Understanding The Typical Charity Funding Model: 

One of the biggest challenges with education charities is the limited amount of funding that they have. Every charity has to use its funding to determine its capacity. All the research shows that Free School Meal (FSM) pupils are the least likely to leave school with 5 or more C-grades at GCSE. There is, therefore, usually a huge priority for young people on FSM – household income under £16,190 (2017).

Who Gets Support? 

Some charities are focused on working with high-attaining children with the goal of getting them into top universities. Others are focused on working with lower-attaining pupils with the aim of helping them pass GCSE Maths and/or English. A huge amount of funding is being spent every year to give young people from low-income homes a chance in life.

Who Doesn’t Get Support? 

There are far too many children, including those on FSM and low-income households, who simply don’t get support because they don’t attend the right school, don’t have the right household income, don’t live in the right postcode or don’t have the right sort of grades to qualify for support.

Activity: Have a look at the case studies below and think about who would or wouldn’t get support…

Case Study 1: 

Aisha is struggling at school with a Grade E in Maths and is on FSM. She wants a C-grade, but she started school with really low grades. She attends a school that has no partnerships with education charities. Her school has been rated as ‘in need of improvement’ by Ofsted and has a high proportion of young people on FSM. 

Case Study 2: 

Tom is currently on grade C. He’s on FSM. He is ambitious and has the capacity to get an A in Maths but has no idea where to start. Tom also wants to get into a Russell Group University. He goes to a good school that has many partnerships with education charities, particularly for students that want to go to top universities.

Case Study 3: 

Kiara goes to a popular school in East London. Her grades are currently at a C-grade, but she would like A-grades so she can go to a top university. Her school has lots of partnerships with education charities and links to the city and top universities. Both her parents are graduates, and her total household income is £82,000.

Case Study 4: 

Jade wants to do an apprenticeship. However, she is currently on a borderline D/C grade pupil in English. She really wants a C-grade. She comes from a single-parent home, and her mum earns £18,000. Her school has one partnership with a charity that provides after-school tutoring and support in Maths and English.

Case Study 5: 

Ben is on a D/C grade in English. He’s struggled with the subject since primary school. He’s on FSM and wants to do an apprenticeship. His school has a partnership with a charity that can work with 12 students from his school. There are about 40 students in his school that are also on FSM and at risk of not achieving a C-grade.

Case Study 6: 

Lola wants to be an engineer. She’s on FSM and is currently on a D-grade in Maths. She needs a C-grade if she wants to get on a good apprenticeship. Her school’s most recent OFSTED highlighted boys’ attainment as an area of improvement. The school now has a partnership with an education charity that uses sports to help boys improve their Maths and English grades.

The GT Scholars programme is a high-impact tutoring programme founded on the belief that every child should have the chance and the choice to succeed academically and in their chosen career.