Skip to main content

Contextual Offers

At Durham we welcome talented students from all backgrounds.  We understand not everyone has the same opportunities in life, and that where you live, the school you attend and your social and economic background might have an impact on your educational achievement. 

That’s why we consider information from your application like your individual background and experiences, and the impact these might have on your qualifications when we make a decision on your application.  



Contextual Offers at Durham:

A ‘contextual offer’ is an offer made to applicants who meet certain requirements at the University. You might find the requirements vary between different universities.  

You may be made a contextual offer at Durham if: 

  • you've been eligible for free school meals (regardless of school type). We use data from UCAS which pulls together UK Government sources and data from the Independent Schools Council to identify eligible applicants.  

or you meet two (or more) of the following criteria: 

  • Your home address postcode is classified as Quintile 1 or 2 of POLAR4 LPN 
  • Your home address postcode is classified as ACORN 5 or 6 
  • Your current or most recently attended school is classified as a UK state school 
  • You are care-experienced 
  • You are an estranged student 

Our contextual offers are also only available if you’re classified as ‘home’ for the purposes of tuition fees. 

To find out more about the support we offer care-experienced and estranged students and our definitions of these categories, please visit our support webpages.