Alternative offers 2023
Keele strives to be a place where learning, living and working is a positive experience for our entire community. We seek to ensure equality of opportunity to all our applicants with the potential and motivation to succeed, regardless of background. We also believe it’s important that our admissions policy is open and transparent in its use of qualifications and criteria for entry. On that basis, we operate a range of ‘alternative offer’ schemes with clear eligibility criteria. The schemes below are applicable to 2023 entry. For the 2024 schemes please click here.
What are the schemes?
We have a range of schemes which you may be eligible for, depending on your circumstances and experiences. If you are eligible, you will typically receive either a reduced offer or additional consideration, depending on the course you have applied to study. This will be applied automatically based on the information you provide when you apply. These schemes apply to all of our Undergraduate courses at Keele with the exception of D100 Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, and Keele’s Foundation Year courses.
1. Contextual Offers
At Keele we recognise that our applicants have different backgrounds and experiences and that some applicants may not have had the same opportunities as others. We are committed to ensuring that applicants are not disadvantaged because of their personal circumstances and have a strong record in admitting students to Keele with a wide range of educational experiences.
To receive a contextual offer applicants must meet ONE of the following indicators:
- Currently at a state school, academy or college and living in an area with low participation in higher education, (defined as POLAR4 quintiles 1 and 2)
- Currently at a state school, academy or college and living in an area of relative deprivation (defined as IMD quintiles 1 and 2)
- Care leavers who have spent any time in local authority care, either with foster carers or in a children’s home (or in Scotland under a home supervision order)
- Refugees, Asylum Seekers or those under Humanitarian Protection.
The following table is provided as a guide to how our standard offers will be adjusted to become contextual offers. If you are not certain how or whether this would apply to you, please contact us and we will be happy to confirm:
| Course | Offer Examples |
|
Physiotherapy, Radiography, Medicine, Paramedic Science, Pharmacy, Social Work, Nursing and Midwifery. |
1 grade reduction, for example: For Physiotherapy the standard offer is: ABB The Contextual Offer would be: BBB |
|
All other courses (not including Veterinary Medicine) |
2 grades reduction for example: Standard offer: BBB Contextual Offer: BCC Standard Offer: BTEC Extended Diploma DDD/DDM Contextual Offer: BTEC Extended Diploma DDM/DMM |
2. Additional Qualifications
Keele understands that applicants will demonstrate their aptitude to study in different ways and will sometimes undertake additional study alongside their primary qualifications. We formally recognise a range of these additional qualifications in your offer:
- Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)
- AQA or Cambridge IPQ
- Cambridge Pre-U Global Perspectives
- International Baccalaureate Extended Essay (when not taken as part of the main International Baccalaureate qualification)
- Core Maths
Applicants undertaking the following qualifications will receive two offers when they apply to Keele, a standard offer and an alternative offer. You will only need to meet the requirements of one of these offers to qualify for entry.
The following table is provided as a guide to how our standard offers will be adjusted to account for additional qualifications. If you are not certain how or whether this would apply to you, please contact us and we will be happy to confirm:
| Course | Offer Examples |
| Medicine | 1 grade reduction if EPQ grade A or A*: Example Offer: A*AA or AAA plus A in EPQ 1 grade reduction if Core Maths grade A: Example Offer: A*AA or AAA plus A in Core Maths |
|
Physiotherapy, Radiography, Paramedic Science, Pharmacy, Social Work, Nursing and Midwifery |
1 grade reduction if EPQ grade B or above: Example Offer: ABB or BBB plus B in EPQ 1 grade reduction if Core Maths grade B: Example Offer: ABB or BBB plus B in Core Math |
|
All other courses (not including Veterinary Medicine) |
2 grades reduction if EPQ grade B or above: Example Offer: BBB or BCC plus B in EPQ Example Offer: BTEC Extended Diploma DDM or DMM plus B in EPQ 2 grades reduction if Core Maths grade B or above: Example Offer: BBB or BCC plus B in Core Maths Example Offer: BTEC Extended Diploma DDM or DMM plus B in Core Maths |
3. Keele Region Applicants
Since our foundation in 1949, we’ve been deeply rooted in our region: Stoke-on-Trent and the Potteries, Staffordshire, and the wider countryside between Greater Manchester and the West Midlands conurbation. We are committed to our civic role and want to support applicants who choose to study locally - for whatever reason - and commuter students who have fewer local study options available. On that basis, applicants studying at a School or College in the defined ‘Keele Region’, or independent applicants living in the region, will receive an alternative offer.
Keele Region Areas
The following table is provided as a guide to how our standard offers will be adjusted to become regional offers. If you are not certain how or whether this would apply to you, please contact us and we will be happy to confirm:
| Course | Offer Example |
| Medicine | Additional point on Roles and Responsibilities form |
|
All other courses (not including Veterinary Medicine) |
1 grade reduction if studying in a School/College in the ‘Keele Region’ Standard offer: BBB Keele Region Offer: BBC |
The Keele Region includes the following local government areas:
- Cheshire East
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Derby
- Derbyshire
- Shropshire
- Staffordshire
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Telford and Wrekin
- Wrexham
4. Widening Access to Medicine (A100)
We are committed to ensuring that applicants are not disadvantaged because of their personal circumstances and have a strong record in admitting students to Keele with a wide range of educational experiences. For our Medicine (A100) programme, we offer the following schemes:
| Scheme | Offer Example |
| Steps2Medicine OR alternative UKWPMED programme |
Automatic interview (if applicant meets the minimum academic requirements) 2 grade reduction. Example offer: AAB |
| UCAT Bursary | Additional point on Roles and Responsibilities form |
If you are not certain how or whether this would apply to you, please contact us and we will be happy to confirm.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may be eligible for more than one of the alternative offer schemes listed above. Please note, however, that the benefits listed do not stack: you will instead be offered either the most generous of the offers available, or will receive more than one offer. You will only need to meet the requirements of one of these offers to qualify for entry.
We will automatically apply the alternative offer when considering your application and it will be visible in your offer text
Yes, with the exception of D100 Veterinary Medicine and Surgery and Keele’s Foundation Year courses. Please note that the adjustment made to each course’s offer will be different depending on the course you have applied for at Keele. Please see the examples detailed above and the relevant course pages.
Veterinary Medicine and Surgery is delivered by the Harper and Keele Veterinary School in partnership with Harper Adams University and operates a separate admissions policy including different alternative offers. This is available on the School’s website.
This is where we take into account the context in which applicants have gained their academic qualifications. In doing this we consider the additional data and information provided on the application (the contextual data).
Yes, we realise that some applicants will take their EPQ in year 12 or earlier.
The Keele Region offer is based on the geographic location of the study centre which you have applied from. However, for independent applicants who are not applying from a designated centre, the offer will be based on your current postcode as stated on your application form.