This service supplies providers with historic data, going back to 2008, about an applicant’s school or college. This is in addition to postcode data through POLAR2, POLAR3, and the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). The data can be used to assess an applicant’s achievement and potential, in light of their educational and socio-economic background.
If you want to use the contextual data service, you need to register with us, and make it clear to applicants that you’re accessing this and how it is being used in the admissions process. For more information and to register, please contact contextualdata@ucas.ac.uk.
To continue to support you in widening participation in higher education, the below 2016 data will be available for the 2018 admissions cycle through the UCAS link products.
* Only available in web-link.
** Note that the Department for Education in England and Welsh Government have made changes to the methodology used for these measures, so care must be taken when making comparisons with previous years.
We've created this flyer to help you understand our contextual data service.
We've also produced this factsheet in conjunction with the Fair Education Alliance (FEA), to explain what contextualised admissions might mean for students' applications.