UniTracks: The Warwick Young Achievers' Programme
About the programme
UniTracks is unique to Warwick.
This national outreach programme for highly able students aims to:
- break down any perceived barriers your students may have about accessing Higher Education (HE)
- encourage your students to apply for, and be successful in gaining, a place at a leading research intensive university
- inspire your students to access different learning opportunities at leading research intensive universities
Contact
Catherine McNicholl
Outreach Officer (UniTracks)
Phone: 02476 524773
Email: unitracks@warwick.ac.uk
Key Information
How UniTracks works:
Each year, teachers in the UniTracks partner schools nominate five Year 10 pupils who have been identified as being 'most able' and who meet our other eligibility criteria (see section below) to join this national cohort. We then work with them through their GCSE years, into sixth form/college, and right up until the start of their post schooling lives.
Participants join our programme to learn all about university life, the benefits of pursuing university studies, and how to make an application to the best universities in the country. UniTracks members are supported in this work through events and workshops designed to build their skills, confidence, and academic attainment.
Our aim is that, by the end of their commitment to the programme, UniTracks participants will be in a position to make informed choices about their future and have the necessary qualifications, skills, and attributes to achieve the next step in their journey.
Students identified as most able, i.e. one or more from the following:
• Top 5% of year group
• Achieved at least an average of 5.2 at KS2
• Has the potential to achieve 8/9 at GCSE and A/A* at A level or equivalent
Students must meet at least two of the following criteria:
• First in their immediate family to go to university (excluding siblings)
• From an area in which there is traditionally low participation in Higher Education
• In receipt of, or has within the last six years been eligible for, free school meals
• In receipt of or entitled to Pupil Premium
• Parents/Guardians/Carers in non-professional occupations
• Where a student is, or has ever been, in the care of the local authority, they need only meet the academic criteria.
Barking Abbey School “Joining the UniTracks programme was one of the best choices I could have made for my future. Now, 5 years on, I can still see the positive influence the programme has made in my life. Not only did I get academic guidance but I gained the confidence to believe in myself and my potential. I developed skills that have stayed with me and the programme gave me the knowledge that I could do anything I set my mind to”
Your son/daughter has been selected to be a part of UniTracks because we feel that they will benefit greatly from the opportunities available. All the young people involved have the ability and potential to gain a place at one of the UK’s leading universities.
Participants will be encouraged to choose the best university course for their interests and abilities. Former UniTracks participants have gone on study at universities such as Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, Leicester, University College London and Warwick!
We recognise, however, that university might not be the right option for your son/daughter. By working with them over four years, we hope that we will have given them the confidence in themselves and all the information possible to make the right decision for their future.
We ask that you support your son/daughter’s participation in the various opportunities open to them as a member of UniTracks. This could include attending the initial launch event; giving consent to them taking part in a group challenge or participating in other activities such as a residential event, and talking with your son/daughter about their decisions for their future.
Please download the Student and Parents' Guide for full details of the programme.
We hold our main events on Saturdays or sometime during school holidays in order that the participants are not missing out on school. During their first year on the programme, depending on the activity your son/daughter gets involved in, they can expect to come onto campus three to four times. In subsequent years they will visit campus once or twice a year.
There are no costs involved to participating in this programme. We will reimburse parents/guardians/carers for costs relating to bringing your son/daughter to one of our events.
Most UniTracks events have a casual dress-code so no uniform necessary!
Transport should never be a barrier to a participant attending a UniTracks event. We will offer support either through reimbursing mileage or public transport costs, or by arranging travel with a coach or minibus.
Regarding resources, unless specified otherwise, we would provide these for the participants. However, there are no specific resources required to be a participant in UniTracks.
All UniTracks events are catered and we can cater for special dietary requirements, provided we know in advance.
Events are supervised by staff from the University of Warwick’s Outreach team and academic departments, and current undergraduates who work as Student Ambassadors. All staff and students who will be working with the UniTracks participants in an unsupervised capacity undergo an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check in line with current regulations.
UniTracks participants who are planning to apply to Warwick for their undergraduate studies may be eligible to apply for our Warwick Scholars access programme and if offered a place will be expected to complete the UniTracks programme as well as participating in Warwick Scholars. Further details about Warwick Scholars can be found here Warwick Scholars
Key Stage 5 UniTracks participants who live outside the Midlands area covered by the Warwick Scholars access programme (i.e. within a 30 mile radius of the University) are still eligible for a reduced offer if they apply to Warwick and would join Warwick Scholars as an undergraduate when they enrol at the university after completing UniTracks. More information about the Warwick Scholars undergraduate programme can be found here Warwick Scholars Undergraduate Programme