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AWPO is committed to ensuring that travel and access to UCL’s campus is not a barrier to participation in our events.
UCL will fund or part fund the travel to and from UCL campus for eligible students to take part in our activities or to attend offer holder open days. The travel support fund will remain active whilst funds are available. If you are accepted onto Realising Opportunities or a UCL Sutton Trust Summer School, you will be automatically contacted about travel to these events and do not need to take further action.
To be eligible for travel support, you must be attending a state school, live outside of a London Borough and must meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Are eligible for free school meals.
- Are currently or have experience of being in care (by this, we mean foster care, residential care, kinship care or living at home under the supervision of the local authority)
- Are a young carer (you care for someone in your family who has a disability or long-term illness, and you care for them frequently/daily).
- Are estranged from parent(s) (this means that you have no relationship with, or support from, either of your parents. The situation is permanent and there has been no contact with either parent for at least a year).
- Are a forced migrant (e.g., refugee or asylum seeker)
- Are from the Gypsy, Roma, or Traveller community.
Only costs incurred using public transport will be covered. Travel by private car or taxi is not eligible, except where the participant has an injury or disability that necessitates this, please see section below.
Process
AWPO activities and events: Within the application form for all our in-person events, there will be a section that confirms your eligibility for travel support. If you are eligible, you will be taken to a section of the form that will gather more information about your travel requirements. Following this a member of the Access & Widening Participation team will assess your application and will be in touch with further information regarding your travel.
If you feel you are eligible, but the application form didn’t recognise this, please complete the application and contact us at widening.participation@ucl.ac.uk to provide more information. Within the email, please include the project you have applied for, your full name as entered on the application form and your eligibility for travel support.
Offer holder open days: If you think you are eligible for travel support and would like to claim this, please complete this form as soon as you receive the invitation from your academic department to attend the event (ideally, three weeks in advance). If you have been invited to an offer holder event and have any questions about travel support, please contact us at wp.accessucl@ucl.ac.uk.
Students with disabilities
Taxi support may be provided for participants with a disability and/or injury that impacts mobility, accessibility, and your ability to travel to and from UCL by your own means. Students must still be attending a state school or college to be eligible for this support.
AWPO activities and events: When completing the application form, you will be asked if you require additional travel support to be able to take part in the programme. As everyone’s circumstances are unique, the form will allow our team to identify applicants who may require additional support. You will then be given space to share your additional travel requirements. From here, a member of the Access and Widening Participation Team will be in touch via email or phone call with further information in advance of the event.
Offer holder events: If you have a disability and/or injury that may affect travel to an offer holder event, please complete this form as soon as you receive the invitation from your academic department to attend the event (ideally, three weeks in advance). If you have been invited to an offer holder event and have any questions about travel support, please contact us at wp.accessucl@ucl.ac.uk.
An example of the travel support that may be offered in these situations include;
• If you live in London, a taxi can be booked to and from your home to UCL.
• If you live outside of London, a taxi can be booked to and from your nearest rail station, and to and from UCL to the nearest station.
Please note - Travel cannot be claimed retrospectively. All travel support requests must be submitted through our application form in advance of the event.