The reference is your teachers or other people familiar with your studies recommending you to continue your studies in order for the admissions officer to assess your personal attributes, skills, achievements, interesting, academic ability and academic enthusiasm. Therefore, a strong reference is very important for UK university applications.

How to choose a reference

If possible, they should be someone who knows you academically and can talk about your work ethic, interaction with other students and your suitability for higher education or a future career.

• In a current or recent school or college, ask your tutor, teacher, principal or head teacher.

• If you left education years ago, ask an employer, volunteering supervisor or trainer.

• Don't ask family. friends, partners or ex-partners though - if you do your application may be cancelled

Only one reference is required on the UCAS Undergraduate application. If you want your university or college to see more than one, you'll need to contact them and ask if an additional reference can sent directly.

Below are the references given by UCAS

The reference should be on the individual with focus on the information most relevant to the course being applied for and individual circumstances.

It is strongly recommended that applicants applying for professional courses e.g. teaching, nursing, social work, and allied health professions receive a full and detailed reference as usual.

Universities and colleges are being asked, when assessing and comparing applicants this year, to remember that the capacity of an applicant's adviser to produce a full and detailed reference is not an indicator of that applicant's potential.

Reference need include:

1. Extenuating circumstances related to applicant

2. Give context if there is a disparity between grades achieved, e.g. at GCSE and predicted grades, such as

• their post-16 academic performance and trajectory

• preparedness for chosen subject

• student achievements in context with their peers where relevant

3. Detailed applicant information:

• skills and qualities like aptitude and enthusiasm

• achievements, work experience, and extracurricular activities

• suitability of chosen subject/career path 

information to include about the applicant

Detailed application information including:

• suitability of their chosen subject and career path, plus their attitude, motivation, and commitment

• skills and qualities like aptitude and enthusiasm, plus current or past achievements that will help with their chosen subject area

• achievements, work experience, and extracurricular activities that relate to their chosen course(s)

• if the student has undertaken any activities in preparation for higher education, such as widening participation and access outreach programmes, Gifted and Talented initiatives or Partnerships for Progression

• Capacity to undertake independent working, and their ability to adapt to new situations and circumstances

• Experience of digital working （many universities are likely to retain elements of hybrid working even if there are no social distancing or covid-related restrictions) 

Extenuating circumstances related to the individual could include:

• individual circumstances - e.g. mature student, disability, serious, acute or chronic illness, significant adverse personal circumstances (with applicant consent)

• context as to why there is a disparity between grades achieved e.g. at GCSE and predicted grades, where applicable.

• specific reference to COVID-19, including:

• whether the student or a close family member was affected by illness or bereavement

• significant anxiety caused by COVID-19, relating to loss of job or other economic uncertainty in the household

• how individual students engaged with online provision, and whether there were any barriers

• technical or environmental - which prevented or impeded this

• any relevant information about the student's home learning environment (e. g. access to technology Space to work at home. access to other leaning resources, support of family members or carers) 

Acceptable circumstances

1. In general terms, this procedure is intended to support students with exceptional, unforeseeable in that the student could not reasonably have been expected to avoid them), short-term circumstances affecting their ability to study or take assessments or students who have had a late diagnosis of a disability or long-term medical condition.

2. Further information about the sort of circumstances covered by this procedure can be found in the Guidance on Circumstances and Evidence. The circumstances must;

• be out of the student's control - the student could not have prevented them.

• have had an impact - they must have had a demonstrably negative impact on the student's ability to study or to undertake an assessment.

• the timing of the circumstances must be relevant to the claimed impact.

It is also recommended that you go to the official website of the university to understand in detail the specific requirements of the subject, and communicate with your recommenders.

How do I submit a reference？

For schools that accept open reference, the applicant or your teacher can upload the reference directly to the application system.

Some schools do not accept open reference, you need to fill in the teacher's information correctly (especially the email address), after submitting the online application, the system will send an email to the teacher, you need to click on the link in the email, fill in your own information, and upload the reference.

Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, LSE, UCL, Warwick, Bath etc. Applicants applying to these schools should remind their teachers to check their emails. and if the teacher doesn't receive the email, they can go into the system and click on resend request or email the school's Admissions Officer to request a re-send of the link to the teacher.