This webinar series aims to provide teachers and advisers with essential guidance on effectively supporting students to write competitive UCAS personal statements. It directly addresses findings from the recent Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) report 'Investigating the alignment of teachers and admissions professionals on UCAS personal statements' (Fryer et al., 2024), which revealed significant gaps and misconceptions in teachers’ understanding of what makes an effective personal statement.
This series aims to directly address those challenges. The report also highlights the responsibility of universities to provide clearer, more transparent guidance to educators and applicants. This series seeks to fulfill this call to action by equipping teachers with accurate, practical, and up-to-date advice.

The dates of the webinars are as follows:

• Webinar 1: Thursday 1 May 2025
• Webinar 2: Thursday 15 May 2025
• Webinar 3: Thursday 12 June 2025

Each webinar will take place at 4.30pm and last for around 30 minutes, including time for questions. You only need to register once to attend all three webinars. By registering for the series, you will be sent the link to each webinar 20 minutes before it starts. You will also be sent the recording of each webinar after it has taken place.

The series is suitable for all secondary teachers and advisers, particularly those who support students with personal statement writing and UCAS applications. Session titles and summaries are provided below.

Webinar 1: The Role of the Personal Statement in the UCAS Application

In this foundational session, we explain what the UCAS personal statement is and its critical role in university admissions decisions. Participants will gain clarity on:

• The heightened importance of the personal statement in an increasingly competitive university admissions field
• What admissions teams look for in a personal statement
• The new personal statement format and its implications for applicants

This webinar will take place on Thursday 1 May 2025 at 4.30pm

Webinar 2: The Importance of Identifying Course Requirements and High-Value Evidence

This session dives deeper into helping your students prepare through effective course specific research and identifying high-value evidence for their personal statements. This practical webinar covers:

• How to guide students in researching specific details of their chosen courses as the first step in planning and writing their personal statement
• Understanding what constitutes high-value evidence and why it matters

This webinar will take place on Thursday 15 May 2025 at 4.30pm

Webinar 3: The Do’s and Don’ts of What to Include

This final session equips teachers and advisers with specific strategies for guiding students towards more effective personal statements. Participants will explore:

• Practical strategies to help students clearly articulate compelling evidence and stand out from the crowd
• Common errors such as listing, vague statements, and generalisations
• How to ensure statements remain course-focused and relevant throughout

This webinar will take place on Thursday 12 June 2025 at 4.30pm