Healthcare

What is the Wesleyan Pathway to Healthcare Programme?

The Wesleyan Pathway to Healthcare programme has been designed to expand knowledge, develop skills, and give an insight into what university life is really like to those students with ambitions to study healthcare courses for university. Please note, this does not include Medicine as this is covered by our Pathway to Medicine programme. 

During the programme, which students will complete alongside their Year 12 studies, successful applicants will be given the opportunity to take part in various enrichment to help support their journeys into Higher Education. These include healthcare subject taster days, work experience perparation sessions and revision boot camps. In addition, science academic tutoring and specialist interview perparation workshops help to prepare students for their applications to medicine and competitive healthcare courses.

During their time on the programme, students will be exposed to a range of leading experts from healthcare subjects taught at Aston University and hear from practising healthcare professionals from across the region, as well as meeting current Aston University healthcare students.

Learners will be expected to attend all compulsory Year 12 events and be eligible for a Pathway Contextual Offer if they apply to Aston University on our undergraduate life and health sciences degrees.

This Pathway is delivered in partnership with Wesleyan, the specialist financial mutual for doctors, dentists and teachers.

Key Dates

Students must have support from their teachers or careers advisers to apply, including approval for time off school/college where necessary to attend events. Learners will be expected to attend all compulsory Year 12 events on their stream to be eligible for a contextual offer at Aston University.

Year 12

When	Activity	Location
November	Student and Parent Launch (Saturday Event)	Aston University
December	Academic Tutoring	Online
January	Healthcare Taster Day and Academic Tutoring	Aston University Online
February	Academic Tutoring	Online
April	Applications Day (UCAS & Work Experience) Academic Bootcamp (Easter Holidays)	Aston University
July	Summer School Residential	Aston University

 

Who is eligible for the Wesleyan Pathway to Healthcare?

The Pathway to Healthcare is open to students entering Year 12 in September who have a genuine interest in pursuing a career in healthcare. Please note, this does not include Medicine as this is covered by our Pathway to Medicine programme. Students must have support from their schools to apply, including approval for time off where necessary to attend events. Students who are interested in applying to the Pathway to Healthcare programme must meet the following criteria:

• Entering Year 12 in September at a school/college in the West Midlands
• Meet the GCSE and A level/BTEC requirements for their healthcare subject(s) of interest as listed on our website.
• Have achieved at least five GCSEs at Level 9–4. This must include Maths grade C/Level 4 and GCSE English Language OR GCSE English Literature grade C/Level 4. Please note, for BSc Healthcare Science (Audiology) and MOptom Optometry, we require a minimum grade B/5 in the Maths.

As well as the above academic grades, students must also meet at least one of the following widening participation criteria to apply for the Pathway to Healthcare programme.

• Live in a high IMD (Quintile 1 or 2) (check if your home postcode is eligible)
• Attend a school or college in a POLAR 4, Quintile 1 or 2 area
• Have a physical or mental health condition and/or learning difference
• Is a care leaver or has experience of being looked after by a local authority
• Have been in receipt of free school meals at any point over the last three years

Please note, places on the programme are limited. If the programme is oversubscribed, then places will be offered by random allocation to all eligible applicants until the programme is full. Students who enter the Pathway to Healthcare programme are not guaranteed a place on our degree programmes. On successful completion of the Pathway Programme, students who wish to apply to Aston University, who fulfil all our admissions and other entry criteria and are successful with their application, will be eligible for a Pathway Contextual Offer.

Why choose Aston's Wesleyan Pathway to Healthcare

• Access to a wide range of healthcare experts to help you decide on your future career path.
• Revision boot camps, science academic tutoring and application preparation to ensure you are fully prepared to apply to university.
• Help with making an informed decision about your future career choices.
• A single point of contact at Aston University who will support you throughout the university application process and your time at school or college.
• Eligible for a Pathway Contextual offer if your application to Aston University is successful

“The Pathway to Healthcare Programme gave me the opportunity to flourish and realise my potential. It helped me develop my grades and social skills. It’s an incredible opportunity that I would highly recommend”

Former Pathway to Healthcare student

How to apply

Students must have support from their teachers and careers advisers to apply, including approval for time off school/college where necessary to attend events. Learners will be expected to attend all compulsory Year 12 events on their stream and be eligible for a Pathway Contextual Offer and the chance to apply for Aston Forward Scholarship worth £5,000 if applying to Aston University.

Applications for our next cohort on the Pathways to the Professions programme close at 5pm on Friday 18th October 2024. Any applications made after this time and date will not be considered.

Apply here

Please note, students who enter the Pathways to the Professions programmes are not guaranteed a place on Aston University degree programmes, or an Aston Forward Scholarship. On successful completion of the programme, students who fulfil our admissions entry criteria, apply to Aston University, and are successful with their application, will be eligible for a Pathway Contextual Offer and the chance to apply for an Aston Forward Scholarship.

Contact us

Any questions?

Contact us directly at Pathways.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @AstonPathways for the latest information, top tips, and guidance to support your journey into Higher Education #TeamAston

Find out more

If you are interested in finding out more about the Outreach events and activities which we run at Aston University, please visit our central Student Recruitment and Outreach webpages, or contact us directly on email.