DOI: 10.5255/ukda-sn-9115-4
title: 1970 British Cohort Study: Sweeps 1-11 1970-2024: Secure Access
title: 1970 British Cohort Study – Survey and Biomeasures Data
title: BCS70

description: &lt;p&gt;The &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;1970 British Cohort Study&lt;/span&gt; (BCS70) is a longitudinal birth cohort study, following a nationally representative sample of over 17,000 people born in England, Scotland and Wales in a single week of 1970. Cohort members have been surveyed throughout their childhood and adult lives, mapping their individual trajectories and creating a unique resource for researchers. It is one of very few longitudinal studies following people of this generation anywhere in the world.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Since 1970, cohort members have been surveyed at ages 5, 10, 16, 26, 30, 34, 38, 42, 46, and 51. Featuring a range of objective measures and rich self-reported data, BCS70 covers an incredible amount of ground and can be used in research on many topics. Evidence from BCS70 has illuminated important issues for our society across five decades. Key findings include how reading for pleasure matters for children's cognitive development, why grammar schools have not reduced social inequalities, and how childhood experiences can impact on mental health in mid-life. Every day researchers from across the scientific community are using this important study to make new connections and discoveries.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;BCS70 is run by the &lt;a href="https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/cls-studies/1970-british-cohort-study/" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;Centre for Longitudinal Studies&lt;/a&gt; (CLS), a research centre in the UCL Institute of Education, which is part of University College London. The content of BCS70 studies, including questions, topics and variables can be explored via the &lt;a href="https://discovery.closer.ac.uk/item/uk.cls.bcs70/75fe4705-0c94-4f75-b1e6-ad9c61ffde26" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;CLOSER Discovery&lt;/a&gt; website.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;em&gt;How to access genetic and/or bio-medical sample data from a range of longitudinal surveys:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br&gt;For information on how to access biomedical data from BCS70 that are not held at the UKDS, see the &lt;a href="https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/data-access-training/genetic-data-and-biological-samples/" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;CLS Genetic data and biological samples&lt;/a&gt; webpage.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Polygenic Indices&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;Polygenic indices are available under Special Licence SN 9439. Derived summary scores have been created that combine the estimated effects of many different genes on a specific trait or characteristic, such as a person's risk of Alzheimer's disease, asthma, substance abuse, or mental health disorders, for example. These polygenic scores can be combined with existing survey data to offer a more nuanced understanding of how cohort members' outcomes may be shaped.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Secure Access datasets&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Secure Access versions of BCS70 have more restrictive access conditions than versions available under the standard Safeguarded Licence.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;SN 9115 - 1&lt;span&gt;970 British Cohort Study: Sweeps 1-11, 1970-2024: Secure Access&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; currently includes sensitive survey data from Sweep 10 and 11, as well as Activity Histories data.&lt;br&gt;
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&lt;p&gt;Researchers applying for access to the Secure Access BCS70 datasets should indicate on their ESRC Accredited Researcher application form the Safeguarded dataset(s) that they also wish to access (selected from the BCS70 Series
&lt;a href="https://beta.ukdataservice.ac.uk/datacatalogue/series/series?id=200001#!/access-data" target="_blank"&gt;
Access&lt;/a&gt; web page).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Latest edition information:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;For the fourth edition (January 2026), the Activity Histories data file has been updated to include the full employment codes from age 16 to 51. &lt;/p&gt;