Improving University Access

By Martin Hanlon, Associate Assistant Principal and Director of Learning Yr12 & Yr13 and Learning Development at Ark Evelyn Grace Academy

In the week when the Sutton Trust produced their annual state of the nation report, with Sir Peter Lampl stating that there is a ‘worrying and complex regional divide’ in the country and that there is a need for us to be ‘raising the game’ of all teachers, it seems pertinent to reflect on the ways that schools can impact on social mobility and improve the lives of their students, whilst promoting a fairer and more equal society. In many cases this means increasing the numbers of students that schools send to universities, particularly the more competitive ones, although it is recognised that good quality apprenticeships and other routes into employment are improving all the time.

I think the first thing that can – and should – be done is to improve and enhance links and relationships between schools and universities. I speak from a position of privilege, working in London and I am conscious that we are surrounded by a lot of universities, some of which are among the very best that the country has to offer. All universities are conscious of the social mobility agenda and most do a decent job at offering opportunities to engage with schools. Some, such as UCL, are exceptional in this regard, offering a number of opportunities throughout the year for teaching staff and students. Yes, it can be difficult for both schools and universities to make links – but it is vital that young people are exposed to higher education from as young an age as possible if they are going to raise their aspirations and set out on the path to academic success. After all, you can’t aspire to something that you don’t know exists.

Schools – both primary and secondary - should run regular trips and visits to universities and universities need to become expert in welcoming students of all ages and all backgrounds, developing long-term and meaningful relationships with young people. In the same way, universities should visit schools and it would be great to see strong relationships being developed between schools and their local universities – especially in areas highlighted in the Sutton report that continue to struggle with social cohesion. Organisations such as The Brilliant Club and intouniversity already work across the sectors and this action needs to be replicated on a wider scale.

It is also important that schools show their students what academic excellence looks like. This can be done in many ways, but one of the most effective ways is to provide opportunities for students to work alongside undergraduates and post-graduates. CoachBright excel in this area and other programmes, such as Futures, Realising Opportunities and the Social Mobility Foundation course run by the Sutton Trust, provide excellent opportunities for students to develop meaningful dialogue with real people who work, study and learn with universities every day. Teaching staff - who have all been to university – should also act as role model exemplars of an academic education and should be encouraged and supported in sharing their learning journeys with their students. Conversations and dialogues about the joys and challenges of education and learning should be embedded into every aspect of school life.

Careers advice and guidance is crucial, especially when it comes to post 16 decisions. At the school I work in, we offer a relatively small range of A Levels – mainly facilitating subjects - which means that students are being prepared for applications to competitive universities and their choices of subjects will not disapply them. It’s challenging and hard work, but one has to be pragmatic and practical.

Finally, if you are lucky enough to be able to do so, use your alumni. The best role models for young people are those who were once them and have been able to focus on their goals, achieve academic success and can now share their experiences with others.

So, there’s no guarantees, but employing some of the strategies above might make a difference to improving the lives of your students and taking one more small step along the road to greater social mobility and cohesion.

Best Pupil Premium Practices

By Stephen Farmer, Headteacher of Cranbrook Education Campus

When asked what works well in terms of a Pupil Premium strategy, I always respond that it is about the culture of the school. Staff need to know who their disadvantaged students are and what individual struggles they are facing. We talk about treating disadvantage as a SEND need and ensuring each student has a key adult, usually their tutor and a passport outlining how staff can best engage with and support them.

The core principles we adhere to in all our Trust schools are:

• A senior member of staff having responsibility for the outcomes and well-being of disadvantaged students.

• Working with CoachBright to ensure Key Stage 4 students have access to an inspirational coach who can help motivate them with their work and hopefully aspire them to explore further and higher education

• Use ProvisionMap to track and evaluate all provisions that utilise Pupil Premium funding. Ensuring the best provisions are shared across the school and those that are not having impact are stopped.

Some additional top tips that I would suggest are:

• Seating plans are a non-negotiable and staff are able to articulate who their disadvantaged students are and why they are sat where they are. We use ClassCharts which is a great tool as it also is our behaviour management and homework setting system.

• An effective outcomes analysis system that ensures all Disadvantaged students are clearly identified and requires staff to document interventions they will implement to support disadvantaged students who are not making the expected progress.

• Breakfast club. The most important meal of the day. We work with Exeter Food Action to reclaim food from super markets and our support staff support the club on a rota. Check out the TED talk from Sam Kass called; Want kids to learn well? Feed them well. https://www.ted.com/talks/sam_kass_want_to_teach_kids_well_feed_them_well

• Extra-curricular support. The most difficult to evaluate but important for the moral purpose. Many disadvantaged students do not have the cultural capital to bring to the table. By supporting them with extra-curricular activities and to engage with trips, you help them contribute to class discussions and give them experiences to write about.

• Attendance. Prioritise the attendance of disadvantaged students. Get on the phone early when they are absent. Have a family liaison staff member who is able to go round to houses and collect students when needed.

• Targeted questioning as a non-negotiable. Expectations of disadvantaged students should be high and they should be targeted for questions in lessons.

• Mark first. Implement this as a policy and ensure disadvantaged students are getting the best feedback from their teachers.

• Homework. Disadvantaged students need to have the same expectations to compete homework but they often need additional support to complete it. Develop a homework club, engage their tutors and ensure they have the resources they need to complete additional work.

• Set up assertive mentoring or surrogate parenting. Often disadvantaged students need that additional support when completing application forms, obtaining work experience or reviewing their report.

There is no one-size fits all approach to supporting disadvantaged students and raising their achievement. You have to embed the culture and create the environment for them to succeed. Show them you care and know who they really are and they will come on the journey with you.

Stephen Farmer is Headteacher of Cranbrook Education Campus, an all-through academy in Cranbrook, Devon where 42% of the Secondary cohort are disadvantaged.  Cranbrook Education Campus is part of the Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust.

An Important Tip for University Students

By Carole Reniero, Head Coach 2017

When I was 18 years old, in my last year of high school, I decided that I was going to take a social anthropology degree at university. However, I did not know where my university studies would take me, who I would meet along the way, and above all, where I was going to be in 10 years. Everything was sort of unknown, exciting... and scary. Moving to London was difficult, but I eventually learned to cherish the lively, multicultural feel of the city.

Nonetheless, there are certain aspects of university that have been quite stressful to deal with. There are always many assignments to complete, essays to write, new people to meet and socialize with, and career events to go to. I am constantly being asked: ‘So where is your degree going to take you?’ or ‘Where do you see yourself in 10 years?’. At the LSE, the majority of students read economics, finance or law degrees. And an even wider majority already knows what their future holds after they graduate from university. I am not and have never been a member of that majority. At the end of my first year, I realized I did not want to become an anthropologist, despite finding the subject fascinating to study. I have always been drawn to the world of education, but I did not really know where to start looking for opportunities.

At the start of my second year, I explored new opportunities outside of my studies. Firstly, I volunteered for a charity named ReachOut, where I mentored a young girl in developing confidence in her academic work, as well as exercising self-control, fairness and good judgement with other people. It was a beautiful, challenging experience that greatly improved my communication skills. Because of this, I decided to pursue my interest in education and social mobility by applying to be a coach at CoachBright. Here, I discovered the differences between being a mentor and a coach; one of which is that a coach asks questions but should never give the answers, whereas a mentor may do so. CoachBright was one of the best opportunities that came knocking on my door at university. It helped me to further discover what I was truly passionate about! And more generally, working for charities and youth as a volunteer opened an important door to understanding what I now want to do with my future. It has helped me to develop vital life skills like communication, organization, patience, and resilience.

By taking some time off each week doing something different, volunteering has helped me to go through some tough times. So, to whoever is reading this: volunteer! At least once during your studies. Try something new, discover your interests and passions and learn new skills. Not only can it distract you from many sources of stress and boredom, but it will also help you discover where you ‘fit’ best and for some, where you truly belong.

From Peer to Coach – how students can help fellow students achieve their goals

Gloria (in green) with coachees

By Gloria Nkuliza

My name is Gloria and I live in Lewisham in South East London. I am a Sixth Form student studying at Bacon’s College, having studied there in secondary school too. I’m interested in sports, science and music and aspire to become a Chemical Engineer after university.

What Peer Coaching is

Thankfully the opportunity came when CoachBright linked up my school with a new, exciting programme. This trained sixth formers to coach year 9 students and work with them for a few months to help them attain their academic goals. We would each aid our own student with one out of three major subjects; Maths, Science and English. Their aims would usually be to achieve a certain grade in upcoming tests or gain a solid understanding on a topic. Having a role model close to their age who could empathise with them, would be the motivation they needed to do better in their chosen subject. The team would then all come together to formally check that each student is making progress, coming up with ideas of how to develop literacy/numeracy, exam and essay techniques. As a group, we would support each other, along with the handy help of Robin and his experience in dealing with young people.

 Why I wanted to be a Peer Coach

I was very passionate about becoming a peer coach as I knew that if I was younger, I would definitely have enjoyed and benefitted from having an older student to support me. I believe that this is a very encouraging programme, largely different from normal coaching or teaching as I could be an approachable and friendly role model to my chosen coachee. It is valuable for coachees to have somebody different to their peers or teachers who could provide them with a fresh perspective. I felt that I would be relatable enough for her to connect with and feel confident in sharing her academic and social struggles, knowing that I’d be very likely to understand having experienced similar situations and issues myself. Therefore, I also feel that more schools should have peer coaching programmes, as sixth formers would be able to give young students the appropriate help that would benefit them.

Channelling other coaches in my life

Having done my Mathematics GCSE early, I was blessed with having a maths teacher who encouraged me to push myself to my limits and aim high. He supported me with my achievements and instead of allowing me to settle, he inspired me to work hard, see a lot of potential in myself, and grow confidence in my ability. When I was in secondary school, I was very eager on keeping fit. I played a range of sports, so I had a couple of coaches support me. With sports, like other disciplines, you should be able to hold on to certain traits so that you can make progress and perform to the best of your abilities. For example, dedication, learning how to motivate yourself, and setting reachable goals are three of many. Therefore, I tried to inspire my own coachee to develop traits like these to ensure that she easily could achieve her goal and use these skills in the future to open new opportunities for herself. I believe that an effective coach is one that has the patience and resilience to be there to support their coachee no matter how long you may have to explain something to them or how difficult they may act towards you. I think it is important to create a relationship between you and the coachee, where you can be open and honest with each other and express any worries or concerns that may hinder the coachee’s success. Furthermore, I feel that it is vital for the coach to be enthusiastic when the coachee makes progress toward their goal, but also continue inspiring them to aim higher and see no limit to their potential success.

Lessons learnt

Becoming a peer coach, I’ve had a great opportunity to develop my teaching skills by learning how to explain topics in fresh understandable ways to my coachee. Through developing a friendly relationship with her over several months, I could comprehend the style of teaching that best suited her and work with that. Surprisingly, by assisting my coachee with revision techniques and routines, it also gave me the incentive to do the same for myself, subsequently causing us to grow together into better students. This allowed me to acknowledge that peer coaching is mutually beneficial and, as we worked together, we could bounce ideas off one another.

Feedback from my coachee

“When I was first told that I would be coached by a sixth former, I thought I’d have the same experience with them as I have had with my teachers, which I sometimes feel is very boring. However, Gloria and I have so much fun and developed a friendly bond between each other. I was always excited to go to her after school because I knew I was going to learn more about the subject that I have difficulties understanding but in a fun and interesting way. We would always start off by telling each other how our day was like and if I had problems with anything Gloria would help me solve it. She was not only there to help me with Science but she was also there to help me with my social life. I’m very glad I had a coach like Gloria and I think anyone would be happy having her as their coach. The whole CoachBright programme left me interested in having my own coachee to help them with whatever they find difficult and to be a friend they could count on.”

— Diana (coachee)

Top tips for your Personal Statement

By Robin Chu, founder of CoachBright 

What matters most…grades or your personal statement? With the competition for places the truth is your personal statement may well be the deciding factor to whether you get an offer or not. The good news is this means the power is in your hands. Your Personal Statement is your chance to sell yourself, and make a positive impression. 

What do universities want to see?

Well the most important thing is to tell them why you are applying for your particular course and then build up a picture of the kind of person you are. They want to know your experience in and outside of school, your achievements and the areas of life you’re interested in and engaged with. 

That said, Paul Teulon Director of Admissions at Kings College University, suggests that “Students focus about 75% of their statement on academic interests and why you want to study the course and 25% on the extra-curricular dimension that shows you’re a well rounded person".

Our Top Tips

• Read specific advice for individual courses from the university website. It’s not good saying how much you love ancient history if the course starts from the Middle Ages.

• Show genuine first hand passion for the subject rather than anything generic like 'I want to study History as the past influences the future?' Try a more individualised approach that shows intellectual curiosity.

• Show wider reading and understanding of your subject. Reading X has taught me Y.

• Youthful energy is great! There’s no need to sound too formal.

• Write about what you have done that is above and beyond others both academically and non-academically. For example: summer schools you have attended or university lectures or extra reading around subject.

• Focus on a handful of key points and build detail on them rather than cramming various points in that aren't backed up by evidence or coherent explanation.

• Quadruple check your personal statement for any spelling and grammar mistakes.

• Make your conclusion short and sharp, saying what you hope you’ll achieve with the course.

Things to avoid:

• Over-egging it. Don’t exaggerate.

• Avoid using the thesaurus to 'sound smart'. Plain English is the best.

• Avoid being overly dramatic. 'Ever since I was a foetus I have always shown a keen interest in medicine'.

• Avoid colloquial and general terms - using words such as 'like' and 'things'. 'I like reading books'.

• Over-patronising flattery. Telling them it would be a privilege to study at their brilliant university is not something an admissions tutor wants to see.

• Don’t stress out. All the admissions tutors want to see is that you’re enthusiastic about the subject and that this shows in your academic and extra curricular life.

Read what UCAS suggest putting in your personal statement here.