Sumaiyah Patel took part in The Scholars Programme back in 2016 when she was in Year 8. She went on study History and Politics at The University of Warwick and now works as a Legal Business Analyst for international law firm, Perkins Coie.
Our Marketing and Communications Officer, Camille Brouard, spoke to Sumaiyah about the obstacles she overcame to apply to Warwick, how attending a competitive university helped her career, and how The Scholars Programme helped her picture herself at university and engage more at school as a result.
Camille Brouard: Where did you live when you completed The Scholars programme?
Sumaiyah Patel: I was living in East Ham, in the London Borough of Newham, when I took part in the Scholars Programme in Year 8. I still live here now.
CB: Did your parents go to university?
SP: My parents didn’t go to university, so I was first‑generation. My mum took an apprenticeship route after finishing secondary school, and my dad moved to Johannesburg after completing high school in India to find work.
CB: What was your parents’ perception of university?
SP: Like many immigrant parents, mine encouraged education and university as much as they could. They had high aspirations for me because they never had the chance to pursue higher education themselves – they had to start working straight after finishing school. They knew that having a degree would open doors to professional opportunities and wanted to give me the best start possible, while sparing me some of the hardships they faced, so education was always a big priority at home.
That said, even though they were very supportive, they were quite hesitant about the idea of me moving away from home. There were definitely a few cultural barriers to navigate during sixth form, especially because I knew Warwick was the perfect fit for me. A big part of the journey was helping them feel comfortable with the idea of me moving out.
CB: You did end up going to the University of Warwick. How was that journey for you?
SP: I absolutely loved my time at university – those three years were genuinely some of the best I’ve had. Getting there wasn’t easy, which is why I’m so grateful for the experience.
I started sixth form right at the onset of COVID, so our exams were cancelled, and the school calculated our grades using our aggregate Year 12 marks. Year 12 is such a big jump in difficulty, and I was still finding my footing, so my grades were lower than what I needed for some of the universities I was aiming for. Because final exams were cancelled too, our predicted grades for university were based entirely on those Year 12 results. I couldn’t appeal, even though I’ve always done well in final exams.
Because of those grades, my school strongly discouraged me from applying to Oxford, Cambridge, and the top Russell Group universities. For a while, I listened and focused only on the universities I comfortably met the grade requirements for, but deep down, I knew it wasn’t the right path for me. It meant compromising on the course I genuinely loved at Warwick.
At the last minute, when reviewing my UCAS form, I decided to add Warwick anyway. A few weeks later, I received an offer from Warwick. By A‑Levels, I exceeded my predicted grades, and Warwick became a perfect fit. I studied History and Politics and loved being able to tailor my modules to my interests, from the history of narcotics to jazz and blues, to international political economy.
Sumaiyah graduating from The University of Warwick in 2024 with a BA in History and Politics
CB: So it really opened a lot of doors for you, going to Warwick?
SP: Definitely. One thing I didn’t fully appreciate before going to Warwick, but now see as such a privilege, was the access we had to careers events and opportunities. Top employers, especially in the legal sector, would come directly to campus for roadshows, exclusive open days, presentations with their graduate recruitment teams, and even private dinners with lawyers and students.
I made the most of those opportunities and am so glad I did, but I didn’t realise at the time that this isn’t the norm for all universities. For students at non‑target universities, meeting law firms or employers often means travelling all the way to London, whereas for us, those opportunities came straight to our campus.
CB: What really strikes me is that moment of you going: actually, I am going to apply to Warwick, despite not having a lot of initial support from your parents, who were wanting to be you to be closer to home, or your school. Where do you think that might have come from?
SP: A lot of it comes from my background, plenty of grit and determination, but also from growing up with a strong sense of resilience. I’ve had my fair share of setbacks, but learning to be comfortable with failing or falling short has been a real turning point. Once you take ego and embarrassment out of the equation, getting back up and trying again becomes so much easier.
I didn’t have ready‑made connections, a network to lean on, or a graduate job waiting for me through family or friends. So, I knew I had to be bold and put myself out there to create opportunities for myself. Closed mouths don’t get fed, after all!
CB: Do you know how you were selected for The Scholars Programme?
SP: We had a programme for gifted and talented students at my school, and I think it was based on academic ability. But the reality was that nearly everyone there came from Free School Meal backgrounds. So even within that programme, we were all navigating similar challenges.
CB: What course did you study?
SP: The course we did was called ‘Philosophy – Do the ends justify the means?’
CB: What was the best moment of the programme for you?
SP: I think a lot of it came from being treated like an adult, even when I was quite young. At secondary school, I did well academically, but because it was such a big school, teachers didn’t always have the capacity to focus on each individual student’s needs. I wasn’t particularly motivated in lessons, to be honest. The Scholars Programme was the first time I really felt challenged, motivated, and genuinely stretched, because those sessions were so small and interactive.
I loved that feeling of being pushed to think differently. I’d say something, and my tutor would come back with, “Actually, have you thought about it this way?” It felt like a very Socratic style of learning, almost like a mini university tutorial, and I’d never experienced anything like it before.
Sumaiyah on her Scholars Programme graduation trip at Kings College London in 2016
CB: Did you go to a graduation event at the end of your programme?
SP: I went on a trip to Kings College London. I think the Scholars Programme trip was my first real exposure to university, and I loved how it replicated a graduation ceremony. I think one of the biggest reasons I developed such strong self-belief was because I could genuinely see myself in those spaces.
And knowing that I took part in the programme in Year 8 and came out of it with a first-class result? It made me feel like, “If I can do this now, I can definitely do it when the time comes.”
CB: Was there anything you found challenging during the programme?
SP: I think the only real challenge I had was wishing there had been some kind of ongoing support after The Scholars Programme. I took part really early, in Year 8, and I would have absolutely loved something that continued through to sixth form. It would’ve been amazing to still have access to my PhD tutor or a similar level of academic support as things got more relevant.
A lot of the social mobility charities I looked into later were brilliant, but they tended to focus more on launching careers. What I really loved about The Brilliant Club was how centred it was on university itself: the academic side, the preparation, the confidence-building around higher education. So, I guess that’s where my main challenge came in – I just wished there’d been an option to keep growing with the programme and expand it further.
CB: What surprised you the most during the programme?
SP: I think the biggest thing for me was how young I was in Year 8, and suddenly I was writing 1,500‑word essays, and even a 3,000‑word dissertation, on topics I knew absolutely nothing about at first. It was the first time I had to learn how to reference properly, how to research, and how to build an argument from scratch.
That was probably the most surprising part: discovering how much I enjoyed it. Up until then, I’d always been the STEM kid – I was in all the STEM clubs and genuinely thought I’d go into a science degree or career. Choosing the philosophy strand was just me wanting to try something different, but it opened up a whole new pathway. I realised how much I loved the humanities, even though I’d barely studied them because my school was very science‑focused.
CB: What did you learn from being on The Scholars Programme?
SP: At secondary school, lots of people already knew what they wanted to be – a doctor, an artist, an engineer. Everyone seemed to have these big, clear plans for their future. But honestly, for most of secondary school, I just felt like I was staring into a black hole. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and I didn’t feel very motivated.
The Scholars Programme changed that. For the first time, I could picture myself at university. It shifted how I saw school, and I became that bit more motivated because I genuinely enjoyed the questioning, the debating, the challenge of it all.
Being so engaged in the programme also changed how I behaved in school. It made me realise that my teachers could offer some of that same stretch, even if it wasn’t quite the same as having a personal tutor, but it really is a two‑way street. It changed the way I showed up in lessons too, helping me make the most of what was already around me.
The Scholars Programme provides Key Stage 2-5 pupils across non-selective UK schools with the opportunity to develop the skills, confidence and knowledge to succeed in higher education and their future careers. Interested schools can enquire here.