Today sees the launch of our 2014-2015 Impact Report and we are incredibly proud of what the data reveals about the effectiveness of programme for our community of schools, businesses, volunteers and most importantly of course, for our students.
Our impact for students is founded on developing three key areas of achievement – improving grades, confidence and application knowledge. In the academic year 2014-15 we had a phenomenal impact in all three of these crucial elements. On average, six out of ten of our students with 20 or more hours of tuition, could expect a full grade increase against their target grade. And across our schools, our students are 20% more likely to have met or exceeded their target GCSE grade when in receipt of tuition than those who were not on the programme.
But university success isn’t just about boosting grades; it’s also crucial students feel able to aspire to attend a top university and have the confidence to apply. A core element of our programme is that students are not just tutored by high-flying graduates – they are tutored at volunteers’ workplaces at some of the country’s leading firms.
This has a unique impact on students’ aspirations – as demonstrated in this year’s student survey, which found students scored tutorials 9 out of 10 for positive impact on their school performance and aspirations.
“At the start of A-levels, my predicted grades were ok, with my tutors help I’ve been able to bring my predicted grades up to a Russell Group standard. Being able to go through topics in a way and at a pace that best suits me has helped enormously.”
Derek, Central Foundation Boys’ School, partnered with Slaughter and May
All of this is underpinned by a framework of high-quality university support. From frequent visits to selective universities, to specialised mentoring for Oxbridge entrance exams, to detailed guidance on which universities to apply to and how to write personal statements, our students are given expert support on how to navigate the university application process.
As a result, high-achieving students working with The Access Project are 27 percentage points more likely to apply to a Russell Group university than their peers (100% vs 73%). Of those applying to selective universities, 89% received offers and 68% received a place (vs 49% of non-Access Project students).
What’s more, our growth during the past academic year meant we were able to deliver our programme to more students than ever before – during 2014-15, we expanded into three new schools in the West Midlands and now tutor a total of 891 students across both regions, up from 300 students tutored in academic year 2012-13.