Activities for Sixth Form & College Students

Headstart
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Taster Days/Sessions

Our online taster sessions help Year 12 and Year 13 students experience what it is like to study at the University of Sheffield.

These are the current engineering tasters available at the moment:

Subject Topic Date Book
Automatic Control and Systems Engineering Robotics: How can we control and shape our future with robots? Tuesday 21 May 2024 Book ACSE taster
Electronic and Electrical Engineering Virtual Arduino lab - an introduction to EEE Thursday 16 May 2024 Book EEE taster
General Engineering Engineering for a renewable future! Thursday 23 May 2024 Book GEN taster
Bioengineering What is Bioengineering?   Book BIO taster
Civil Engineering
Innovations in Structural Engineering: Strengthening against Earthquakes
  Book CIV taster
Chemical and Biological Engineering Optimizing your future with Chemical Engineering Wednesday 1 May 2024 Book CBE taster
Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Engineering: from kites to satellites Wednesday 15 May 2024 Book Aero taster
Mechanical Engineering
Sensing the world with sound
Tuesday 14 May 2024 Book Mech taster

Discover more about Taster Days at Sheffield.

University Options

This free one-day event is for Year 12 students studying maths, physics or science A Levels.

Experience hands-on activities, demonstrations and short lectures to give you a taste of what studying science and engineering at university involves.

Watch our event from 2018:

Access to Sheffield (STEM)

Access to Sheffield (STEM) is for students studying A Levels (or equivalent Y12-13) in Science and/or Maths who have an interest in finding more about the STEM subjects available at university.

The pathway will explore the different Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) degree options through practical workshops and taster sessions, spending time working in laboratories at the University. 

Within these workshops you will have the opportunity to work with current undergraduate STEM students - gaining a real experience of what it is like to be a student at the University.

Overall you will be exposed to subject areas that you may not have studied previously, as well as an insight into the practical nature of a STEM degree.

Find out more.

Headstart Summer School

Run in conjunction with the Engineering Development Trust (EDT), Headstart is a five day residential aimed at Year 12 students studying A Level maths and science. You will have the opportunity to come to Sheffield and experience what it would be like to be an engineering student by attending mini-lectures, experiencing  hands-on experiments in labs whilst living in halls of residence.

Learn more about Headstart.

Watch our video from 2018.

Science & Engineering Foundation Year

If you have a talent for STEM but need to improve your entry requirements in mathematics and science, our Foundation Year programme is an ideal starting point. We prepare you for degree-level study in a supportive learning environment.

This is a one-year programme for those who don’t quite meet the entry requirements for year one or who have decided to take a change of career direction.

Read more about the courses available and how the program is structured here.

Pathway to Engineering

If you want to study Mechanical or General Engineering but you're not taking a physics A-Level or one of the alternative applied science subjects required, our Pathway to Engineering programme will allow you to access the following courses without the need to do a Foundation Year. You'll get all the support you need to get started on our undergraduate degree programmes.

Fees:

We want to open up engineering to as many students as possible and there are no tuition fees for Pathway to Engineering.

During the programme you will stay in University halls of residence, for this a £500 accommodation cost does apply.

We can offer scholarships to all female applicants and widening participation applicants to cover the costs of accommodation. 

Apply:

Please get in touch with the admissions contact from the department you are interested in: 

Once you've spoken to your chosen department, make a normal UCAS application to be considered for an offer to study your chosen BEng/MEng degree. The Pathway to Engineering does not have a specific UCAS code, please use the one related to your chosen degree course.

You do not have to pass any exams on this course to progress onto your degree, all we ask is that you attend all sessions.