We know that tutoring young people is a demanding and serious commitment. It takes a lot of planning and preparation and undoubtedly patience to persist when faced with adversity especially in these uncertain times. It goes without saying that all of our lives have been disrupted and affected by the pandemic. It has forced us to consider our priorities and reconfigure our lives in such a way that almost no-one could be said to have been without challenge, especially the vulnerable and the disadvantaged.
Statistics have been bandied about regarding the speculated effect of the pandemic on children’s learning and progress but you’ll know, from working with our young people, that there is so much more to them than statistics can reveal and that working with them isn’t formulaic; it isn’t always a case of what you put in you get out.
The volunteers delivering our programme help to level the playing field and have offered our students consistency and stability amid this uncertainty, helping to ground them and give them hope. The impact is clear though again not always easily quantified or articulated by those who appreciate it most (our students).
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you sincerely for your hard work and dedication. We wouldn’t be here without you! We have long known that those from privileged backgrounds are more likely to get into the top 40 to 50 universities in the UK, progress to highly professional careers and occupy positions of influence in society. Our volunteers working with each individual student not only help them extend their reach but extend ours to create a fairer and more representative society, and what could be better than that?
A huge thank you from all of us in the Volunteering team. Thank you for your continued support, patience and tenacity this year more than ever!
A record breaking year
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic TAP volunteer tutors have delivered a record number of hours of tuition. Nearly 1500 tutors have gone above and beyond in the last year to help students on our programme to boost their grades and ensure they don’t fall behind in their education.
- 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.
This Volunteers’ Week everyone at The Access Project would like to thank each of our dedicated volunteers for giving so much support to students across London, West Midlands, East Midlands and Yorkshire.
The Volunteering Team