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    Personal statement for 2026 entry: Classroom resources

    You can use our resources to help your students shine in their personal statement for 2026 entry.

    The new personal statement for 2026 entry

    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

    New personal statements: What you need to know

    Hear from Sam Sykes, Customer Success Manager, and Carolyn Mindos, Principal Admissions Reform Lead, as they share how and why the personal statement is changing, plus invaluable advice on what students need to include in each new section.
    Students in classroom writing personal statements

    2026 personal statement guides

    Find out what universities and colleges want to see in your personal statement and how to set yourself apart, with our subect-specific personal statement guides. 

    Classroom resources

    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.

    Overview of the teaching scheme

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

    Lesson 1: Skills

    Lesson 2: Admissible evidence

    Lesson 3: Building the foundations

    Adviser at desk using computer

    Resources and internal training

    • This presentation deck has been designed to support you through the changes to the personal statement for the 2026 cycle. You can copy and paste slides into your own materials and guides to support staff training and CPD.  Adviser slide deck - new personal statement 2026 (10.75 MB)

    • This presentation deck has been designed to support parents and carers through the changes to the personal statement for the 2026 cycle. ​You can copy and paste slides into your materials and guides to tailor the deck to your requirements.  Parent slide deck personal statements 2026 (3.44 MB)

    • Catch up on past webinars and Adviser Lives, and sign up for upcoming sessions here

    • Personal statement poster (165.46 KB)

    How to write your personal statement - student video

    We've created an engaging video to help students explore what to write in their three answers, and how to think about examples for what to include. This can be a good jumping off point in the classroom to give an overview of the format of the personal statement.