Inspiring and Supporting Tomorrow's Doctors

Sheffield Widening Access to Medical School (SWAMS) is a student-run community organisation, working in close partnership with Sheffield Medical School.

We're here to inspire and support students at schools across South Yorkshire; enabling them to access medical education regardless of their background or challenges.

Getting into medical school is a long and complex process - we're here to provide students with completely free advice and guidance. Many of our medical student volunteers are from widening participation backgrounds themselves, and are able to draw on their unique experiences and stories when advising prospective medical students.

Although we are a relatively new organisation, we have already partnered with several schools across South Yorkshire. We are always looking to form new connections, so if you would be interested in working with us, please contact us via swams@sheffield.ac.uk.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we are offering online-only support, including:

Sharing top tips on our Instagram (@SheffieldSWAMS) and Facebook (fb.com/SheffieldSWAMS) accounts
A near-peer mentoring scheme, where Y12 students are paired with medical students for 1-1 support
Online sessions for schools

So that we reach the students that need us most, some of our activites may carry inclusion criteria (like being the first in your family to attend university) - information on this wil be published along with the activity details.

For more information, please get in touch via SWAMS@sheffield.ac.uk.

Please note: Although taking part in our activities is likely to help with medical school applications, we are unable to offer grade reductions for completing our activities (we don't have that power sadly!).

For Teachers: About Us