Guaranteed Alternative Offer. Students who complete the programme successfully will be eligible for a contextual offer. They must show a high level of participation in all compulsory sessions. It is important to understand that it is the “offer” that is guaranteed and this is not a guaranteed place at the University – students still need to finish their A levels and achieve the required grades, for example (this is the ‘conditional’ part of the offer). The offer is also conditional on the submission of a satisfactory UCAS form (see below). The ‘alternative’ part is best explained as being equivalent to at least two grades lower than the standard offer. Therefore, if the standard entry requirement for your chosen course is AAA, then successfully completing STEP could mean your offer would instead be ABB. Essentially, this means that based on the outcome of your engagement with the programme, the University may give you a promise to make you an offer if you apply to us for an undergraduate course in your STEP departments at Durham and you are studying any required level 3 subjects for your chosen course. You will then get a place at the University if you ‘get the grades’. Please be aware that some offers will include subject specific requirements for example “AAB including an A in History” or “BBB including Maths A Level OR grade A GCSE Maths”. We will explain this fully throughout the programme but it is your responsibility to ensure you are ultimately able to meet these conditions. If you wish to apply for a different course or department than the ones you took on STEP, this is normally possible, but we cannot guarantee it. This will be subject to you being able to meet any subject specific or other requirements of the new programme. The University may also need to consider the level of demand for the new programme in the relevant application year. However, we will work with you to try our best to accommodate this wherever possible.