How to Apply
Follow our step-by-step application guide for the PARTNERS Programme for 2024 entry.
Submit your UCAS application form, adding the letter 'P' in the 'Further Details' section next to the degree programme(s) that you apply to.
The 'P' enables our admissions staff to identify PARTNERS applicants. You can apply for up to five courses at Newcastle University through the PARTNERS Programme.
The PARTNERS UCAS form guide - 2023 Entry provides a screenshot of where to enter the 'P' on your UCAS application form.
Submit your UCAS form before your PARTNERS form
We will not be able to process your PARTNERS application until your UCAS application is fully complete as we need your predicated grades, submitted by your teacher/tutor, to be able to fully assess your eligibility.
Therefore, don't submit your PARTNERS application form until you are at the stage to also submit your UCAS form to UCAS.
Forgotten to include the 'P'?
If you have already submitted your UCAS Form and forgotten to include the letter 'P' in the Further Details section, please contact us to let us know.
If you've already applied to Newcastle University for 2023 entry, you can still apply via PARTNERS until 5pm Friday 24th February. If you have any questions, you can get in touch with the team directly.
Selecting your referee
While completing the application form, you must select the most relevant member of staff in your school/college to verify your details. This should be a teacher or tutor who knows you well enough to verify the accuracy of the details on your application form.
To select your referee:
- Choose the correct Sixth Form School/College that you attend (or most recently attended).
- The referees available at the bottom of the form will change depending upon which School/College you select.
- Select the referee that can verify the details of your application form.
We cannot proceed with your application if you select an out-of-date or irrelevant member of staff.
What if your preferred referee is not available to select on the application form?
If after selecting your School/College, your referee is not available to select on the application form, contact us here to let us know the details of your referee that you'd like to add to your application. Please provide the following details:
- Referee name
- Referee email address (this must be a school/college address)
- Referee job title
- School/college name & postcode
Your UCAS number
Once you have submitted your UCAS application form, you will receive your UCAS Personal ID.
To complete the PARTNERS application form you must ensure that you have your UCAS Personal ID to hand as you will need to enter this into the form.
What happens next?
The following steps confirm what will happen after you've submitted your application to the PARTNERS Programme.
If you've selected a relevant referee and your application is fully complete, we aim to give you a PARTNERS outcome within 20 working days from the date that your referee submits your application to us.
The member of school or college staff you selected as a referee will then confirm your application and provide additional information where necessary.
They will complete the reference and send the forms to us.
We cannot proceed with the application until this step has been completed by your referee.
The PARTNERS team will make a decision as to whether you will be provisionally accepted onto the programme based on the eligibility criteria.
You will be kept up-to-date with the progress of your application via the following email addresses:
- noreply@heat.ac.uk
- system@heat.ac.uk
- partners@ncl.ac.uk
Spam/junk mail settings
Please make sure that the above email addresses are approved within your email account settings.
If your junk mail filters are set high, the emails we send will go straight into your junk email folder. Please don’t forget to check this folder and then mark us as an approved email address.
Admissions staff will take the PARTNERS outcome into consideration, consider your UCAS application form and make a final decision as to whether to make you an offer.
If you are provisionally accepted to PARTNERS, any offer you receive will be the lower PARTNERS offer. This will include the successful completion of the PARTNERS Academic Summer School and mean that you have been formally accepted onto the PARTNERS Programme.
In order to take advantage of the PARTNERS offer, you must make the PARTNERS offer your firm choice (CF) through UCAS. You may only make your PARTNERS offer your insurance choice (CI) if your CF is for another course at Newcastle University.
If you are not provisionally accepted to PARTNERS, any offer you receive will be the typical offer.
If you make a PARTNERS offer your firm choice through UCAS, you will then be invited to attend a number of PARTNERS Programme events, including the compulsory PARTNERS Academic Summer School which will run on the below dates:
- Sunday 2nd - Friday 7th July 2023
You must successfully complete this summer school in order to meet the terms of your offer.
If you have used the tool above and are still unsure whether you meet the criteria, it is listed below in full for you to check. You can also get in touch with us here if you have any questions.
Through the PARTNERS Programme you could:
- Receive a lower contextual offer to Newcastle University.
- Attend the PARTNERS Academic Summer School.
- Develop skills necessary to be a successful student.
- Meet other students and increase your confidence.
- Receive support through the application process, on results day and after entering the university.
Intro to PARTNERS
The following presentation video has been produced by the PARTNERS Team to introduce the Programme to prospective students. You may wish to share the link to this video with your students or use it during an assembly.
It summarises the key aspects of the Programme, including:
- PARTNERS Academic Summer School.
- Benefits of taking part.
- The eligibility criteria.
- How to apply.