The Brilliant Club

The Brilliant Club is working to increase the number of pupils from underrepresented backgrounds progressing to highly-selective universities.

The Scholars Programme recruits, trains and places postdoctoral researchers in schools to deliver programmes of university-style tutorials, which are supplemented by two university trips.

The Scholars Programme is designed to emulate the learning that students experience at highly-selective universities.

Programmes begin with a Launch Trip at one of The Brilliant Club’s partner universities, where pupils meet their PhD tutor and take part in a carousel of learning activities, including the first tutorial. Pupils also have a campus tour, and receive information, advice and guidance from the university.

For the next five weeks weeks, PhD tutors will spend half a day a week in school delivering two tutorials on each visit, working with two groups of six pupils. The length of tutorials and the size of groups vary depending on the key stage, but never exceed six pupils.

Pupils are required to undertake weekly reading and writing assignments that lead to the completion of an extended assignment which the PhD tutors then mark thoroughly. Pupils can submit homework and questions to their PhD tutor through our Virtual Learning Environment, a moderated messaging system.

Pupils receive two one-on-one feedback tutorials – the first looking at their draft final assignment, and the second on their final assignment which has been marked by their PhD tutor, and given a university style grade (1st, 2:1, 2:2 etc.).

The programme finishes with a Graduation Event at another university, where pupils are given a tour of the campus, meet with outreach staff, and attend a graduation ceremony. Typically these are held on Saturdays, allowing parents and carers to join.

Programmes take place at the following times:

Year 9/10 and / or Year 12 – Autumn term – October to February
Year 9/10 and / or Year 12 – Spring term – January to May
Year 5/6 and / or Year 7/8 – Summer term – March to July

For the last three years, The Brilliant Club has worked with the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) to evaluate the impact of The Scholars Programme on progression to highly-selective universities.

Each year, UCAS found that pupils who completed The Scholars Programme were significantly more likely to apply to, receive an offer from and progress to a highly-selective university than pupils in control groups matched for prior attainment and socio-economic factors.

Each term, the charity creates impact reports for every school we work with. As well as details of the programme, pupil attendance and attainment in comparison with regional and national averages, the charity includes details of pupil self-evaluation surveys.

All pupils are asked to fill out self-evaluation forms at the beginning and end of each Scholars Programme.

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The Scholars Programme

The Brilliant Club

The Scholars Programme

The Brilliant Club

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