very small rant about extracurricular opps and stuff

It sounds like you're in that grey area between having just enough not to qualify, but not so much that you can actually afford to do the things that people further above that cut-off can afford to do. I do understand how frustrating that is, although I also anticipate that you'll get lots of responses here beating on the "you're so privileged shut up" drum! I think my only advice is to try to work within your position of being in the middle. Go for volunteering - it doesn't matter what, but you could start with a charity shop and build from there. Choose a charity that aligns with your interests or course choices, and show that you can immerse yourself in their values, contribute to the local community, and engage with real-world, global issues.

What year are you in and what do you want to do at uni? Are you looking for things to go on your personal statement? (although I think they are doing it differently next year so there will be structured questions rather than a ps). There's lots of things you can write about that aren't either paid for or wp courses. For example on mine I wrote about my EPQ, my A-level NEA, work experience and work shadowing I had done, free on line courses and youtube tutorials I'd completed, voluntary work I'd done, school clubs/activities I'd been involved with, things I did in my free time that were relevant. You could also write about any paid work you do, books that inspired you, relevant journals/magazine/websites you regularly read, aspects of your subject that really interest you and why.

I think engineering is a trickier one when it come to writing a ps I think - I've applied for computer science which is probably one of the easiest! I was able to volunteer at school with the computer clubs for younger years for example. Does your school do any kind of clubs that could be considered relevant to engineering? Anything with robotics or lego or minecraft maybe? If not maybe you could see if one of the science teachers would help you set one up for a term? My school also did the ESA cansat competition (making a satellite out of a can) - does your school do anything like that? I go to my local state school so whatever type of school you go to there should be opportunities like this available.

yeah they have a racecar team F24 but I was rejected for it sadly because they had too many people applying- trust me I was gutted. I'll try looking and asking at sixth form, but because it's a sixth form only I can't run a club for younger years, unfortunately.