Zoe Morgan, Director of Marketing and Communications, The Brilliant Club
The Brilliant Club has been working with students aged 8-18 across the UK on our programmes for over a decade. Our mission is to increase the number of less advantaged students progressing to and succeeding at the most competitive universities. We do this through two core programmes:
- The Scholars Programme inspires a love of learning and raises attainment in students, provides practical experience of higher education and helps develop the skills needed to thrive in academia and careers.
- Join the Dots is a university transition programme designed to support students facing the greatest challenges in making a successful transition to university. Year 12 and 13 students have access to UniPrep, a series of live webinars run in collaboration with other organisations in the industry designed to break down the barriers of life at university. Recent webinars have been run with BlackBullion, UpReach and Bloomsbury.
Our experience has shown that there are several important ways in which you can support your students to apply, progress to and succeed at the most competitive universities.
1. Establish positive transitions from primary to secondary
It’s important to start early, as young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely than their more advantaged peers to start thinking about higher education in primary school. Developing important skills, like critical thinking and independent learning, will support positive transitions to secondary school. Learning about university can open pupils’ minds to a love of learning, inspire them with the knowledge of the opportunities available to them, and promote curiosity about the wider world.
2. Offer attainment-raising activities outside the classroom
GCSE attainment is the biggest predictor of progression to university. Data from the Higher Education Access Tracker (HEAT) has shown a positive association between The Scholars Programme and better scores in GCSE maths and English, showing that learning outside the classroom can have a positive impact on core curriculum attainment too.
3. Create a pathway of possibility
By exposing students to higher education throughout their school journey, you can ignite a fire that fuels their efforts in the classroom. Paul Bhatia is Executive Headteacher at Wembley High Technology College, which has been running The Scholars Programme since 2013. He told us:
“I’ve seen children who, when I’ve spoken to them and said ‘what do you want to be?’ and they’ve said ‘I want to be a footballer’. Five years later you speak to them, and you ask them what they’re doing and they’re applying for a career as a researcher in a university, they’re going to study history at Warwick, or they’re on a medicine course, or they’ve just got their interview at Oxford. You see that transformation happening with [the programme].”
4. Foster the development of important skills
Alongside academic attainment, there are certain essential skills which support progression to the most competitive universities. The Office for Students references these skills in their Equality of Opportunity Risk Register, comprising 12 sector-wide risks that may affect less advantaged students in accessing and succeeding in higher education. Last year, Scholars Programme students progressed significantly in written communication (+24%), subject knowledge (+25%), and critical thinking (+26%), on assessment before and after the programme.
5. Facilitate visits to universities
A visit to a university offers students the chance to imagine what life might be like for them at university, and fuels their burgeoning ambition yet further. By hearing from current undergraduate students, pupils can understand the process of choosing which university might be right for them, as well as the application process. University trips are engaging, offer practical experience and contribute to a wider world perspective for students.
6. Build “university self-efficacy”
University self-efficacy is a student’s belief in their ability to succeed in higher education. Put simply, students need to know that university is a viable option for their future. Through The Scholars Programme, we build academic skills, university knowledge and sense of belonging in students. We monitor progress pre- and post-programme, and Scholars Programme students increase their self-efficacy score by 7%. Why not start the discussion with your students by creating a display about the university journeys of school staff?
7. Provide access to information, advice and guidance
To help students make an informed decision about their future and understand whether higher education is the right choice for them, it is important to present them with a range of resources explaining the application process, university finances and university-style learning. Recent Join the Dots webinars for Year 12 and 13 students have focused on mental wellbeing at university, learning strategies and preparing for results day.
Get involved… Join the Dots is free to schools, colleges and students. You can register your school here. If you’d like to learn more about partnering with us on The Scholars Programme, complete our short enquiry form.