Mature applicants

A 'mature student', in official terms, is someone who is 21 or over at the point they begin their course.

The School has always been pleased to welcome mature students, who bring invaluable life skills and wider horizons to the study of English.

Our first year is a year involves a strong focus on academic writing and research skills. This enables mature students, who have often taken a break from education, to refresh and improve their analysis and essay-writing skills.

The Students' Union runs an active Mature Student Society, while University Welfare provides help with accessing funds and advice about childcare.

Entry Requirements

We do accept the Access to HE Diploma from mature students. We will look for you to have taken multiple modules at level 3 in English literature or linguistics (modules such as 'The Novel' 'Poetry' and 'Drama') and to achieve distinctions in those modules.  For further details, please contact us at english@le.ac.uk

If you are a mature student who has not taken A levels or who has been out of  education for some time, we may send you a set of exercises to complete before making an offer. These consist of a short passage analysis, a description of your literary interests, and a sample of a recent essay on an English topic.

How to apply