Why university students are pairing up with vulnerable young students across Yorkshire

In West Yorkshire university students have been paired up with hundreds of disadvantaged school children at risk of failing their GCSE maths this summer.

The maths catch-up tutorials will see 34 students from the University of Bradford work as maths coaches to children from 17 Bradford schools.

The university has teamed up with the Bradford Opportunity Area, one of three government funded opportunity areas in Yorkshire, alongside Doncaster and the North Yorkshire coast, and will launch the tutoring scheme later this month.

Francine Lewis, head of tutoring from Trinity Multi Academy Trust, is training the tutors.

She said: “We are training them to be effective tutors, to get the best out of students. We’re also showing them the best way to relay maths problems to ensure students don't just learn a formula but can apply their knowledge to any situation an exam might throw at them.

"Ultimately, this is about giving children more confidence. Maths is an everyday, functional skill, so will help to improve their chances throughout life."

The initiative will pair a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) university student with up to four Year 11 pupils who will meet for an hour every weekend in a local library to study together until they sit their exams.

Tom Green, 28, from York, who graduated with a computer science degree this year, is one of the tutors.

The former games design manager who now works as a physical security technologist for Barclays, said: “I’ve always had a passion for maths and I also love tutoring.

"This scheme has a really good reason at its core. If you’re a pupil, it definitely makes a difference being taught by someone who is passionate. The other thing is to show pupils how maths can have practical applications, to show them this is something that’s worth learning.”

Professor Shirley Congdon, the University of Bradford Vice-Chancellor, said the scheme reflected the University's long standing commitment to social mobility.

Professor Congdon said: "We are determined to enable more people to prosper through university education and securing high quality professional managerial jobs. The maths catch-up clubs are one example of how the University is using its expertise to benefit local schools and the wider community.

"By giving these children a helping hand and getting them excited about maths, we’re not only improving their chances as individuals but helping raise standards overall and thereby benefiting the local community.

"This project works on a number of levels, not least by improving their maths skills but also in terms of boosting their confidence, while giving our own students valuable work experience."

She added if the government are to to make “levelling-up” rhetoric a reality there is a need to expand the Opportunity Areas educational scheme, launched in 2017, which has raised standards in three areas of Yorkshire across the whole of the North.

Professor Congdon said: "When Opportunity Areas were launched... they were part of the Government’s Levelling Up agenda and their core aim was to eliminate so-called attainment gaps, ensuring children from all backgrounds achieve their full potential.

"This project represents concrete evidence of that ambition and is one of the reasons we’re keen to see Opportunity Areas be extended."

Michelle Donelan, the Minister of State for Universities at the Department of Education, in charge of the opportunity areas project said: “This Government’s investment in our 12 Opportunity Areas is helping to level up standards and confidence in maths for thousands of pupils.

“Maths is an essential skill in everyday life and in the workplace, and these projects are even more important now as we recover from the impact of the pandemic on our young people.

“In Bradford, university students are getting the chance to earn money and give something back to younger pupils at risk of falling behind in their studies, while also gaining valuable work experience for their future career.”

While in South Yorkshire a graduate mentor scheme is expanding to support 300 more pupils across the region to re-engage with their studies.

The initiative set up by Sheffield Hallam University and the Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) is expanding to support an extra 300 pupils across the region to re-engage with their studies.

As the Government’s National Tutoring Programme (NTP) gets underway, the GROW mentoring programme is extending to 10 more schools across the region with 20 new graduate mentors set to support pupils across South Yorkshire.

The programme, which launched in July with a pilot carried out in four regional schools, pairs graduate mentors with incoming Y11 school pupils to support them to re-focus on their education and help them to look forward.

It aims to support the £1bn ‘Covid catchup plan’ unveiled by Government earlier in the year to support a subject specific tutoring programme, aimed at helping pupils in England catch up on lost learning because of school closures.

One of the graduate mentors from the pilot programme, Abby Wensley, worked with pupils at XP School in Doncaster. She has now secured a job as a teaching assistant at a secondary school in Rotherham.

Abby said: "There are so many benefits to you as a mentor and the pupils. You get transferable skills and you’re building confidence and trust – I got so much out of it as well.

“My pupils were great; we were all nervous when we started but by the end we were confident and speaking easily. It’s a really hands on experience – when it’s online you’re on your own with the pupils trying to engage with them.

Sue O’Brien, GROW programme director, said: “We’re delighted the scheme is extending to support more young people in the region to refocus on their education during these incredibly challenging circumstances.

“The programme will complement the government’s National Tutoring programme by offering broader support around wellbeing and motivation.

“It’s also a great opportunity for our graduates as it gives them really high-quality training in mentoring and supports their future employment prospects in a very difficult job market.”

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