University Foundation

A cost-effective route to university, the St Andrew’s foundation course, accredited by NCFE and internally assessed, is run for students who must be at least 16.5 years old.  It can commence in September (1 year or 2 year options available) or January (6 month or 18 month options available) and has been designed with international students in mind.  

St Andrew’s deliberately does not tie its foundation course to a particular university.  Instead, highly experienced personal tutors provide individual daily one to one university support for every student, helping guide them on the wide range of options available and choosing the right subject at the best university for them. Results are some of the top for foundation students in the UK with 88% of students in 2022 going onto top universities for their subject and a very high percentage onto university each year.

Starting your education aged 16 or 17 from overseas can be daunting for many particularly when plunged into a university environment with little pastoral care and support.  By contrast, St Andrew’s home-from-home boarding environment, with excellent and dedicated house parents who look after their students, discuss issues and help solve any problems, is vital in helping students adjust, feel comfortable and motivated to succeed.  

St Andrew’s smaller class sizes also ensures that every student is given individual attention, enabling them to improve their grades and maximise results.  There is a wide range of subjects to study at Foundation level and IELTS preparation is in-built to ensure students meet the IELTS entry requirements for their chosen university.  Those joining in September must have a minimum of 5.0 IELTS whilst those coming in January must have achieved IELTS 5.5.

There is a higher pass rate nationally for international students on foundation course than for those doing A-Levels and students who may not have succeeded at A-Levels or who may enjoy a more practical approach to learning are often successful on a foundation course.  Over 80% of the Russell Group universities accept foundation courses as a route to undergraduate entry.

Subjects that can be studied at foundation levels are as follows:

Art Economics Science
Architecture International Relations Engineering
Business Humanities

We are offering two new Foundation Courses from September 2024.

Medics & Life Sciences Foundation will give our students direct entry into St George’s University – Grenada, West Indies.  Students wishing to progress on must achieve at least three Bs at A-Level or 75% in their Medicine or Science Foundation.

Computer Science & AI for all students with an interest in engineering, computer program and planning and web developers as well as those with an interest in computer science or artificial intelligence, especially those wanting to work in areas such as science, engineering, knowledge engineering, finance, education or IT services.

To see the university entrance requirements for foundation students please click below:

Science Foundation

UNIVERSITY COURSE ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS IELT REQUIREMENTS
University of Leeds Medical Sciences 70% overall 6.0 with at least 5.5 in each component
University of Leeds Mechanical Engineering 75% overall with 85% in Physics and Advanced Mathematics 6.0 with at least 5.5 in each component
University of Birmingham Environmental Science 65% overall 6.5 with at least 5.5 in each component
University of Bath Mechanical Engineering 85% overall with 85% in Physics and Advanced Mathematics 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component
University of Manchester Electronic Engineering 70% overall with 70% in Mathematics 6.0 with at least 5.5 in each component
University of Manchester Biomedical Sciences 80% overall with 75% in Biology and Chemistry Minimum 6.5 in each component
University of Sheffield Mechanical Engineering 80% overall with not less than 80% in each module 6.5 overall with at least 6.0 in each component
Newcastle University Marine Biology 70% in all modules 6.5 overall with at least 6.0 in each component
The University of Liverpool Biochemistry 70% overall with no module less than 60% 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each component
University of Exeter Medical Science 70% overall with no module less than 60% 7.0 overall with at least 6 in each component
Durham University Biological Science 80% overall 6.5 overall with at least 6 in each component
Newcastle University Chemical Engineering 80% overall with 80% in Chemistry and Advanced Mathematics 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each component

 

Humanities Foundation

UNIVERSITY COURSE ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS IELT REQUIREMENTS
Queen Mary, University of London Business Management 70% overall 7.0 with at least 5.5 in each component
University of Manchester Management 75% overall 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component
University of Bristol Economics 80% overall with 80% in advanced mathematics 7.0 overall with 7.0 in writing and at least 6.5 in reading, speaking and listening
City, University of London Banking and International Finance 75% with nothing less than 65% 6.5 overall with at least 6.0 in each component
The University of Edinburgh Linguistics and Social Anthropology 70% overall with nothing less than 50% 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each component
Durham University Business and Management 75% overall 6.5 overall with at least 6.0 in each component
University of Exeter Business and Management 70% overall with nothing less than 60% 7.0 overall with at least 6.0 in each component
University of Sussex Accounting and Finance 65% overall with 65% in Mathematics 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component
Kings College London International Relations 70% overall 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component

Art Foundation

UNIVERSITY COURSE ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS IELT REQUIREMENTS
University of the Arts London Interior and Spatial Design 70% overall 6.0 with at least 5.5 in each component
Newcastle University Architecture 70% overall 6.5 with at least 5.5 in each component
University of the Arts London Animation 70% overall 6.0 with at least 5.5 in each component
University of Kent Architecture 70% overall 6.5 with at least 5.5 in each component
Cardiff University Architecture 70% overall 6.5 with at least 5.5 in each component

 

Key Information

IELTS AGE (minimum)
2 Year Course(Sept Start) 4 15.5
18 Month Course (Jan Start) 4.5 16
1 Year Course (Sept Start) 5 16.5
6 Month Course (Jan Start) 5.5 17