The Virtual Scholars Programme offers pupils a sustained university-style learning experience through online tutoring with a PhD researcher, along with high-quality information, advice and guidance to help them progress to a competitive university.
Schools that choose the Virtual Scholars Programme have the option to select their preferred subject stream – Arts and Humanities, STEM or Social Sciences – which can be particularly useful for Key Stage 5 learners.
We work with non-selective state schools across the UK.
As a university access charity, we work with the students who most benefit from the support of our programmes. We require that at least 70% of the students registered on the programme meet at least one of the following criteria:
Please note, if you are in receipt of funding from an external organisation such as a Uni Connect, additional targeting criteria may apply.
The school contribution is £197 per student, £2,758 for a cohort of 14 students. This cost is subsidised through contributions from our university partners and external grants and donations. It is a reduction on the price of the programme when carried out in-person.
[The students] loved the challenge of close reading ‘hard stuff’. Many students mentioned to me how good it was to be taught how to write an essay properly. This will be invaluable to them at GCSE and beyond. They have developed their skills in researching, referencing and using sources critically.
As usual we will provide each pupil with a physical copy of a Scholars Programme pupil coursebook. These will be delivered to schools. Pupils will also have access to The Hub, which hosts additional resources for pupils and allows messaging between pupils and tutors, and group messaging for the tutorial groups. It is also where pupils will upload homework and assignments, and receive feedback from their tutor.
Students enrolled on The Scholars Programme will still attend an in-person graduation event to celebrate their achievements on the programme and learn more about life at university. The event will take place at a competitive university.
The same evaluation methods will be applied to the virtual programme. We will measure pupils’ progress against our competencies through the pre and post assessment (completed online) and the baseline and final assignments. Schools will be provided with an impact report which will be the same as the in-person programme.
At The Brilliant Club, we take online safety very seriously and safeguarding underpins our online delivery model. Typically, pupils join online tutorials from a school computer.
All tutors are enhanced DBS checked and complete annual safeguarding training. Online tutorial settings are set up in line with safeguarding best practice, and we provide schools and tutors with specific safeguarding guidance for virtual tutorials. There is a message moderation function in place for communication between pupils and tutors on the Hub.
Where any pupils need to join from a location that isn’t school, we record these tutorials for safeguarding oversight. We securely store those recordings for 60 days and then permanently delete them. When pupils join online tutorials at school, we recommend that a member of school staff is available. When pupils join online tutorials at home, we recommend that a parent or guardian is available.
It is extraordinary that I can give lessons to pupils hundreds of miles away and overcome the limitations of distance.