Oundle and Shrewsbury STEM Potential

We run five events on average for each year group. These events take place on Saturdays and during school holiday periods typically running from the morning into early afternoon. Our events will include a week-long non-residential summer school for Year 10 and Year 12 students. 

For Oundle STEM Potential (Year 10 and Year 12 entry) the programme will begin on a Saturday in late September 2025. 

Please read the Outreach programme eligibility before you apply. We use the criteria below to assess who is eligible to participate. The more criteria you meet, the more likely your application will be successful.

We will prioritise your application if:

• You are currently, or have been in care
• You live independently (estranged from your family), meaning you no longer have the support of your family due to a breakdown in the relationship which has led to ceased contact

We will also assess whether:

• You are a young carer and have caring responsibilities for a close relative with a disability, long-term illness, mental health condition, or drug or alcohol problem that is a significant demand on your time
• Your family income is below £50,000 each year
• You are eligible for free school meals and/or pupil premium
• Your parents/guardians did not attend university
• You live in an area with low overall progression rates to higher education (POLAR4 Quintile 1 or 2 areas) or high levels of deprivation (IMD Quintile 1 areas)
• Your school has a high percentage of students receiving free school meals
• Your school has below average attainment

In addition to meeting the Outreach eligibility criteria, you must also meet the following programme specific criteria:

• Be in Year 9 or Year 11 at the time of application
• Be studying Maths (compulsory) and at least one science subject (Biology, Chemistry or Physics) if you are applying to start in Year 12
• Live or attend a state school in the Kettering, Corby, Oundle and Peterborough areas (Oundle STEM Potential), or near Shrewsbury (Shrewsbury STEM Potential)
• For Oundle STEM Potential, be able and willing to travel to Oundle School for the scheduled programme dates
• For Shrewsbury STEM Potential, be able and willing to travel to Shrewsbury School for the scheduled programme dates

Applications for Shrewsbury STEM Potential are currently closed. 

Applications for Oundle STEM Potential  (both Year 10 entry and Year 12 entry) will open in late March 2025 and close on Wednesday 4 June 2025 at 23:59.

Applications are made through Aspire (Imperial College London’s programme application system). You must first create an account before completing an application.

Please note: We recommend you use a personal email address, as opposed to a school email address, when creating an Aspire account. Security settings used in some school email servers will prevent you from receiving emails from Aspire.

As part of your application, you will be asked to provide details for a parent/guardian and a teacher. Both your parent/guardian and your teacher will be contacted to provide a supporting reference and verify some of the information you provide. Please note that parent/guardian and teacher references cannot be submitted until you have submitted your application.

• For Oundle STEM Potential, these references must be received by Wednesday 11 June at 23:59. You will be informed of the outcome of your application by Friday 27 June 2025. 

We will ask for the subjects you are currently studying. If you do not have predicted grades for your current subjects you can type NPG or N/A in the grade field.