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Admissions decisions - GCSE requirements and our approach

GCSE requirements for all courses

For all our courses we require applicants to have 5 GCSE’s in different subjects at grade C or above or an equivalent recognised by our Admissions policy. These five different subjects must include English and Maths at the time of their UCAS application.

Below is a list of what qualifications taken in the UK and Ireland we’ll accept. For qualifications from other EU countries, as well as countries outside the EU please see individual country web pages.

BTEC Level 2 First Award/Certificate/Extended Certificate/Diploma– counted as one subject at GCSE level.

English requirement:

QualificationSubject titleGrade

GCSE

English Language

C/4

Edexcel Access to HE Diploma 12 level 2 credits

English GCSE equivalent

Pass

IB Standard

English A Language/Literature

5

IB Higher

English A Language/Literature

4

SQA Intermediate 2

English

C

SQA National 5

English

C

SQA Standard Grade

English

3

ILC Ordinary

English

O4

ILC Higher

English

H5

City and Guild Key Skills level 2

English

Not accepted

Functional Skills level 2

English

Not accepted

Learn Direct

Adult Literacy

Not accepted

OCR level 2 (ALAN)

Adult Literacy

not accepted

Maths requirement:

QualificationSubject titleGrade

GCSE

Maths

C/4

Edexcel Access to HE Diploma 12 level 2 credits

Maths GCSE equivalent

Pass

IB Standard

Maths

5

IB Higher

Maths

4

SQA Intermediate 2

Maths

C

SQA National 5

Maths

C

SQA Standard Grade

Maths

3

ILC Ordinary

Maths

O4

ILC Higher

Maths

H5

GCSE

Additional Maths

Not accepted

City and Guild Key Skills level 2

Maths

Not accepted

City and Guild level 2

Application of Number

Not accepted

Functional Skills level 2

Maths

Not accepted

Learn Direct

Adult Numeracy

Not accepted

OCR level 2 (ALAN)

Adult Numeracy

Not accepted

Admissions decisions - 360 degree approach to applications

When you apply to us, we’re looking for applicants who will be successful on our degree programmes. Although we’re looking for students with academic ability, we recognise that this may not be the only indicator of your likely success.

We also consider the transferable skills you have that will help you to be successful at university. These transferable skills should be demonstrated in the UCAS application primarily within the Personal Statement and confirmed in the reference. For courses that interview, we’ll also be looking at performance at interview.

We therefore treat your application with a 360 degree approach. This means that, when making decisions on your application, we’ll take a number of different factors into consideration. We will fully review your UCAS application and, where we’re able to offer a place, this will be personalised to you based on your application and education journey.

We’re proud to support a diverse student population. We recognise that our students bring a variety of skills and experience to their course and their interactions with other students. This ensures a rich learning environment.