The ‘Access Gap’ is widening - here’s how we are fighting to close it in your local area!

Did you know that you are six times less likely to make it to a top third university if you are from one of the UK’s least affluent households? The Access Project believes that this is unfair and we want to make a change, as it significantly affects the life chances of less affluent young people by restricting access to a key vehicle for social mobility.

The Access Project tackles this issue head on by providing motivated and talented students who come from less affluent backgrounds, with free one-to-one tuition in subjects they are struggling with and in-depth, tailored support throughout the university application process. And we are now excited to be launching our programme in the East Midlands, where from September we will be working with three schools and colleges including Vision West Nottinghamshire College, Ashfield Comprehensive School and Shirebrook Academy

As a charity we are committed to reaching the students who need our support the most. For many schools and colleges, their partnership with The Access Project helps them to send students to Oxford or Cambridge for the very first time. And for many of our students, they are the first people in their family to attend university: a huge achievement. We are passionate about supporting young people to achieve their academic potential.

This cannot happen without the support of volunteers in the area as they are at the very heart of the work we do to support students. We need volunteers for one hour a week to tutor a student online or face-to-face during term time in their place of work, or in a public place. Not only is this a great way to give something back and invest in your local community it also gives you the opportunity to develop your own skills. 62% of our tutors agreed that tutoring has helped develop professional skills while 85% agreed that tutoring helps teach students how to communicate with a wide variety of people.

What our businesses and volunteers say:

“The Access Project doesn’t just give young people from disadvantaged backgrounds access to high-quality tuition, it exposes them to work environments and jobs that they are very unlikely to encounter otherwise – I’ve found this can be as motivated as the tuition itself.” Suneil Setiya (Co-founder, Quadrature Capital)

Access Project

“KPMG is proud to have been a long-standing supporter of The Access Project. As well as the pride that comes from helping a student to achieve their full potential, our volunteers also develop their own skills, making it a real win-win.” Corrine Harms (CR Manager, KPMG LLP).

“As a business leader we naturally want to recruit the brightest students to join our business, but what is also important is attracting students from our local community who are able to demonstrate they have the willingness to work really hard to achieve their full potential. The Access Project is a great way for students from our local community to realise their full potential. The commitment needed from a business is not burdensome, but it will make a massive difference to the students involved and is a great way for us all as business leaders to support our local schools and wider community." Martin Rigley, CEO of Lindhurst Engineering & Chair of The Access Project’s advisory board

Our vision:
By 2020 we want to be working with 50 schools -- that’s 2000 young people nationally to increase the proportion of students from less affluent backgrounds going on to highly-selective universities by 30%. Getting there will not be easy and will require us to recruit more volunteers than ever before. We need your support to realise our vision to close the access gap and make a real and lasting difference to our young people’s lives.

We welcome all businesses within D2N2 including SME’s and start-ups and other individuals from the community to get in touch. If you have any questions or want to hear more about the project please contact Katie (Volunteer Coordinator) on ktetecesrjc.r.kai@hacspoetogu / 07908135740 or contact Sophia Ireland (Head of Midlands) on spi@hacspoetoguohatecesrjc.r.k / 07538 051 041

Check out our website to find more about our current volunteers and business partners:

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