A charity that helps students from disadvantaged backgrounds secure places at top universities has seen a record number of hours of tuition delivered by nearly 1500 volunteers during the pandemic. The Access Project (TAP) offers tuition and in-school mentoring to help students boost their grades and make good applications to university.
- Since September 2020 volunteer tutors have delivered over 30,000 hours of tuition to 1574 young people on their programme.
- TAP volunteers delivered more hours of tuition this academic year than the entirety of the last two years.
- This school year tutors have spent 10,000 more hours supporting TAP students compared to the previous year.
As part of Volunteers’ Week, the charity is thanking each of their dedicated volunteers for giving so much support to students across London, West Midlands, East Midlands, and Yorkshire.
Megan Wilson was motivated to volunteer for The Access Project because of the impact the pandemic was having on the education of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds:
“Early on in the pandemic it became clear that some students would be disproportionately affected by the pandemic compared to their peers. School closures widened inequalities & I had seen first-hand how COVID was affecting students’ studies and wellbeing. I started tutoring in September 2020 and was drawn to TAP’s aim to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds, so they didn’t lose the opportunity to access top universities. I enjoy motivating young people to reach their potential, cheering them on in their learning.”
The charity helps GCSE & A-level students at schools through a unique combination of personalised tuition and in-school mentoring. Volunteer tutors offer an hour a week of their time to help boost grades through an online tutorial.
- Despite the disruption caused by COVID students with The Access Project are more than twice as likely to attend top universities as similarly disadvantaged students, according to UCAS.
- The charity helps more students access top universities every year. 69% of 2019/20 students placed at Top Third institutions, up from 61% in 2018/19, and 53% in 2017/18.
- UCAS says there is a ‘very statistically high’ difference between the percentage of TAP students applying to, and placing at, top universities compared to similar peers.
Throughout the pandemic TAP volunteer tutors have gone above and beyond, delivering more hours of tuition than ever before. The charity’s expertise in online delivery meant that all tutorials were moved online at the beginning of the pandemic, resulting in a flood of support from volunteers all over the country. Volunteers now spend an hour a week working with their students on TAP’s bespoke online platform.
Ahlam, a GCSE student at Chelsea Academy in London, wants to study Medicine at a top third university. She says her TAP Maths tutor has helped her believe that one day she can achieve her goal of being a surgeon:
“Neither of my parents went to university and so I am hoping to be a role model for my family and be the first to get to go. The pandemic has been hard at times with so much going on with our education, but it is because of The Access Project that I am still on track to achieve my goal. My tutor has given me so much more confidence and motivation to work hard. They have really helped me understand my weaknesses in Maths and now two years later I am working harder, and my grades have improved a lot.”
The Access Project was started in 2008 by a North London school teacher who wanted to help disadvantaged students in his class fulfil their potential. Over the last decade, it’s grown into a charity supporting thousands of students. TAP partners with non-selective state schools with high numbers of students on Free School Meals, receiving Pupil Premium funding or with low levels of progression to top universities.
