We know that university education changes lives, by promoting upward social mobility and improving the economic prospects of individuals and communities, with graduates from the most competitive universities more likely to access professional careers, have higher rates of life satisfaction and, on average, earn £10,000 more per year than their peers.
The Social Mobility Commission has found that those from the most advantaged backgrounds are 60% more likely to access a professional career than those from less advantaged backgrounds.
Advanced skills are currently in high demand, as an example the shortage in STEM skills costs employers £1.5 billion a year.
The Brilliant Club wants to work with businesses who are committed to supporting more young people from diverse backgrounds to access and succeed at the most competitive universities and become equipped to take on leading roles in a range of professions across society.
Our evaluation shows that The Scholars Programme raises attainment at GCSE. Students with average attainment at the end of primary school who participated in The Scholars Programme in Year 10 were twice as likely to achieve 9-5 in their maths and English GCSEs than peers from their local authority with similar prior attainment.
For seven consecutive years, independent evaluation with UCAS has shown that Scholars Programme graduates progress to competitive universities at a higher rate than other students from similar backgrounds.
Our student success programme, Join the Dots, has been found to have a positive impact on all three intermediate outcomes we look at: self-efficacy, study strategy use, and sense of belonging. These all support the long-term outcomes we expect to see, i.e. for students to continue into second year of university and complete their degree course with a strong degree.
In 2022/23, we saw a 25% increase in students’ written communication, 27% increase in students’ subject knowledge and 28% increase in students’ critical thinking over the course of the programme.
We know that students from less advantaged backgrounds often lack the support, guidance and professional networks available to their more advantaged peers. We would like to invite volunteers from our supporter firms to share their expertise and experience with school and university students, to open their eyes to the different opportunities available to them during and after university through in-person and virtual careers and employability sessions.
Colleagues can also support The Brilliant Club by taking part in fundraising challenges and events, to further increase the impact of a partnership.
I ended up getting to Oxford, which is incredible and, if I hadn't [done The Scholars Programme], I don't think I would have even tried. Having studied at Oxford opens up many doors - it’s like it equalises everything and disregards any deprivation that you’ve gone through in early life. I'm already getting job offers and I feel like I’m in a position now where I’m in a very privileged spot, which is very different to how it was 3-4 years ago.
Contact us to discuss how your business can get involved.
Email our Fundraising Manager, Eve Saunders, via the button below.
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