LSE Thrive: Year 12

LSE Thrive begins on Wednesday 17 February 2027, and runs until October 2027. The programme is delivered in a hybrid format, with four in-person visits to the LSE campus and a series of online activities.

Campus Visits

"I've loved being able to understand university from the perspective of someone who was once in our shoes more recently. There have been so many opportunities including campus tours and ice breaker activities to get to know LSE Thrive mentors and what life has been like for them" - Thrive 25-26 participant

On LSE Thrive, students will visit the LSE campus four times across the programme to experience life at LSE. Activities include:

• Support and guidance from current students (Thrive mentors)
• A tour of LSE’s campus
• Admissions workshops to help you make a competitive university application
• Lectures and workshops from LSE academics and careers
• A graduation ceremony at the end of the programme
• Opportunities to network with other students interested in applying to LSE

Campus visits for Thrive are on Wednesdays during school term time. We require all students to arrive at LSE by 10:00am , and our events will finish between 4:00pm – 5:00pm

Provisional dates for Thrive 2026-27 campus visits are:

• Wednesday 17 February 2027
• Wednesday 24 March 2027
• Wednesday 16 June 2027
• October 2027 (final date TBC)

To find out more about LSE's campus, please visit our campus life webpage .

Online Activities

"Throughout this programme I have been intellectually challenged in so many ways by interactive activities, so much so that it changed the degree I wanted to apply to. This programme has made me so adamant on getting into the School and becoming part of such an impressive community." - Thrive 24/25 participant

Our online activities take place after school (usually starting at 6pm):

• Information, advice and guidance workshops on revision and study skills, making course choices, student finance, admissions tests, and wellbeing.
• Application and personal statement support in the summer of 2027.

In addition, all Thrive students will have the opportunity to attend the LSE Empower conference, a one-day online event due to take place on Saturday 8 May 2027

If you are offered a place on the programme, we will ask you about your access to technology and whether you need any extra support from us to access the online events.

In our most recent 2024-25 programme survey, 100% of respondents rated LSE Thrive as good or excellent, 98% of respondents felt that the programme had met or exceeded their expectations and 98% of respondents agreed that it has been beneficial to participate in a widening participation programme which is specifically for students of Black heritage.

LSE Thrive is free to participate in. All of the activities, resources and catering are paid for by LSE, and we will reimburse the cost of your travel to and from campus.

To be eligible for LSE Thrive, you must meet our essential eligibility criteria. If you meet our essential eligibility criteria, we will then review your application against our additional criteria and extenuating circumstances, which can be found below.

If you are unsure about any of the eligibility criteria, or whether you can apply to LSE Thrive, please contact ard.thrive@lse.ac.uk.

Essential Criteria

Personal details:

• be in Year 12 / the first year of your A levels or equivalent
• have always attended a UK state school or college (non-fee paying)
• • Black or Black British - African
  • Black or Black British - Caribbean
  • Mixed - White and Black African
  • Mixed - White and Black Caribbean
  • Other Black background
  identify as having any of the following heritage:
• be interested in applying to study at LSE
• be able to fully commit to all activities on the LSE Thrive programme between February – October 2027 (for more information, see our absence policy)
• live within a reasonable commuting distance (up to approximately 90 mins) from LSE's campus (WC2A 2AE).

Academic achievements and potential:

• have achieved at least grade 6 in GCSE English Language and Mathematics
• have achieved a strong set of GCSE grades overall, with the majority at grades 7, 8 and 9
• be on track to achieve at least the contextual offer grades for your chosen degree programme(s) at LSE. This includes studying any required A-level subjects for your chosen degree programme. Full details of LSE’s undergraduate degree programmes are available on the programme webpages.

Additional Criteria

The following criteria are listed in order of priority:

1. Students who are care-experienced. At LSE our definition of care-experienced is anyone who has ever lived in local authority care or kinship care, including: with foster carers; in a residential children’s home; being looked after at home under a supervision order; or living with friends and relatives in kinship care (including informal arrangements). Please note, we may need to confirm this information with an applicant’s school or college.
2. Students who have ever been eligible for Free School Meals during their secondary education.
3. Students who live in an area of low Higher Education participation. LSE primarily assesses this by looking at the TUNDRA quintile for your home postcode – quintile 1 or quintile 2 indicate that you live in an area of low Higher Education participation. Quintiles 3, 4 and 5 indicate that you live in an area of medium to high Higher Education participation. You can check if you are in quintile 1 or 2 by entering your home postcode in this TUNDRA postcode checker.
4. Students who are estranged from both parents. This means someone living independently who is not in contact with or supported by parents/carers.
5. Students who are the first generation of their family to attend university. This means neither of your parents/carers went to university, even if your siblings have been to university.

Extenuating Circumstances

Extenuating or special circumstances are also considered when reviewing applications for LSE Thrive. In the application form you will have the opportunity to provide more details about your extenuating circumstances, such as if:

• you are a refugee or asylum seeker
• you are a young carer, with significant caring responsibilities
• you are a child with parents in the armed forces
• you have experienced significant disruption to your education
• you have experienced the recent bereavement of a parent or carer
• any other extenuating circumstances that have affected your educational experiences.

Please note, we may need to confirm this information with an applicant’s school or college so we can assess applications fairly.

Apply for LSE Thrive’s 2026-27 cohort here.

Applications for the next cohort (LSE Thrive 2026-27) open on Monday 5 October 2026, and close at 11:59pm on Sunday 15 November 2026.

Please note, we’re unable to accept late applications.

Application shortlisting will take place in November 2026, with all applicants expected to hear back in December 2026.

If you have any questions about the programme or applications, please email ard.thrive@lse.ac.uk for more information.

If you have any questions about the programme or applications, please email Ard.Thrive@lse.ac.uk and the LSE Thrive team will reply as soon as possible.