Reach Edinburgh

Reach Edinburgh is a widening participation programme to support eligible S4 to S6 students at state secondary schools in the south-east of Scotland who wish to study law, medicine or veterinary medicine. It offers events and activities to help you better understand your chosen subject and prepares you for the application process.

What Reach is

Reach is a national widening participation (WP) project, funded by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and part of the National Schools Programme (NSP).  

It supports eligible S4 to S6 students in local state secondary schools, who are considering studying law, medicine or veterinary medicine. You can join any time between S4 and S6. 

Official logo of the Scottish Funding Council including their Gaelic name
National Schools Programme: Fair Access to University (logo)

These degrees are very popular. To be successful in your application, you will need good school exam results and show that you have a realistic idea of the skills, qualities and attributes needed to be a lawyer, doctor or vet.

What Reach offers

Reach provides encouragement and impartial advice for law, medicine or veterinary medicine careers. We will support you with your application for any university. 

Support  

Reach Edinburgh staff will support you through all stages of the pre-application process, including school subject choices and career exploration. We will also help with the UCAS application process for law, medicine or veterinary medicine.  

Our list of free resources will help your research and develop your understanding of these subject areas.  

The resources can be used by any S4 to S6 student – not just those signed up to Reach Edinburgh or eligible for the programme.

What support includes 

In S4 you can expect to start engaging with your subject area. You can visit our campus, find out more about studying law, medicine or veterinary medicine and get advice on future school subject choices. 

During S5 you can expect to explore your subject area in more depth through our career exploration events and activities. We will advise on appropriate work experience and give you the chance to meet current students, academic staff and professionals working in your chosen area of interest.  

When you get to S6 we will support you through the UCAS application process, including personal statements and interviews (if applicable). We will help you make the most of your UCAS application choices, ensuring that you maximise your chance of getting an offer.  

Events  

We offer a wide range of activities and events relevant to your area of interest and your current stage in the pre-application or application process.  

Examples of events and activities we might offer:  

  • one-to-one pre-application guidance for you, your family and advisers
  • guidance for your subject choices and extra-curricular requirements
  • workshops on personal statements, interview techniques and the University Clinical Aptitude Test needed for medicine degrees (UCAT)
  • work experience placements
  • career exploration workshops and events
  • opportunities to meet and shadow current students
  • information sessions for parents, carers and advisers 

Once you have registered for Reach, we will send you information about upcoming events relevant to you. This may include invitations to events and activities run by other organisations. 

Attending these events will give a more realistic insight into studying and working in your subject area, helping you to decide if this is the right career path for you. 

Check your eligibility

Reach Edinburgh works with eligible S4 to S6 pupils attending state secondary schools in:  

  • Edinburgh
  • The Lothians (East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian)
  • Falkirk
  • Stirling
  • Scottish Borders
  • Clackmannanshire  

If you attend a state secondary school in any of the above local authority areas and meet at least one of the below criteria, you can sign up for Reach Edinburgh:  

  • you are care experienced
  • you live in a Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintile 1 or 2 postcode area (a quintile is a 20% portion of the whole postcode range)
  • you are an unpaid young carer
  • you are estranged from your family
  • you are a refugee or asylum seeker
  • you are entitled to free school meals (FSM)
  • you are entitled to Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA)
  • you live in a low-income household
  • you live in an area considered to be remote/rural
  • your education has been impacted by challenging circumstances

Not sure if you meet the criteria? Learn what these terms mean in our explanations of the eligibility criteria. 

Eligibility criteria explained 

If you attend a school in a different area

If you attend a state secondary school in another area of Scotland, you may be eligible to register with one of the other Reach providers.  

Find out more about the Reach programme offered by the provider that is closest to you:  

Register for Reach

You can register to join Reach Edinburgh by completing our online form:  

We will review your application and inform you of the outcome within two weeks.  

Once you have registered for Reach, we will send you a welcome email with next steps you can take. We will continue to send you information about upcoming events and support relevant to you. 

Contact us

If you are unsure about your eligibility for Reach Edinburgh or have any questions about the programme, you can contact us.  

Reach Edinburgh

Contact details

Availability

You can generally contact us Monday to Friday. Our office hours are 9am to 5pm.

Contact us through an online sign language interpreter

British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact the University of Edinburgh via Contact Scotland BSL, the online British Sign Language video relay interpreting service.

Find out more on the Contact Scotland BSL website


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