Barclays online assessment and interviews
Discovery Programme, the first-year route, plus summer internships
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Programme and dates
- Discovery ProgrammeOfficial:A two-day insight event, with the second day used to assess you for the following summer's internshipSources: Employer page, discovery programmes pageEmployer page, banking analyst discovery listing, 2025 edition
- Who can applyOfficial:Students two years from graduating, with one application per person per year across graduate and internship programmesSources: Employer page, discovery programmes pageEmployer page, careers FAQs
- Expected about 1 December 2026Status on , reviewed as applications arrive so it can close earlyReported:No 2027 posting on 22 September 2026, and a tracker estimates an opening around 1 December 2026 from last cycleSource: Trackr, spring week timeline for 2027
Dates move, so confirm them on the firm's own careers site before you apply
Every firm on the spring week mapWhat to do this week
- Go to practice for: Draft why this bank in your own words with one concrete example
- Go to practice for: Do a short numerical set on your phone
- Go to practice for: Practise pattern and logic questions for 15 minutes
- Go to practice for: Record two answers for the day-two interviews
Ticks are saved in this browser only
Stages in order
- Application formOfficial:An online form and CV with limited space, so the bank asks for your own words and concrete examplesSources: Employer page, internship and graduate application stepsEmployer page, hints and tipsPractise for Application form: Motivation answer
- Interactive assessmentsOfficial:Two short interactive assessments on likely workplace performance and preferred ways of working, on a phone, tablet or computerSource: Employer page, internship and graduate application stepsPractise for Interactive assessments: SHL-style interactive general ability (Verify Interactive G+ format)SHL-style personality questionnaire (forced-choice triplets)
- Discovery Programme assessmentOfficial:On the second day participants are assessed for the next summer internship, including interviewsSource: Employer page, banking analyst discovery listing, 2025 edition
Online tests
- Official:Extra time and offline options are available as adjustmentsSource: Employer page, internship and graduate application steps
- Reported:Applicants describe a block ranking sets of three statements about yourself, then a mixed numerical, inductive and deductive testSources: Wall Street OasisTrackr, spring week and internship assessments explainedPracticeAptitudeTests
- Unverified:Prep sites disagree about which provider runs the testsSources: GraduatesFirst, aptitude tests overviewPracticeAptitudeTestsJobTestPrep
- Unverified:One prep site says the only published timings, about 60 minutes to be done within 5 days, are for the apprenticeship route, so treat them as a rough guideSource: Game Assessment Prep
- Unverified:Another prep site puts both assessments at 60 to 90 minutes in totalSource: GraduatesFirst, aptitude tests overview
- Official:An older spring insights page describes an untimed business scenario of about 35 to 40 minutes with multiple-choice and recorded video answersSource: Employer page, older spring insights selection page
Video interview
- Official:The current published steps have no video interview stageSource: Employer page, internship and graduate application steps
- Unverified:One prep site describes five to eight questions with 30 seconds to 1 minute to prepare, but cites no recent invitationSource: GraduatesFirst, interview guide
- Unverified:Another prep site suggests any recorded answers may now sit inside the second interactive assessmentSource: Game Assessment Prep
Discovery Programme day two
- Official:The first day is workshops and networking, and the second day holds the assessmentsSource: Employer page, banking analyst discovery listing, 2025 edition
- Official:Participants may be considered for the following year's internshipSource: Employer page, discovery programmes page
- Official:Third-party AI tools such as transcription bots are banned in interviews, and using one ends the interviewSource: Employer page, hints and tips
- Official:Summer internship assessment centres have two or three stages, including a motivational interview with a leaderSource: Employer page, internship and graduate application steps
Typical calendar
- Official:The 2026 banking analyst event ran on 14 and 15 April 2026 in LondonSource: Employer page, banking analyst discovery posting for London, 2026 edition
Practise this format
Sources
Details change between recruitment cycles, so your invite and the employer's own pages have the final word
- Official:
- The employer or organisation says it on its own website or in its own documents
- Reported:
- From surveys, news, candidate reports or prep sites, not the employer's own pages
- Unverified:
- Sources disagree or the evidence is thin, so treat it as a possibility
Employer pages
- Barclays: Discovery programmes page, live September 2026
- Barclays, listing copied by Bright Network: Banking analyst discovery listing, 2025 edition, 2024 to 2025 cycle
- Barclays: Careers FAQs, live September 2026
- Barclays: Internship and graduate application steps, live September 2026
- Barclays: Hints and tips, live September 2026
- Barclays: Older spring insights selection page, undated, seen in captures from 2021
- Barclays: Banking analyst discovery posting for London, 2026 edition, 2025 to 2026 cycle
Guides, trackers and prep sites
- Trackr: Spring week timeline for 2027, September 2026, opening dates estimated from earlier cycles
- Wall Street Oasis: Discovery programme applicant thread, undated thread, seen September 2026
- Trackr: Spring week and internship assessments explained, 2026
- PracticeAptitudeTests: Employer assessments overview, May 2024
- GraduatesFirst: Aptitude tests overview, updated 10 July 2026
- JobTestPrep: Spring week preparation, 2026
- Game Assessment Prep: Process summary, updated 12 September 2026
- GraduatesFirst: Interview guide, updated 10 July 2026