Guidance sent to admissions tutors: All our Admissions Selectors are trained. This involves working through online documents (which they can then use as reference documents at a later date), taking an online test and attending an admissions workshop to discuss issues and scenarios in greater detail. The Undergraduate Admissions Office sends out regular communications (e.g. reports, e-mails and memos) throughout the year to keep admissions staff updated of internal developments and UCAS information. Once a year we hold an annual admissions meeting which must be attended by at least one member of admissions staff from departments and colleges where we communicate and discuss developments in detail. In addition we have internal web pages with information ranging from UCAS guidance books to statistical analysis of previous cycles for admissions selectors.

Principles governing admissions: These are outlined at http://www.dur.ac.uk/undergraduate/apply/admissions-policy/ .

Supporting information can also be found at

http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/university.calendar/volumei/current/regs.admission.pdf

in the University Calendar Volume II (Admissions Regulations) at http://www.dur.ac.uk/university.calendar/volumeii/

and in the Teaching and Learning handbook (Student Admissions) at http://www.dur.ac.uk/learningandteaching.handbook/

Average offers of A-level grades: AAB/ABB

Any restrictions on the A-level subjects that are acceptable (eg, some universities operate policies stating that candidates offering more than one subject out of a given list will not be ordinarily be offered a place.)? The majority of programmes do not accept General Studies (although there are a few exceptions such as Sociology and Human Sciences). We recognise all other A-Level subjects.

Details of the process by which a candidate’s background is taken into account in deciding whether to offer them a place (for example, credit being given to those who would be the first in their family to attend university; credit being given to those from schools which do not achieve good A-level grades): We provide contextual information to Admissions Selectors outlining the applicant’s school and its performance.

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