Year 9 girls laughing while taking part in an experiment.

Discover the fascinating world of engineering in this four-day summer school full of hands-on activities and engaging talks.

At a glance

  • Application dates
    • Open: 9 January 2024
    • Close: 18 March 2024
    • Decisions: 3 May 2024
  • Programme overview
    • Runs 6 - 9 August 2024
    • For girls in year 9
    • Eligibility criteria apply
    • Must be able to travel to and from the campus each day
Apply now

About the Engineering Summer School

If you enjoy maths and science and are curious about engineering as an area of study and potential career, this may be the programme for you! This non-residential summer school for year 9 girls will promote the breadth of engineering disciplines available if you continue to study science and maths beyond GCSEs. You’ll explore different fields of engineering through taster sessions, hands-on activities and engaging talks. At the end of the programme, you will work in a small group to create a poster showcasing your new-found engineering knowledge, which you’ll present to staff and visitors.

What to expect

The Engineering Summer School takes place on our South Kensington campus. You will travel to campus each day and be part of a small group of students led by a Mentor. Your first day will include opportunities to get to know your group, learn more about Imperial and explore what you already know about engineering through a fun group challenge. Days two and three are busy with taster sessions in various engineering departments. Although timetables may vary, departments that delivered taster sessions in 2023 include:

  • Bioengineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Design Engineering
  • Earth Science and Engineering
  • Material Science and Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering

We will wrap up each day with a reflection activity designed to give you time to record what you've learned about different fields of engineering, the skills and attributes an engineer needs and the career opportunities available. At the end of the week there will be a showcase where each group will present an engineering concept they learned during the week to their fellow students, leaders, family, friends and invited guests.

This summer school is fully funded (free to successful applicants), which includes all course fees, materials as well as lunch. As a non-residential programme, accommodation will not be provided and participants and their parents or guardians will need to make arrangements to travel to and from the campus each day. Travel is not included, and it is expected that most participants will live in or near London (or have family in London they can stay with for the duration of the programme). 

Applicant information

Academic requirements

For this programme, you should:

  • Expect to study science and maths in your post-16 studies
  • Be studying at least eight GCSEs (or equivalent)
  • Be on track to achieve a minimum of five GCSEs at grades 7-9, including maths and sciences
  • Be on track to achieve a minimum of a grade 5 in GCSE English Language 

Eligibility criteria

This programme is funded by Imperial College London. It aims to support students from backgrounds under-represented in higher education. We are looking for applicants who attend non-fee paying schools in the UK and who meet at least one of the following criteria. The more of these criteria that you meet, the more likely you are to be offered a place.

We will prioritise your application if: 

  • You are currently or have previously been in care

We will also assess whether:

  • You are entitled to receive free school meals or pupil premium
  • Your family income is below £50,000 per year
  • Your parents/guardians do not have a university degree
  • Your school has a high percentage of students receiving free school meals
  • Your school has below average attainment
  • You live in a neighbourhood with low overall progression rates to higher education (we use POLAR4 and IMD data to assess this)
  • You are a young carer*

* A young carer is someone under 18 years of age who helps look after a relative who has a condition such as a disability, long term illness, mental health condition, or a drug or alcohol dependency. They do extra jobs in and around the home, such as cooking, cleaning, or helping someone to get dressed and move around.

How to apply

Applications for summer 2024 will open on 9 January and close on 18 March. Late applications cannot be considered. We will release decisions on 3 May.

Applications are made through Aspire, our online application system. A link to Aspire will be added to this webpage once applications are open.

Setting up your account

You'll need to create an Aspire account before completing your application.

  • If you have applied to an Imperial Outreach programme in the past, you can use your existing account. There is a forgotten password feature on the Aspire login page.
  • If this is your first application to one of our programmes, we recommend you use a personal email address rather than a school email address when creating your account. Security settings in some school email servers will prevent you from receiving emails from Aspire.
Completing your application

Once you are logged in you will need to start a new application. As part of the application form you will need to tell us about your school, the subjects you are currently studying and the course(s) you plan to study for GCSE (or equivalent). 

Please make sure you select the right programme when using the drop-down options. Some of our programmes have similar names, so double-checking is important.

As well as providing information about your school and future study plans, you will be asked questions relating to the eligibility criteria listed above. Where possible, please try to have this information to hand before you apply. You will also be asked to write a short personal statement. This gives you the chance to tell us more about why you are applying for this programme and what you hope to get out of the experience.

As part of the application process, we will seek references from a parent/guardian and a teacher at your current school. Please speak to the individuals you would like to provide these references in advance, so you can check you have the correct email address and contact numbers for them and that they are happy to support your application.

References

Once you have successfully submitted your application, we will email your parent/guardian and teacher referees. They will be sent a personalised link to Aspire, where they will provide information to support your application.

The reference forms ask similar questions about the eligibility criteria and include the opportunity to provide a supporting statement. These statements can be used to let us know about other challenges you may have faced and/or what you might get out of participating in the programme. Teachers will also be asked to verify the subject/grade information you provided in your application.

Decisions

We will release decisions via email on 3 May 2024. If you are offered a place on the programme, or on the waitlist, you will have a limited amount of time to accept this offer and send back your conditional documents. Successful applicants will receive details on the next steps.

For information about the application process, please see our application FAQs.

Contact us

For more information, please see our Outreach Programme FAQs.

If your query is not answered in the FAQs, please email us via outreach.scienceactivities@imperial.ac.uk or phone +44 (0) 20 7594 3575.

Want to stay up to date with Imperial outreach events? Click on the links below to follow us on our social media sites and follow the hashtag, #icoutreach