A Brilliant Club example: Raising attainment and supporting university progression
Jessica Galliver, School Partnerships Officer at The Brilliant Club, tells us more about The Scholars Programme.
What can school leaders do to measure progress meaningfully, and support all students to access their chosen destinations and succeed when they get there?
In 2022-23, the attainment gap between the least advantaged students and their peers widened to its largest since 2011 at both primary and secondary. In Surrey, where overall attainment is above the national average, the inequality was more pronounced: the disadvantage gap at the end of primary school was 12 months (compared to 10.3 months nationally); at the end of secondary, the gap was 20.5 months (compared to 19.2 months nationally).
In higher education, the proportion of students from the least advantaged backgrounds remains low, especially at the most selective universities. The good news is that when students achieve higher GCSE grades, there is almost no difference between the least advantaged students and their peers in rates of progression. Attainment is the biggest indicator of participation in HE.
Schools can work on and measure attainment directly, through the bread and butter of quality teaching and learning and targeted interventions. We can also measure attainment-related outcomes: attitudes and behaviours which lead to success at higher education. These include critical thinking, motivation and self-belief.
The barriers to success start early. At primary school, the least advantaged students are less likely to start thinking about university than their peers. Access to role models who champion higher education is key – as are opportunities to visit university campuses, to find out about applications and student life, and to try academic learning on for size.
At The Brilliant Club, we mobilise the PhD community to support the least advantaged students to access and succeed at higher education. This includes our flagship Scholars Programme, which involves small groups of pupils aged 8-18 working with a PhD tutor in a series of tutorials, writing a university-style assignment and visiting a selective university. Through our collaboration with the Higher Education Access Tracker (HEAT) and UCAS, we have measured a positive impact of the programme on both GCSE attainment and university progression.
In Surrey, almost 1,700 students have completed The Scholars Programme. 27 students from Salesian School Chertsey recently worked with PhD researchers from the University of Brighton and Royal Holloway on the topics of 'representing young people' and the 'Metaverse privacy puzzle'. The cohort visited the University of Southampton last month to see the campus, meet current students and learn more about university life, with two students giving speeches at the graduation ceremony. At the end of the day, one student said the programme was "insightful and provided me with an array of new knowledge regarding university… I enjoyed delving into the specifics of a new topic." Another said: "Was good. Got my reward. Gave a killer speech. Give my tutor an A*".
The programme is one way we can raise attainment, open up pathways for all students, and support them to be proud of what they can achieve. Please enquire on our website for more information.
