The reference serves to colour in the lines of the application, as grades can only give so much information. You might also need to paint the scene of their school or college scene a little bit, to give the admissions officers some context. If you’re tasked with the role, you’ll need to outline (with honesty) their predicted grades and describe the student’s suitability for the course, based on your professional experience with them, their skills, achievements and potential.

What is a UCAS reference?Įvery university applicant needs a reference from a teacher (as well as calculating their UCAS Tariff Points).

Sorry, comrades: drink another cup of coffee and make a promise to yourself that you’ll catch up on some sleep in August. So here’s your ultimate, fluff-proof guide to writing a UCAS reference to give your students the recommendation they deserve. Once you’ve planned your lessons, taught them, marked the work generated, attended department meetings, phoned parents, chased up Jack’s missing lunch money, put up a new wall display and written the end of term results, you can take your classroom hours and multiply by ten to get a truer reflection of your workload. Because those classroom hours each day don’t even begin to touch the sides of the job description. Many of us have even taken to adopting alternative identities at social events: undertakers, debt collectors, pole dancers, anything really - anything but teacher. But does the wider public have the same appreciation for the depth and breadth of our day-to-day existence? 'Teacher’ means educator / counsellor / cleaner / researcher / interior designer / team-building leader / probation officer / data analyst / public speaker / fundraiser / writer.

Ucas reference letter example