Personal statement for 2026 entry: Classroom resources

For students applying to start their studies in 2026, personal statements are changing from one longer piece of text to three separate sections, each with a different question to help shape the focus for students' answers. Each section will have a minimum character count of 350 characters, which is clearly labelled on the question boxes, along with an overall character counter, to ensure students know if they're on track. The new web page for submitting the personal statement will also feature helpful on-page guidance for each question.

The new questions are as follows:

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

More information

Introductory slides

This PowerPoint can be used in the classroom to give students an overview of what the personal statement looks like, and how they can go about their research and understanding how to evidence their skills.

Personal statement introductory slides (4.25 MB)

Overview of the teaching scheme

We've created three initial lessons to support the research phase of personal statement writing.

Personal statement overview of teaching scheme (210.01 KB)

Lesson 1: Skills

Personal statements: Lesson 1, skills (1.37 MB)

Lesson 1: Activity sheet (118.63 KB)

Lesson 1: Bingo cut-out sheet (57.52 KB)

Lesson 2: Admissible evidence

Personal statements: Lesson 2, admissible evidence (8.33 MB)

Lesson 2: Activity sheet (77.23 KB)

Lesson 3: Building the foundations

Personal statements: Lesson 3, building the foundations (2.52 MB)

Lesson 3: Activity sheet (133.05 KB)