Year 10 Insights Summer School

This summer school is fully funded (free for successful applicants), covering course fees, materials, accommodation, three meals a day, and any trips that are part of the summer school timetable.

Travel is not included. If you are offered a place on the programme but travel costs might prevent you from attending, please contact the programme team at least two weeks before the start date. They will be happy to discuss your situation, and support can be considered on a case-by-case basis.

To apply for the Y10 Insights Summer School, you must:

• be in Year 10 at the time of application
• live and go to school in the UK
• be able to take part in the entirety of the event, including staying on campus

This programme is funded by Imperial College London. It aims to support students from backgrounds underrepresented in higher education. We consider a wide range of criteria when assessing applications for our programmes. As our programmes are often oversubscribed, the more of these criteria you meet, the more likely you are to be offered a place.

To find out what information we ask for in your application, what we ask your parent or guardian and teacher contacts to share, and how we will use this information to consider your application, please visit our eligibility criteria webpage.

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 

It's up to you to decide if you want to apply for the science or engineering stream of the summer school. Each stream will have a separate academic timetable.

Science stream

For the scientists among you, get ready for academic sessions that will delve deeper into the realms of the subjects you know, such as biology, chemistry, physics, and maths, looking at them in new, exciting ways. You will be taking part in hands on practicals and workshops in real undergraduate labs with some of Imperial’s finest academics and students. 

Engineering stream

For the budding engineers, you’ll be amazed at how many different disciplines of engineering we can fit into the programme. You’ll have the opportunity to experience various fields of engineering, participate in hands on activities, be introduced to core concepts in engineering and witness first hand exciting technology that is being developed in our research labs. 

Applications for the Year 10 Insights Summer School 2026 will open on 12 January.

General Guidance

Setting up your account
You'll need to create an account with Aspire before you can complete 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 post-16. Although the form will force you to include English, Maths and Science for Key Stage 4 (GCSE or equivalent) and ask you if you are planning on studying specific STEM subjects post-16, you do need to tell us about all the subjects you are studying at school. Please use the 'Other subjects' section to add this information.

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.

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 by 6 May 2026. 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.