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Want to earn a salary and gain a professional qualification without going to university? BDO’s School Leaver Apprenticeship could be your way in.
Here’s what you’ll uncover in this guide:
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Start your practice for the BDO School Leaver Apprenticeship tests with our free practice questions.
Here’s what the BDO School Leaver Apprenticeship involves.
The BDO School Leaver Apprenticeships are a four-year paid programme for A-level leavers. You study for a professional qualification while you work, with no student debt.
You can apply to one of four streams:
Audit:
Work in teams such as Pension Audit, Public Sector, Not-for-Profit and Financial Services while studying for the ACA, CFAB or ICAS. Roles are offered across 15 UK offices, including Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, London and Manchester.
Tax:
Study towards the ACA/CTA or ATT/CTA. Roles are based in Birmingham, Gatwick, Guildford, Ipswich, London, Manchester, Reading or Southampton.
Advisory:
Join a rotational programme in Business Restructuring or Risk Advisory Services in Birmingham, or Business Services & Outsourcing in Reading, while studying for a qualification such as the ACA or CISI.
Audit Technology:
Work in Technology Risk Assurance, in the Controls team (Birmingham, London, Manchester or Reading) or the Data team (Birmingham or London), while studying for a recognised professional qualification.
You’ll need three A-levels at A* to C (or four Scottish Advanced Highers at A to B) and GCSE Maths and English at grade 4 or above. BDO doesn’t use UCAS points.
Roles are based in offices across the UK, so whichever stream you choose, you’ll need to live within commuting distance of your office, as BDO doesn’t offer relocation support. Edinburgh and Glasgow Audit roles also require you to live in Scotland.
Interested in graduate or internship roles at BDO? Read our full BDO recruitment process guide.
Apply on the BDO careers website for your chosen stream and office. The form asks you to detail your educational background and experience, so check the eligibility criteria first and answer each question fully.
Good to Know: BDO doesn’t typically ask for a CV. Instead, you’ll detail your education and experience on the form. You can save your application as you go, so you don’t have to finish it in one sitting.
After completing the online application, you will move on to the next stages.
The BDO School Leaver hiring process typically includes the following stages:
Good to Know: BDO will keep you updated at each stage and share resources to help you prepare.
Let’s check out the BDO School Leaver online test stage below.
Next is BDO’s online task-based assessment, a set of interactive, puzzle-style tasks that measure your cognitive ability, resilience and decision-making. BDO says the tasks are based on:
Quantitative reasoning:
Also known as a numerical reasoning test, these tasks check how well you work with numbers and data.
Inductive reasoning:
Like an logical reasoning test, these tasks ask you to spot patterns and rules, then apply them to new information.
Take a quick inductive reasoning practice with our free logical reasoning questions below.
Logical Reasoning Test
This test assesses your logical reasoning ability using the information provided in sequences of five diagrams containing various shapes. Look at the diagrams carefully and identify the rules and logic that underpin the changes in the sequence to determine what comes next.
You have 5 options from which to choose from. Only one of these options is the correct answer.
1 / 5
What comes next in the sequence?
2 / 5
3 / 5
4 / 5
5 / 5
Restart quiz
Practice more logical reasoning tests with us to prepare for the BDO task-based assessment.
Read on for top tips on how to pass the online tests for the BDO School Leaver apprenticeship.
Next up is the BDO School Leaver video interview.
The BDO School Leaver video interview is a one-way interview where you record video answers to pre-recorded questions. BDO assesses your communication, your awareness of your business stream and your fit with its values.
Below is an example BDO interview question and answer.
Good Answer:
I’d speak to them privately to find out what’s holding them up. When a classmate fell behind on our school project, I helped them plan their part, and we submitted on time.
Good to Know: BDO suggests the STAR+R approach to structure your answers. Find more examples and how to use this method in our full competency-based interview guide.
Let’s look at the final stages of the BDO School Leaver process.
The assessment centre, also known as a virtual “Day in the Life at BDO”, includes a case study presentation of your recommendations and a group exercise on a business problem. Then comes an in-person final interview with senior staff at your chosen office.
BDO Application Tip: Structure your case study as problem, recommendation, justification and risk, and remember BDO values collaboration over competition in the group exercise. In the final interview, be ready to explain why you chose your business stream.
BDO pays £26,615 to £28,275 depending on location, with benefits including a matched pension and the option to buy up to 10 extra days’ leave.
The 2027 vacancies opened in late September 2026 and close on Sunday 15 November 2026. The programme starts on 20 September 2027, or 30 August 2027 for Edinburgh and Glasgow Audit roles.
Yes. You earn a salary and a funded professional qualification with no student debt, and BDO says it gets you qualified faster than the graduate route.
No. BDO accepts one application per recruitment season and one stream, though you can choose up to two teams within that stream.
No. BDO can’t offer visa sponsorship, so you’ll need the right to work in the UK for the full four-year programme.
Prepare for your BDO School Leaver apprenticeship application with our expert-made tests, used by over 150 UK universities and their students, and also across Asia and continental Europe. Practice with peace of mind; no subscription required, and a full 100% money-back guarantee if you do not pass your job tests.
Prepare for your BDO School Leaver apprenticeship application with our expert-made tests, used by over 150 UK universities and their students, and also across Asia and continental Europe.
Practice with peace of mind; no subscription required, and a full 100% money-back guarantee if you do not pass your job tests.
This article was last updated on 20 October 2026. All information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at publication, based on publicly available sources. For the latest details, please verify directly with BDO.
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