Becky Reavell was in the crowd at Silverstone watching a Formula One race with her father when it dawned on her that she didn’t want to study English at university and be a journalist. What she really wanted was to study engineering for a career in motor sport.
Her sixth-form teachers were supportive, but the problem was her A-level choices. She was already deep into studying English literature, classics and economics, not maths and physics, the subjects usually required for engineering.
But she didn’t give up. With her grades – A*A*A – she found a place on a studies in science foundation year course at Leeds University, which led to a three-year engineering degree. In August, she began work as a composite design engineer for a F1 team.
Foundation years are an extra preparatory year before the start of a bachelor degree and are usually linked to that course – such as BSc psychology with a foundation year. Students apply in the usual way, through Ucas, for the year plus the three- or four-year undergraduate course.
“Before the sixth form I was at a different school, an all-girls school, and I never really thought about engineering,” says Becky, 25, from Essex, who has been chosen to join the Women’s Engineering Society’s Early Careers Board.
“The foundation year really helped. It was a pretty daunting thing to do as I hadn’t studied maths or science since GCSEs, but the lecturers were very supportive and, even after I started my degree, they were in contact in case I needed help.”
Becky was awarded a first-class BEng, automotive engineering at Leeds, then a distinction for an MSc in motor sport engineering at Oxford Brookes University.
The English exam system requires students to make subject choices at 13 for GCSEs, then again at 15 or 16 for A-levels. Now, in the wake of the pandemic, students are more likely to be re-thinking what they want to do with their lives. Others may have missed out on the grades they deserve due to family illness and bereavement or the disruption to schools.
A foundation year, which leads to a three- or four-year degree programme, opens up options for those who change subjects or miss out on the grades they need, says Ray Le Tarouilly, a National Careers Service adviser.
“They can also be a very good bridge for mature students who have been out of education because they introduce them to university life. More universities are offering them in more subjects but entry can be competitive, especially in medicine and the biological sciences.”
Most courses cost the same as a year of an undergraduate degree – £9,250 – though some universities, such as York and Manchester, offer fee reductions or bursaries for the extra year. Students are eligible for tuition fee loans and living costs in the same way as for undergraduate degrees, but it will mean higher debt, Le Tarouilly says.
“That’s the downside. However, graduates won’t be paying any more each month once they start work because repayments are based on income, not the level of debt,” he adds.
Foundation years differ between universities.Some offer them only to “widening participation” students from disadvantaged home or school backgrounds; others offer courses as widening participation; and others as open entry.
Leeds takes background into account for its foundation years, except for its very popular studies in science year. The university describes that course as “a conversion course for applicants with strong A-levels – ABB or above – who wish to progress to a scientific discipline, but have not studied science or maths at A-level.”
Science and engineering are also popular choices for foundation years at UWE Bristol, but the most competition is for places on health courses, such as nursing or art and design.
Andrew Carter, UWE’s head of admissions, says some students apply directly through the normal Ucas round for a degree with a foundation year, but others go onto them because they have not achieved the required grades for their chosen undergraduate degree course.
Another group of students are those who change career direction. “There is pressure to make decisions at an early age, which could impact opportunities later in life. A foundation year opens up options for them,” he adds.
There are also lots of foundation year students who missed out on education first time round, such as Hollie Baker, from Weston-super-Mare, who is studying for a BSc in computer science with a foundation year at UWE. Hollie, 24, is visually impaired and struggled at school and then, again, trying to catch up at a further education college.
“There was very little support for me. I couldn’t keep up because I couldn’t read the material. If anyone asked me about education, I’d say I hated it. Now I love it. UWE has changed my view of education. I want to find ways to use the technology to improve things for others like me,” says Hollie, 23, who uses they/them pronouns.
It was a taster course at the University of Bristol that gave them the confidence to apply for the foundation year at UWE. “This year introduces you to university life in a more relaxed, supportive way. If you get into a panic, they say, ‘Just take a breath’, and help you find a solution.”
Hollie says they benefited from being “eased into a degree”. “A foundation year is a great opportunity because you learn all sorts of general skills and ones specific to your degree, so when you go into year one of the actual degree you don’t feel you have just been dropped into it.”
