The FOCUS West Programme’s Progression Agreements with university and other higher education partners are currently constructed around the outcomes of the Top-Up Programme and the Portfolio Development Programme. A series of Admissions Policy Statements have been agreed with West of Scotland Higher Education Institutions and are detailed below.

As well as helping pupils develop study skills and prepare them for university, completion of the FOCUS West Top-Up Programme and, where relevant, the FOCUS West Portfolio Development Programme, can increase pupils' chances of gaining a place at their chosen university. These two elementsmay be taken into account by admissions tutors, should UCAS applicants narrowly fail to meet their condition of offer, e.g. one grade in one or two Higher subjects.

The statements below detail the policies on applications from pupils from FOCUS West schools for each of the HEIs in FOCUS West.

A FOCUS West Top-Up profile of BBB or above may also be taken into account by other universities in Scotland when considering their offers.

University of Glasgow

FOCUS West and FOCUS West Top-Up Programme admissions agreements at the University of Glasgow apply to all FOCUS West Top-Up Programme applicants to Arts, Law, Business, Social Sciences, Education, Sciences, Engineering and Nursing. All FOCUS West Top-Up applicants to Arts, Social Sciences, Sciences and Engineering will be given a conditional offer subject to successful completion of the FOCUS West Top-Up Programme. The standard offer for SQA Highers (over either one or two sittings) will be reduced by one grade in two subjects if the applicant has a FOCUS West Top-Up profile of BBB or above. This does not apply to any subject that may be pre-requisite for a particular course. All FOCUS West Top-Up applicants to Law, Business, Education and Nursing will have the standard offer reduced by one grade in one Higher if the applicant has a FOCUS West Top-Up profile of BBB or above. This does not apply to any subject that may be pre-requisite for a particular course. Each application will be considered on its individual merits.

University of Strathclyde

The University supports the aims of FOCUS West and encourages pupils to participate in the FOCUS West Top-Up Programme. Academic Selectors in the University will generally take FOCUS West Top-Up results into consideration. If the student gains a FOCUS West Top-Up profile of BBB or above, the standard entry offer may be relaxed by one grade (in a Higher subject not specified as a course requirement).

Glasgow School of Art

The Glasgow School of Art supports the aims of the Schools for Higher Education Programme and encourages FOCUS West students to participate in the FOCUS West Top-Up programme. All FOCUS West Top-Up students who apply to the GSA* undergraduate courses and achieve a student profile of 3B grades or above, and where relevant, have successfully completed the FOCUS West Portfolio Development Programme, may have a standard offer for SQA Highers (over one or two sittings) reduced by one grade in one subject. They will be offered an interview if their efolio (Design, Fine Art or Digital Culture) / personal statement (Architecture) meets the minimum threshold requirements and where an interview is part of the admissions process. Each application will be considered on its individual merits.

* It is a prerequisite for this profile that Top-Up students will have successfully completed any one of the five academic Top-Up questions/courses of study.

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

All FOCUS West applicants who meet the conditions of application will be offered an audition. Both School of Music and School of Drama applicants are offered places according to their performance at audition. The FOCUS West Top-Up profile will therefore have no bearing on offers.

Glasgow Caledonian University

The university supports the aims of FOCUS West and the FOCUS West schools with SFC funding. The University encourages pupils to participate in the FOCUS West Top-Up Programme. If an applicant narrowly fails to meet the condition of offer then having a FOCUS West Top-Up profile of BBB or above may be considered to equate to a Higher at the next grade. Each application will be considered on its individual merits.

University of the West of Scotland

The University of the West of Scotland supports the aims of FOCUS West and FOCUS West Top-Up. If an applicant narrowly fails to meet the conditions of their offer then having a FOCUS West Top-Up profile of BBB or above may be considered to equate to a Higher at the next grade. Applicants to the Schools of Education; Health, Nursing and Midwifery; Social Sciences and Creative & Cultural Industries are offered places after assessment of their academic achievements and performance at interview or audition. Each application will be considered on its own merits.

Scotland’s Rural College

Scotland’s Rural College supports the aims of FOCUS West and encourages pupils to participate in the FOCUS West Top-Up Programme. If an applicant narrowly fails to meet the conditions of their offer then having a FOCUS West Top-Up profile of BBB or above may be considered to equate to a Higher at the next grade. Each application will be considered on its own merits.

The FOCUS West Programme’s Progression Agreements with college partners are currently being planned around the accreditation of the Routes for All Programme. Routes for All has been developed to inform and guide pupils as they prepare for higher education study at college. The Programme is targeted at pupils most likely to be taking one or two Higher Examinations and who will progress to a Higher Education course at a college (Higher National Qualifications).

In late 2011, the Routes for All Programme team sought advice from the SCQF to achieve credit-rating of the Routes for All Programme (SCQF Levels 5 and 6). It is expected that the Routes for All Programme will become a credit-bearing course, accredited by Ayrshire College, in the near future. Once achieved, negotiations will begin with college partners so that adjusted college offers at HN level to FOCUS West pupils may be achieved for FOCUS West pupils – all other entry criteria being fulfilled – upon satisfactory completion of the Routes for All course.

The9FOCUS West College partners in FOCUS West were:

  • Argyll College
  • Ayrshire College (formerly, Ayr, Kilmarnock and James Watt Colleges [Kilwinning and Largs Campuses])
  • City of Glasgow College
  • Dumfries and Galloway College
  • Glasgow Clyde College (formerly, Anniesland, Cardonald and Langside Colleges)
  • Glasgow Kelvin College (formerly, John Wheatley, North Glasgow and Stow Colleges)
  • New College Lanarkshire (formerly, Cumbernauld and Motherwell Colleges)
  • South Lanarkshire College
  • West College Scotland (formerly, Clydebank, Reid Kerr and James Watt Colleges [Kilwinning and Largs Campuses])

FOCUS West Partnership with the REACH and ACES Programmes

FOCUS West has a high level of interaction with the SFC-funded Reach and ACES Programmes, which have been created to widen access to the high demand professions (law, medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry) and creative arts and architecture.

In the West of Scotland, Reachand ACES sessions for S5 and S6 pupils are timed to allow pupils in the lowest progression schools to participate also in the Top-Up element of the FOCUS West Programme, giving them the maximum input to progressing to HE and opening up an adjusted admissions agreement to them, for applications to both professional and general degrees, e.g. applicants for Medicine normally use four UCAS choices for Medical Schools, with the fifth usually a Bioscience degree.

Activities are constructed so that pupils targeted in S4 for Reach and ACES do not overlap with those on FOCUS West. This means a substantial number of the S4 pupil cohorts in the lowest progression schools now have access to a widening participation programme that is suited to their abilities.

UCAS sessions conducted for Reach/ACES participants in Top-Up schools will be extended to the whole Top-Up group to aid all the pupils in the lowest progression schools. This combined use of resources will be extended as determined appropriate in the year to come as Reach/ACES and Top-Up are dovetailed as much as possible.

The FOCUS West Focus on Families Programme also works closely with Reach and ACES regarding parents’ events and sharing best practice. This relationship has been utilised more fully in 2012-13 as Reach and ACES have been rolled out and have included additional activity for pupils and schools.