Pathways overview

There are two options for starting Exeter Scholars in Year 10.

Year 10 Tutoring Pathway (South West only)

The Year 10 In-School Tutoring Pathway (South West only) involves a series of in-school sessions that will be run by Student Ambassadors from the University of Exeter, focusing on helping you to make informed decisions about your future, including demystifying higher education and thinking about careers. This pathway will also include subject-specific content, delivered virtually via our dedicated online platform, Brightspace. All dates for your tutoring sessions will be scheduled by and take place at your school, and therefore will be at a time to suit you.

Year 10 Residential Pathway (South West & National)

The Year 10 Residential Pathway (South West & National) pathway starts with an all-expenses-paid residential held at the University of Exeter Streatham Campus. You'll stay in university halls of residence, just like our current students do, and this will be your opportunity to find out what student life is like.

Applications for the Year 10 residential pathway will open in March or April.

Year 11 is a key year for all Exeter Scholars participants. By this point you will have already been learning with us for a year, and should by now be more familiar with what a university campus is. We don’t have any pathways that start in Year 11 but we use this time for existing participants to focus on preparing you for life after GCSEs.

If you were on the Year 10 Exeter Scholars pathway, you will be invited to attend a Student Conference with your parents / carers to celebrate what you have achieved so far, and to help prepare you for the transition to college or sixth form.

If you're not on Exeter Scholars but are currently in Year 11, we recommend that you consider applying to the Year 12 South West On-Campus pathway or Virtual pathway next year - applications for the Year 12 South West pathways when you're in Year 12 will open in September 2025.

If you are in Year 12, there is an application entry point available to you between September and October. Over a period of 10 months, you will then attend a range of on-campus events and field trips allowing you to explore your chosen subject as it would be studied at university. You will be given access to University of Exeter facilities and learn from world class academics – you may even have the chance to participate in live research projects being conducted by the University. Each strand will have its own unique entry requirements and pass criteria, and it is fulfilling these that will allow you to graduate as a University of Exeter Scholar. Applications for the Year 12 On-Campus pathway are now open - find out more and apply here.

Alternatively, we run our Virtual Pathway in February for two weeks, which gives students the option to complete Exeter Scholars in a purely virtual setting with a choice of 4 different subject strands. You will still have access to our world leading academics and teaching practises, but without having to come onto campus! Applications for the Year 12 Virtual Pathway are now open - find out more and apply here.

By December of Year 13, you will know if you have successfully graduated as a University of Exeter Scholar. However, your journey doesn’t end there, and we want to continue supporting you for as long as you need us.

Successful programme graduates will now be given access to a number of additional events designed to help you find out a bit more about the University of Exeter, as Year 13 marks the moment at which you will decide if you want to apply to university and, if so, where. You will be invited to a private reception at the September University of Exeter Undergraduate Open Day and an exclusive Exeter Scholars Virtual Open Day. We’ll also fund your travel costs to attend an Offer Holder Visit Day at the University of Exeter. 

We hope to see some of our Exeter Scholars studying with us in the future, and those who decide that this is the right option for them will be given the opportunity to qualify as a Senior Scholar by completing an online assessment. As a Senior Scholar you will have a range of enhanced benefits available to you that have been developed to not only support your progression to the University of Exeter but also help you settle in as a new university student. 

If you are successful in achieving a place on our Year 10 programme, then your pathway will start with a residential experience held at the University of Exeter Streatham Campus. You'll stay in university halls of residence, just like our current students do, and this will be your opportunity to find out what student life is like.

Applications for the Year 10 residential pathway will open in March/April.

Year 11 is a key year for all Exeter Scholars participants. By this point you will have already been learning with us for a year and should by now be more familiar with what a university campus is. We don’t have any pathways that start in Year 11 but we use this time for existing participants to focus on preparing you for life after GCSEs and you can consider our national Year 12 pathways for when you're in Year 12.

If you are in Year 12, you can apply to the National residential.

While you are staying with us, you will be given access to University of Exeter facilities and learn from world class academics – you may even have the chance to participate in live research projects being conducted by the University. 

Alongside the academic programme, the residential experience will also give you the chance to explore the local area, develop your cooking skills, try out study societies, and find out what student life might be like.

Attendance at this residential is a compulsory part of Exeter Scholars for both existing participants and those joining the programme for the first time in Year 12. Via this and the other activities you have completed throughout your programme participation, you will have fulfilled the time commitment required to graduate as an Exeter Scholar in Year 13. 

Applications for the Year 12 Residential pathway will open in March/April.

Alternatively, we run our Virtual Activities Fortnight in February, which gives students the option to complete Exeter Scholars in a purely virtual setting with a choice of 4 different subject strands. You will still have access to our world leading academics and teaching practises, but without having to come onto campus!

Applications for the Year 12 Virtual pathway are now open - find out more and apply here.

Across Year 13, you will find out if you have successfully graduated as a University of Exeter Scholar. However, your journey doesn’t end there and we want to continue supporting you for as long as you need us.

Successful graduates will now be given access to a number of additional events designed to help you find out a bit more about the University of Exeter, as Year 13 marks the moment at which you will decide if you want to apply to university and, if so, where. You will be invited to a private reception at the September University of Exeter Undergraduate Open Day and an exclusive Exeter Scholars Virtual Open Day. We’ll also fund your travel costs to attend an Offer Holder Visit Day at the University of Exeter. 

We hope to see some of our Exeter Scholars studying with us in the future, and those who decide that this is the right option for them will be given the opportunity to qualify as a Senior Scholar by completing an online assessment. As a Senior Scholar you will have a range of enhanced benefits available to you that have been developed to not only support your progression to the University of Exeter but also help you settle in as a new university student.