By Orna Herr, Communications Officer (Education) at the British Science Association

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Every young person who wants to go to university, and has the exam results, aptitude and passion, should have the opportunity to go. A diverse cohort of students from different backgrounds creates a diverse future workforce – which benefits us all.

There is, however, an obstacle between school and university, which some students can fall at – the UCAS personal statement. We have previously explored on our blog how the current format of the personal statement was demonstration not so much of a student’s interest and suitability for the course they are applying to, but the amount of support they had while writing the statement.

Read the blog here:

Why a lack of equity in the UCAS process means inequality bookmarks school education

Our blog is based on comments made by Lee Elliot Major, a Professor of Social Mobility at the University of Exeter, in 2022. In an article in The Sunday Times, with the headline ‘Drop personal statements on university applications, social mobility expert says’, he expressed concern that personal statements have become “a systematic disadvantage to poorer students”.

“A little bit fairer for all applicants”

It seems that UCAS have listened. They recently announced that students applying for university in 2026 will not be presented with a blank space in which to write a personal statement. Instead, they will answer three questions:

• Why do you want to study this course or subject?
• How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
• What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences helpful?

Dr Jo Saxton, Chief Executive at UCAS said:

The changes to the personal statement…are all part of UCAS’ contribution to the sector-wide effort to ensure more people from disadvantaged backgrounds can benefit from the life-changing opportunity of higher education.

Lee Elliot Major said:

This welcome reform strikes the right balance between a more structured approach to deter fabrication, while not limiting the opportunity for applicants to personalise their statement. I believe it is a significant step in making the university admissions system a little bit fairer for all applicants.

Utilising CREST Awards

You might have heard us here at the British Science Association talk a lot about how a CREST Award is a brilliant achievement to include in a UCAS personal statement as it demonstrates the applicant’s success in lots of ways – not just in subject knowledge.

Here is just one example:

How CREST Awards can boost UCAS applications and university admission interviews

UCAS mention CREST Awards as impressive extra-curricular experiences to include in a STEM personal statement:

Personal statement advice - engineering

This won’t change! Students who have secondary CREST Awards will still have the opportunity to talk about them in the new personal statement.

The second and third questions asking about experiences in and outside of their classroom studies present chances for a student to discuss how earning an Award has helped them prepare for further education.

Bronze Awards can be run in curriculum time, as teachers at Rugby High School, Bedford Girls School and Lewis Girls’ School have done. This might be the first students are experiencing STEM* learning as an open-ended, investigative and student-led.

CREST Awards and design & technology – perfect bedfellows

Exploring reproductive health with CREST

Building girls’ confidence in STEM with CREST Awards

Silver and Gold Awards in particular are often done more independently outside of lesson time, in STEM clubs or as part of summer placements. These achievements can show students’ motivation to explore their subject in their free time and carry out hands-on investigations. They can show an ability to design fair experiments, and present the results in a clear, concise way.

They also provide students with a unique project to discuss, if they’re invited for an interview.

This change in the personal statement format will hopefully usher in a new era of equitable opportunities for all students.

The change won’t come into effect until September 2025, for students applying for courses starting in 2026. We’ll be updating our guidelines in advance, so that when students are answering the new questions they will have all the information they need to make the most of their Award.

Other blogs you might be interested in:

CREST Awards and design & technology – perfect bedfellows: part 2

Help students make the most of the summer by earning a CREST Award

Make your medical school application stand out with a CREST Award

Dunking a biscuit in tea? That can be a CREST Awards project

*STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and maths