bath starting in September 2027. You'll experience being a student at Bath, go to lectures and socialise. You'll get your questions answered by our academic staff and get tips about making the best application. You'll stay in a student room and experience our lecture theatres and facilities for sports and recreation.

The summer school takes place 27th July-29th July 2026 for students interested in an Engineering and Design or Science course and from 29th July-31th July 2026 for students interested in a Humanities or Social Science or School of management course.

Who can apply?

You can apply for Step into Bath if you are a Year 12/Lower Sixth student who is on track to meet the typical offer for your chosen course and you are planning to start a university course in 2027.

You will also need to be taking the relevant A levels (or equivalent) for your chosen course and provide us with the grades you expect to achieve (these do not need to be official or awarded by your school).

If you are likely to meet our widening participation criteria we recommend that you apply for our Discover Bath programme.

What will you do?

As part of Step into Bath you will:

experience the University of Bath academic facilities and have an introduction to your prospective future at Bath, with taster lectures and placement & employability sessions delivered by our academic departments (subject stream choices below).
attend talks and sessions delivered by University of Bath lecturers, researchers and current students
stay on the University campus for 2 nights in actual undergraduate student accommodation
attend interactive sessions focussed on making a competitive university application, with direct advice from admissions selectors on how to write a competitive personal statement
have a chance to talk directly to admissions tutors of your chosen course(s).
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
network and make new, like-minded friends

What to expect and more information

What subject stream can you choose?

As part of Step into Bath you will be able to select one of four streams to experience what studying in your faculty of choice at Bath might be like. The 4 streams available are:

Engineering and Design

Science

School of management

Humanities or Social Science

How much will it cost and how do you apply?

Cost

The summer school costs £365 per person. This cost covers your accommodation, food, and all activities while on the summer school.

Please note that you will need to arrange your own travel to and from our campus, and that we are unable to reimburse associated costs.

How to apply

To apply you will need to complete an online application form. Applications are likely to open in January 2026. The form will ask you for some information about yourself and your education including the courses you are currently studying and what your expected grades might be. We ask this information to ensure that we have everything we need to keep you safe whilst at the University and to ensure that you have the academic profile to potentially be successful in applying to Bath.

group of students sat across a table talking

Testimonials

Here's what some recent attendees said about Step into Bath

"The most memorable part of my experience was getting to meet other prospective students who were in the same position as me. It was exciting to connect with people who shared similar ambitions, and it made the idea of starting university and applications feel much more real. I found that the talks on university life and the UCAS application process gave me a clearer idea of what to expect and helped build my confidence about applying to university" Georgia (2024 attendee)

"Staying on campus as a prospective student gave me a much clearer idea of what life at the University of Bath might actually feel like. It enabled me to picture myself living and studying at Bath in a way that an open day simply can’t replicate. While open days are valuable, I found the Step into Bath programme to be far more immersive and helped solidify my interest in pursuing higher education” Georgia (2024 attendee)

“I would recommend this to other students as it’s an eye-opening experience as to whether you would like or not like a university. I came to realise that a massive factor of where you are applying to university is where you are going to be living, so I think it’s so beneficial that you visit the university and experience it first-hand, especially if you think it would be your firm choice. You also meet a lot of great people from all around the country who you maintain contact with” Frank (2024 attendee)

“I would recommend this residential to other students as it was a perfect taster of what university life might be like and definitely made me more confident when starting university” Matt (2024 attendee)

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.