LEAPS

LEAPS (Lothians Equal Access Programme for Schools)

LEAPS is an equal access programme that promotes access to and helps students get into higher education (college or university). LEAPS offers help to students from S5-6 that meet the eligibility criteria. LEAPS help to these students in different ways depending on the year group.

LEAPS Eligibility

You are eligible for LEAPS if you think you are going to achieve at least 3 highers by the time you leave school and meet any one of these five criteria:

You are in the first generation to apply for higher education (your parent(s)/carer(s) do not have a college or university degree). Eg if your parents do not have a degree but your sibling does, you still meet this eligibility criterion.
You are eligible for EMA, free school lunches, and/or your family is on income support. If you are unsure if you are eligible for EMA please look at EMA page or ask your PSE teacher during your next PSE lesson.
You have spent time in care or being looked after
You are a young carer (someone that cares for a friend or family member who needs support for a reason such as illness, disability, mental health problem, addiction, etc)
You live in one of Scotland’s 20% most disadvantaged areas as defined by the SIMD (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation). Check your postcode on either the LEAPS website or SIMD website. However, due James Gillespie’s being a state school and having a specific catchment area it is unlikely that you met this eligibility criterion.

Feel free to look at the LEAPS eligibility criteria for clarification. Note: we are a Group 2 school.

Alternatively, try out our LEAPS eligibility quiz at the bottom of this page.

What To Do If You Think You Are Eligible

If you believe you meet one or more of the eligibility criteria the next thing to do is to inform your PSE teacher of your LEAPS eligibility at some point during your next PSE class. Your PSE teacher will relay your eligibility to the LEAPS link teacher for Gillespie’s, Ms Pearce. If you have any questions, either look at the LEAPS website or ask your PSE teacher during your next PSE class. You only need to notify the guidance teachers of your LEAPS eligibility once but it doesn’t hurt to check if they still have you down as a LEAPS student every year or so.

Activities and Events

S1-4

As we are a Group 2 school, LEAPS does not offer any support for pupils in S1-4. However, in S4 you can still notify your PSE teacher of your LEAPS eligibility in advance if you are sure your circumstances are likely to be permanent.

S5

LEAPS offers lots of help with getting into college or university to those in S5 and S6. In S5, the main events include:

Introduction to LEAPS Talk
– LEAPS will come into the school at the start of the academic year to tell you a bit about LEAPS, the eligibility criteria, and the events throughout the year.
S5 Conference
– This event is held in March at a University of Edinburgh campus building and is designed to get you thinking about applying to college or university next year. It includes stalls from different colleges and universities as well as some information on funding, personal statements, college/university life, and choosing the right course. This event is run only for students.
S5 Parents’ Information Evening
– This event is basically the same as the S5 Conference but aimed at your parent(s)/carer(s). This evening is focused more on supporting applicants (you) and funding from SAAS (Student Award Agency for Scotland). It also includes stalls and talks and you are welcome to accompany your parent(s)/carer(s) to the event.
Creative Extras
– These events are targeted at S5 and S6 students wanting to study creative subjects such as art and design, journalism, acting, film, and music. The activities are designed to offer advice, guidance, and experience with portfolio, audition, and interview preparation. This event normally takes place between October and November.

S6

There is some overlap between the events run for S5 and S6. In S6 the main events are:

Pre-Application Interview
– This is a one on one interview between you and a member of the LEAPS team which normally takes place between August and November. Before this interview, you must complete the online survey in order to sign up for the interview. This interview focuses on your experiences, achievements, grades, and your future plans. During the interview, you will discuss your course choices to college and/or university and your interviewer may offer to submit a pre-application enquiry to a university of your choice to see if they would give you a conditional or unconditional offer. This pre-application enquiry is based on your previous and predicted grades alone.
What is LEAPS? Talk
– A short reminder presentation on LEAPS that takes place between August and September. This presentation is designed to remind you about LEAPS and what it offers you in S6.
Creative Extras
– This is the exact same for S6 students as it is for S5 students (see above).
S6 Personal Statement Workshop
– This workshop offers extra help in redrafting your first (or second or third etc) draft of your personal statement. LEAPS staff and Royal Literary Fellows will be there to help. The workshop normally takes place in November.
UCAS (The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) Catch-Up and Summer School Presentation
– This presentation advises you on what to do with the post-application process, any offers you receive, finance, and applicant days. It also talks about the LEAPS summer school and takes place between February and March.
LEAPS Summer School
– This is a 7-week summer school designed to support entry to college or university and to demonstrate to colleges and universities that you can work at a higher education level. It is taught at first-year degree level and is comprised of two courses and a compulsory Academic Skills course. All three of these courses are assessed. It runs through June and July in Edinburgh.

Please go to the LEAPS website to find out more about the events run by LEAPS, or just LEAPS in general.

LEAPS Quiz

Unfortunately, I can’t make the quiz interactive but the answers go as follows:

If you answered yes to one or more of the following questions, you are most likely eligible and should follow the instructions in the ‘What To Do If You Think You Are Eligible’ section of this post.
If you answered unsure to any of the following questions and did not answer yes to any of the questions, you might be eligible and should look for further information of the LEAPS website or talk to you PSE teacher during your next PSE class.
If you answered no to all of the following questions, you are most likely not eligible but feel free to do further research or check with your PSE teacher during your next PSE class.

Are you LEAPS eligible?
1. Does either of your parents/carers (or primary carer if you live with only one parent/carer) not have a completed higher education degree (from a college or university)?

Yes No Unsure

2. Are you eligible for EMA?

Yes No Unsure

3. Are you eligible for free school meals?

Yes No Unsure

4. Is your family on income support?

Yes No Unsure

5. Have you ever spent time in care?

Yes No Unsure

6. Are you a young carer?

Yes No Unsure

5. Do you live in one of Scotland’s 20% most disadvantaged areas?

Yes No Unsure