University of Oxford UNIQ Summer Schools History Residential Course

You need to be in the first year of sixth form at a UK state school, and beyond that UNIQ picks students on their grades in context and their background, not on who applies first. History has no essential subject, although UNIQ especially welcomes students taking History at A level, Advanced Higher, IB Higher Level or an equivalent.

UNIQ prioritizes students with good grades from backgrounds underrepresented at Oxford and other universities. It strongly prioritizes students with care experience and also weighs free school meal eligibility, past or present, and wider socioeconomic background, for example by checking your home postcode against the Index of Multiple Deprivation. The grade bar may be lower than you'd expect: normally at least six GCSEs with one or more at grade 7 or A, or six National 5s with at least one A. UNIQ works with over a thousand students a year across more than 30 courses but doesn't publish how many History places there are.

• Year group

  Year 12 in England or Wales, Year 13 in Northern Ireland, S5 in Scotland, or the first year of the IB Diploma.

• School

  A UK or Islands state school or college, including grammar schools. Home-educated students can apply, but independent school students can't, even with a bursary.

• Residency

  You need settled status in the UK or Islands, including the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey, or expect home fee status when you apply to university. Overseas students can't apply.

• Age

  Under 18 at the time of the residential, with exceptions for some Northern Ireland students and those studying in an offset year because of extenuating circumstances.

• Once only

  You can attend UNIQ once, and you can't apply if you already hold more than one completed A level.

• Course choices

  You name a first and second choice, and if both are full you may be offered a reserve place.

You arrive on Monday, spend Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in an academic program run by Oxford's Faculty of History, and finish with a mini conference that brings together everyone on your week before you leave on Friday. UNIQ doesn't publish class hours for History.

The History days mix lectures and classes, and you'll carry out independent research to get ready for your first tutorial. The material is pitched at first-year Oxford undergraduates, with lecturers, graduate teaching staff and undergraduate ambassadors on hand to help. Evenings are for optional social activities with your college group, exploring Oxford and other colleges, or relaxing in the common room. UNIQ calls the week very intensive, so there's little time for schoolwork and no facilities for music practice or sports training.

Current Oxford undergraduates, called ambassadors, stay with you in college and take you to lectures and seminars, and each college is run by a Site Manager, a senior student ambassador who organizes drop-ins, tours and evening activities. You get your own lockable bedroom. Bathrooms are often shared with a few other participants on gender-segregated corridors, although students in ensuite rooms may be on mixed corridors.

Staying in college is compulsory, even if you live in Oxford, and you won't know which college you're in until you arrive. Every college offers a vegetarian option, but halal, kosher and other religious diets can't be guaranteed, so tell UNIQ about dietary or access needs once you're offered a place and it will make other arrangements if needed.

You apply yourself, online through the UNIQ website, and your school is only asked to confirm your details if you're offered a place.

1. 1

   Check the History course page when applications open on 15 December 2026 to see which July week it runs in 2027, since you must be free for the whole week.

2. 2

   Fill in the form with your first and second course choices, your GCSE or National 5 grades, your background and a teacher at your school, using the extenuating circumstances section if your grades don't reflect your ability.

3. 3

   Submit the completed form before 13:00 on 19 January 2027 and look for the "application submitted" screen, because UNIQ sends no confirmation email and never considers unsubmitted or late applications.

4. 4

   Watch your email for a decision by early March 2027, and accept an offer within one week.

5. 5

   Attend a spring regional event and an online briefing in May or June before the residential.

You leave with firsthand experience of Oxford-style History teaching, including a tutorial you've researched for, and from August to December UNIQ follows up with online support for your UCAS application, admissions tests and interviews. What it won't give you is an admissions advantage, because UNIQ says participants who go on to apply to Oxford get no preferential treatment.