Programmes
Evaluation

We conduct internal evaluations and commission external evaluations of the charity's programmes.

programmes evaluation: a decorative image of a star

Our programmes have proven impact.

We have created Theories of Change for each of our core programmes, The Scholars Programme, Join the Dots, Make your Mark and Parent Power.

To form these one-page visuals, each programme has a mission, inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes.

Take a look using the links below, and please do get in touch if you’d like to discuss our evaluation work further.

The Scholars Programme Theory of Change

Join the Dots Theory of Change

Parent Power Theory of Change

Make your Mark Theory of Change

The Scholars Programme and GCSE attainment

Data from the Higher Education Access Tracker (HEAT) has shown that Scholars Programme students have higher GCSE scores than Local Authority students with similar Key Stage 2 prior attainment. Students with average prior attainment were twice as likely to achieve a 9-5 in maths and English at GCSE after taking part in The Scholars Programme in Year 10. Read about our findings in more detail in our research note.

University of Cambridge External Evaluation

Between 2018 and 2020, we commissioned researchers at the University of Cambridge to evaluate the impact of The ScholarsProgramme. The evaluation had two phases. Firstly, the University of Cambridge carried out adesk-based review of the charity’s research and impact work to date. Secondly, the University of Cambridge conducted arandomisedcontrolled trial (RCT) to assess the impact ofThe ScholarsProgrammeon pupils’ cognitive outcomes. You can find out more about the RCT, including the results, here. The results from the RCT will also be published in a peer reviewed journal in the future. 

Independent Evaluations

Each year we commission UCAS to run an independent evaluation of our flagship access programme, The Scholars Programme, to understand the impact on progression to higher education. To date, we have conducted seven matched control group evaluations.

Our latest evaluation has been effected by the pandemic and thus should only be viewed within this context – further information about each of our evaluations, including the methodological considerations and key findings, can be found below.

UCAS Evaluation 2023

UCAS Evaluation 2022

UCAS Evaluation 2021

UCAS Evaluation 2020

UCAS Evaluation 2019

UCAS Evaluation 2018

UCAS Evaluation 2017

Annual Impact Reports

Our Annual Impact Reports offer an overview of the charity’s work during the academic year.

In 2022/23, we mobilised 541 researchers to support 21,416 students in 961 schools across the UK, working alongside our 78 university and higher education partners.

You can find out more about our programmes, our scale, how we evaluate our impact, and our plans for the year ahead, in our annual impact reports.

Year of Impact 2022/23

Year of Impact 2021/22

Year of Impact 2020/21

Annual Impact Report 2019/20

Annual Impact Report 2018/19

Annual Impact Report 2017/18

Annual Impact Report 2016/17

Annual Impact Report 2015/16

Annual Impact Report 2014/15

The Scholar

The Scholar is The Brilliant Club’s academic journal of outstanding pupil work! It is published termly and showcases some of the excellent work produced by pupils on The Scholars Programme and Uni Pathways.

All assignments nominated for publication are reviewed by an expert panel of PhD researchers and only the highest scoring are published.

You can look back at every issue of The Scholar here.