As an ambitious and dedicated charity, The Access Project is always adapting to the needs of the students we serve. In the years preceding 2021, we spent time reviewing how we could optimise our delivery and impact, as well as consider routes to scale up our support to more young people in new regions and schools.
The start of the pilot and scaling up
In March 2021, we launched a pilot project which saw us work with group tutors for the first time to support attainment raising at A-level, as well as enabling us to provide tuition to more Year 12 and 13 students. The pilot began with 80 students across three subjects (Biology, English and Maths), with the second phase including an increased number of students from September 2021. From September 2022, we were able to increase the pilot further to reach nearly 500 students in Year 12 and 13 across six subjects: Biology, Chemistry, English, Maths, Physics, and Psychology.
Since the start of the pilot, students and tutors have participated in a number of feedback activities including surveys, focus groups and observations to help us understand the student experience and impact of this work. Group tutors are assessed regularly and feedback from participating students to date has been positive.
Thanks to the implementation of this pilot we are thrilled to also have been able to expand our reach into new schools and regions across the UK, meaning more students have been able to access our support than ever before!
“Ella’s* attendance so far is 100%. She feels that she participates more comfortably than 1:1 tuition and likes having a group to study with. They say that Leo is really nice and he goes through the hardest questions and explains very well. Ella appreciates input from other people and likes to hear different perspectives.”
Recruiting group tutors
As part of the initial plan, outlined in 2021, we are increasing the size of the pilot this coming academic year and therefore we will be recruiting more group tutors to work with us. The advert and job description for the group tutor roles are now live on our website, as well as being shared on relevant job sites and social media. We encourage applications from our existing pool of volunteer tutors, so please do feel free to share with your networks and indeed apply yourself if you are an experienced group tutor.
If you have any questions, please contact grouptuition@theaccessproject.org.uk.
As ever, thank you for the remarkable contribution you continue to make to the academic success of your students.
*Our student’s name has been changed to protect her identity