Bedford University hosted the UK’s largest UCAS Discovery event in June 2025, which brought together thousands of students from the local area.
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) event showcased over 150 universities, exhibitors and businesses, including Bedfordshire Police and TUI.
From Bournemouth to South Wales to Edinburgh, universities from all over the UK set up stalls in order to talk to students and give them a better idea if their university is right for them.
At each stall, representatives of the university would speak to students about the subjects they were interested in, discuss the course and allow students to ask questions.
The event took place on the 16 and 17 of June 2025 with many sessions on Monday being fully booked, creating a very lively and busy atmosphere.
The Bedfordshire UCAS Discovery Event 2025 is the largest campus-based Higher Education exhibition in the UK.
Attracting around 11,000 students, attendees came from schools in Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Leicestershire, Suffolk and Northamptonshire.
Lily Birkby, a Year 12 student at Kimberley College, who attended the event, said that it “was very useful and everyone was really friendly”.
There were a range of stands and activities at the event, including a demonstration zone where students could get involved as well as live music performances from local bands and Arts1 School of Performance.
Several seminars also took place over the course of Monday and Tuesday, which allowed students to hear from experts in a variety of fields from routes to take to enter specific subjects to advice on UCAS applications.
This annual event has allowed students to get a better understanding of universities and alternative career paths, including apprenticeships.
For information on UCAS Discovery Days and how to book a place, visit ucas.com to find out more and explore other exhibitions and events across the UK.
Published as part of our work experience partnership with Kimberley College
