University of Oxford UNIQ Summer Schools Biochemistry Residential Course

You need to be in your first year of sixth form at a UK state school or college, or educated at home, and either settled in the UK, Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey or expecting home fee status when you apply to university. That means Year 12 in England or Wales, Year 13 in Northern Ireland, S5 in Scotland or the first year of the IB Diploma. You must be under 18 at the residential, with a few exceptions such as some Northern Ireland students, and UNIQ normally expects you to be 16 or 17. Students at independent or private schools can't apply, even on a bursary, and neither can anyone who has already been on UNIQ or holds more than one completed A level.

For Biochemistry you must be studying Chemistry and at least one of Biology, Physics or Maths at A level (or equivalent), and if you aren't taking Maths beyond GCSE you should have a strong Maths GCSE. UNIQ normally expects at least six GCSEs with one or more at grade 7 or A, or six National 5s with at least one A in Scotland, but it reads grades in context and gives priority to students from backgrounds that are underrepresented at Oxford.

• Care experience

  UNIQ strongly prioritizes students who are or have been in care, including foster and kinship care.

• Free school meals

  Current or past eligibility counts in your favor, and UNIQ checks it with your school.

• Where you live

  UNIQ may check your home postcode against the Index of Multiple Deprivation, a UK measure of how disadvantaged an area is.

• Extenuating circumstances

  There's a section on the form for anything that held back your results, and UNIQ takes it into account.

• Course choices

  You name a first and second choice, and if both are full you may be offered a reserve list place. UNIQ works with over a thousand students a year across more than 30 courses, although it doesn't say how many Biochemistry places there are.

You arrive in Oxford on a Monday and leave on Friday after four nights in a college, with the Biochemistry teaching filling the daytime on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The course mixes lectures, lab practicals and a tutorial across a range of topics, taught at the level of a first-year Oxford undergraduate by Oxford academics and graduate teaching staff, with student ambassadors around to help. You'll also be encouraged to work independently and direct your own study, which is a big part of undergraduate life.

Evenings bring optional social activities with your college group, time to explore Oxford and other colleges, and plenty of chances to ask current students questions. The week ends with a mini conference for all the UNIQ students attending that week. UNIQ says the residential is very intensive and leaves little time for other work, so finish any school project due around then before you go. There also aren't facilities to practice music or train for sport.

Current Oxford undergraduates, called ambassadors, take you to your classes and stay in college with you, and each college is run by a site manager, a senior ambassador who organizes drop-ins, tours and evening activities. You get your own lockable bedroom, though because many college buildings are historic you may share a bathroom with a few other participants on a single-gender corridor, while students with an ensuite room may be on a mixed corridor. Staying in college is compulsory for the whole week, even if you live in Oxford.

Every college offers a vegetarian option, but UNIQ can't guarantee halal, kosher or other religious diets because each college runs its own catering, so tell the team about your needs as soon as you get a place. There are chances to pray during the day, and UNIQ has a limited number of prayer mats to lend.

Yes. UNIQ charges no fees to students or schools and pays for your travel, accommodation, meals and teaching. Free travel depends on you sending back your travel details on time, though, and if you miss UNIQ's deadlines or lose your ticket you may have to buy your own. Fuel isn't reimbursed if someone drives you, and snacks, souvenirs and anything you forget to pack are yours to pay for, although UNIQ asks you to get in touch if any cost worries you.

UNIQ keeps supporting you online from August to December, with guidance at each stage of an Oxford application, from the UCAS form to admissions tests and interviews. That's the autumn when you'd be applying to university, so the help arrives just when you need it.

Applications are made only online through the UNIQ website, and they aren't first come, first served, so there's no benefit in rushing.

1. 1

   Applications open on 15 December 2026, and UNIQ plans to confirm which 2027 week Biochemistry runs in time for that (in 2026 it ran from 20 to 24 July).

2. 2

   Pick a first and second course in weeks you can attend in full, because you can't switch subject once places are allocated.

3. 3

   Complete every section, including extenuating circumstances if they apply, and nominate a teacher. Submit by 13:00 on 19 January 2027, because applications that are started but not submitted aren't considered. You won't get a confirmation email, just an "application submitted" screen.

4. 4

   Decisions arrive by email by early March, and you have one week to accept an offer. If you don't get a place, UNIQ says it won't affect a later application to Oxford.

5. 5

   Successful students attend a weekend regional event in spring, then get preparation information and an online meeting in May or June before the residential.