We accept applications from students who will be in Year 8 or Year 9 for the start of the scholarship.
Note: as applications open in the summer, students finishing Year 7 would fall under Year 8.
We open applications every two years. They open in the summer, and the scholarship starts the following spring (April).
You can see the full selection timeline on our How to apply page.
Unfortunately, we are unable to accept any applicants younger than Year 8.
Note: as applications open in the summer, students finishing Year 7 would fall under Year 8.
Do keep an eye out, as we hope to launch more community initiatives for younger and older children, InShaAllah. Join our community to be the first to hear.
Unfortunately not. To keep things fair for every family, we can only accept applications from students who will be in Year 8 or Year 9 at the start of the scholarship.
Do keep an eye out, as we hope to launch more community initiatives for younger and older children, InShaAllah. Join our community to be the first to hear.
Unfortunately, we are unable to accept any applications submitted after the deadline.
Do keep an eye out, as we hope to launch more community initiatives for younger and older children, InShaAllah. Join our community to be the first to hear.
Our selection process takes around 6–8 months, starting in the summer. Successful applicants will hear back around March time.
Each stage is set out on our How to apply page.
The programme is fully funded, free of charge to all students.
However, it is important to note that there will be termly trips to different cities in the UK, and parents will need to fund their own transportation.
We only accept applications from England & Wales.
Do keep an eye out, as we hope to launch more community initiatives for younger and older children, InShaAllah. Join our community to be the first to hear.
We recognise the value of feedback and how it can support students in the future. However, unfortunately, due to the volume of applications, we are unable to provide this for most applicants.
For applicants who are unsuccessful after reaching Stage 2 (Online Activities Day), feedback can be provided on request.
Yes. Even if a student is not accepted onto the scholarship this year, there will be several meaningful ways to engage with Al-Quds Academy in future years, InShaAllah.
We aim to deliver localised community programmes across different cities, in the near future, which will be open to students beyond our scholarship cohort.
To stay informed about these opportunities, please join our community.
Our Academy yearly schedule is broadly in line with the school schedule, so we have a longer break in summer, along with shorter winter and spring breaks. Alongside this, we have Eid weeks off.
Onboarding runs from March to April. You’ll accept your place and complete the onboarding forms in early March, then our tech ops team sets up your child’s AQ email account and shares a short digital setup task list. In late March each family has a welcome call with members of our Education and LSJ teams. We’ll email you ahead of each step, InShaAllah.
Yes, a few starting-point assessments in core subjects in early April. Please don’t stress: they don’t count towards the final scholarship award, they simply help us understand where each student is starting from.
There’s an online meet and greet in mid April with icebreaker activities, the week before Induction Day. Induction Day at the end of April is our first time meeting in person, InShaAllah, and the induction term follows straight after, running to the end of June or early July.
On a weekly basis we teach Maths and Science, but closer to GCSE exams there will be ad-hoc masterclasses in other subjects, such as English Language, English Literature, etc.
Please note that masterclasses are subject to team members’ availability closer to the date.
Find out more on our Academics page.
The majority of the course will take place online, however, there will be in-person opportunities and events taking place periodically throughout the year.
Currently, Al-Quds Academy does not formally include Islamic sciences such as Aqidah, Fiqh, Qur’an, amongst others. The primary reason is that, unlike GCSE subjects such as mathematics and science, where teaching can begin with some prior experience and develop over time, Islamic sciences require a high level of scholarly input due to their sacred nature.
At Al-Quds Academy, we are committed to creating an environment that unites our communities rather than divides them. Whilst recognising and respecting the significant differences of opinion across orthodox Sunni creed (Aqidah) and schools of thought (Madhahib), we are not yet in a position to implement a formal curriculum.
Our medium-term goal is to establish, over the coming years, a board of scholars representing the diverse orthodox positions within our community and to develop a state-of-the-art curriculum, InShaAllah.
Until we reach that point, we are focusing on regular Tarbiyyah circles, as ‘soft’ Islamic education, alongside encouragement for students to regularly recite Qur’an, Dhikr, and Salawat. More details of this can be found on our Tarbiyyah page.
We run a range of in-person events throughout the year to support students’ learning, personal development, and sense of community. On average, students can expect one in-person event per term. Examples include:
These events are designed to enrich the overall experience and give students meaningful, hands-on engagement alongside their online learning. Each cohort’s trips are confirmed closer to the time, and may differ from those listed here.
You can find out more on our Trips page.
The programme has been in development since June 2022, and launched in 2024.
Students will spend an average of 5 to 6 hours in sessions a week at Al-Quds Academy. Students will be expected to self-study and do project work outside of this timetabled contact time.
We would advise families to ensure their child has at least 10 hours of ‘bandwidth’ to commit to the scholarship.
For applicants that reach the latter stages of selection, we evaluate availability and scheduling thoroughly, to ensure alignment with the scholarship’s demands.
More on student expectations will be shared with successful applicants at the stage of offer acceptance.
At Al-Quds Academy, we believe that strong parental involvement is one of the most important factors in a child’s development. When we accept a student, we aim to not only support them but also to work in partnership with their parent(s), ensuring a consistent environment of growth at home and within the programme.
In practice, this involves a few key responsibilities:
Our aim is to build a healthy partnership with parents, where together we help each child flourish InShaAllah.
Your child will be supported by a team drawn from some of the top universities in the UK. Each year, we have volunteer applications across the country, and successful applicants undergo a rigorous three-stage process that prioritises value and character, alongside experience and competence for their given area of application. This results in an acceptance rate of less than 20%.
Around 30% of our current team have also previously held leadership roles in University Islamic Societies across the country, including specifically the University of Nottingham and the University of Cambridge.
At a minimum, any team member who will teach or support students has passed this highly selective application process and/or has completed our four-month tailored in-house training programme before working directly with students. This sits alongside the depth of experience held by long-standing team members, from the founding cohort to those who joined in the early years, who have shaped Al-Quds Academy’s educational vision, delivery and ecosystem since 2022.
1. Core Leadership Team - This team leads programme design, pastoral care, and all development projects. Their professional and academic backgrounds include, but are not limited to:
2. Support & Project Mentors - These mentors support workshops, enrichment days, reflection circles, and project-based learning. Their backgrounds include:
3. Academic Mentors - GCSE support is delivered by Academic Mentors from top UK universities, especially within STEM. They first pass the three-stage selection process, and then complete our four-month structured training programme (five core modules). Only those who successfully pass all components continue to support students.
All regular academic sessions, workshops, tutorials, and group work are segregated by gender.
Lecture-style sessions may be in mixed groups, but there will be no direct contact between students during these sessions.
Sessions with Academic Mentors take place in small groups with up to 4/5 students per mentor. Despite not being 1-1, our small group sizes ensure that mentors will still be able to support all of their students well with tailored attention.
Additional advisory support may be possible on request where students are struggling, although it is not something we can commit to.
Yes, all of our lessons are recorded for training, development and safeguarding purposes.
However, recordings will not be available for students to use as a study resource, except for rare circumstances.
As we are a supplementary programme, the Academy does not host any formal examinations, e.g. actual GCSE exams.
However, students will have regular internal assessments to allow mentors to track student progress and offer additional support where needed.
At Al-Quds Academy, student safety is paramount. We have a stringent process of selecting mentors who will be in contact with children, including enhanced DBS checks. Additionally, all staff in contact with students receive mandatory safeguarding training annually.
Our Safeguarding Policy will be available for parents at the start of the academic year.
At Al-Quds Academy, we aim to keep an open line of communication with parents/guardians at all times. This will be through several forms of regular communication, including WhatsApp chats, emails and meetings.
In addition to the above, parents/guardians may request meetings with the Senior Al-Quds Academy team and/or Academic Mentors.
Yes. Every student who successfully completes the Lote Seed Junior Scholarship graduates at our September graduation ceremony, and their journey with us continues through two key pathways.
1. Lote Seed Junior Fellowship (for all graduates)
On graduating, every student joins the Lote Seed Junior Fellowship, where they receive guidance during important life milestones. This includes:
This ensures that our support continues well beyond the programme's end.
2. Lote Seed Senior Scholarship (for distinction graduates)
This pathway is reserved for the highest-performing students and provides deeper development and mentorship. Students who graduate with distinction will be eligible to apply for a place. Find out more on our Lote Seed Senior page.
Yes. You can read testimonials from our current students and parents on our Impact page.
Our team is always happy to help answer any questions. You can contact us via:
Or send us a message through our Contact page.
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