Friends of GT Scholars – Check out the latest scholar spotlight!

Friends of GT Scholars – Check out the latest scholar spotlight!

by Marilyn Friends of GT Scholars Volunteers

It’s the weekend! It’s been a great week with a bank holiday on Monday and we’ve ended the week with blue skies and sunshine! I really hope that the weather stays this way all weekend and it’s the start of a great summer – we all need it! Here is this week’s newsletter!

Spotlight on one of our scholars on the Headstart Programme – Priscilla
Our latest scholar spotlight interview was with one of our scholars who’s currently in year 11 and was on our Headstart Programme last term. Priscilla is an ambitious young lady with great plans for the future. She is aspiring to become a lawyer one day and she talks about how her Maths and English tutors have helped her to achieve her academic goals and the impact being on the GT Scholars programme has had on her. Read her full interview by following this link.

Could you facilitate an online workshop?
As some of you might already know, we’re in the process of moving our workshops online. At the moment we’re looking for facilitators that can help us to run these workshops online. The workshop topics will range from coding, financial literacy, entrepreneurship and growth-mindset. If you have workshop facilitating experience or you know of someone who would like to get involved, please let me know.

Virtual Roadshow – Can you arrange an introduction?
As part of our new upcoming online programme, we are looking to form new connections with companies that have a global outlook. We’re in the process of setting up a “Virtual Roadshow” and we would like to meet with companies that are interested in helping young people, to explain to them how they can get involved. If you know someone within your company that is responsible for CSR and you can help with setting up an introduction, please get in touch!


Have a fantastic weekend!

 

Marilyn van Heerden

An interview with one of our scholars Priscilla

An interview with one of our scholars Priscilla

by GT Scholars Online volunteering Post 16 Private tutoring Scholar spotlight What's new? Young people

Please tell me a little bit more about yourself?
My name is Priscilla, I’m 16 years old. I like swimming and I was part of a competitive swimming team for two years. I have a passion for swimming and therefore, I decided to take a rookie life-guard course so that I can apply for a part-time role as a life-guard with an indoor swimming facility. My favorite subjects is English & History and in the future I would like to become a lawyer.

Why did you decide on law?
My parents work in the NHS, so when I was younger, I wanted to become a doctor. I then realised that I wasn’t that good in science, but that I had a keen interest and passion for English. I love debating and I love talking and speaking out, so law was just something that caught my attention. I also love reading & investigating which forms part of the law sector. I’m definitely looking into attending one of the Russell Group Universities. My dream is to go to Harvard, Oxford or Cambridge – any one of the top universities would be great to get into.

Why did you decide to join GT Scholars?
My mum did some research and came across GT Scholars. She told me about it and we went to a workshop, I found it interesting and it met my needs. For me having online tutoring sessions was also easier. The whole programme seemed interesting and it was also cheaper than the tuition that we were paying for at the time.

When you decided to join GT Scholars, did you have any special goals that you wanted to achieve? 
Yes, so when I first started I focused on Maths because my Maths grades were really low. I wanted to pay extra attention to Maths and I wanted to be able to at least get an A grade for Maths at GCSE level. I feel like I managed to achieve my goal in the mock exam earlier this year. I didn’t have a chance to write my GCSE Maths exam because of the GCSE’s that was cancelled, but in the mock exam, I have really improved. I ended up getting a grade 7, which is all because of GT Scholars and my maths tutor.

Your second term with GT Scholars you decided on focusing on English instead of Maths; how did that go?
My tutor Michael really helped me a lot and he made me think about the questions and answering them in a different way, which really ended up helping me during my exam. Because I really enjoy English, it was very nice to talk to someone who is also passionate about English to help develop my reading skills. I started off with a grade 6 and I ended up getting a grade 8 in English.

What positive impact did the programme have on you? 
The programme really helped me with setting up my study time. Before joining the programme I would procrastinate when it came to working. I  found that I didn’t really have an interest in doing work, but because of GT Scholars and getting homework regularly, I had that one hour a week to focus, so it was really good in terms of keeping up with my studies.

What was your favorite part of the programme?
My favorite part of the programme was the enrichment and skill building days that I got to go to. The Dragon’s Den was my favorite workshop. I got to meet new people and learn new skills, so it was definitely my favorite part of the programme.

Did you learn anything new about yourself while being on the GT Scholars programme?
I learned without a push from the tutors always supporting and checking in with me, I wouldn’t really be studying as much as I would’ve before joining the GT Scholars Programme. I feel like when I have someone by my side always encouraging me and checking up on me, it works out better for me.

And now that you are moving on to A levels –  will you be applying things that you have learned during the programme to your future studies? And what will that be?
Yes, less procrastination. I’m definitely going to make a revision timetable. I’ll also revise any work that I’ll do on a daily basis. Coming back home and reviewing the work and making flashcards so that I know that at the end of the term I don’t have to be stressed out, because I have my flashcards already prepared and ready to start my revision studies.

Do you have any advice for a young person that is considering to join the GT Scholars programmes?
My advice to them would be to have an open mind and to have a growth mindset because the programme is online. The environment will be different and it might be easy to get distracted, but if you approach it with an open mind and be willing to build a good relationship with your tutor, it will really help with the learning process. Then also remember that if you ever get stuck contact your tutor because they’re always willing to help.

What was the most helpful thing that your tutor taught you or helped you with?
I had two different relationships with my tutors because the subjects were completely different. Martin was my maths tutor and he was very understanding because he recently did his GCSE’s, and he could easily relate to me and explain things to me in a clear way. The one thing that I learned from Martin, was to not have an “I can’t do it” mindset. He really pushed me, even if I didn’t know how to approach a question he would always push me to be able to answer the question myself because he knew that I could do it. Michael was my English tutor and he had a lot of experience within the schools and education systems. He taught me to be confident with my answers and taught me to always read my answers back to myself, even when I think that I’m finished,  there is always something to add or improve on what I’ve written. He definitely taught me about self-confidence and using my imagination in creative writing.

Your tutors helped you develop a growth mindset and having self-confidence – When approaching a challenge do you approach it with a growth mindset and self-confidence?
Yes, and not only on an academic level but also in my day to day life. When I was swimming, I felt that I wanted to give up and I would remind myself that I can do it. Nowadays there are a lot of things I would do when before I wouldn’t have imagined that I could do it. When approaching something new I feel I can do it if I just put my mind to it. I also combine a growth mindset with self-confidence which my English tutor has taught me.

Is there anything you would like to say to your tutors that supported you on the programme?
I would just like to thank them for everything that they did because it is clearly evident that the programme made a positive impact on my Maths and English grades. I managed to go up two grades in both subjects which is what I wanted to achieve, and I would like to thank them for their time and dedication. They were really supportive, really nice, friendly people and from the first session, I felt like I clicked with them. So I would like to thank them for everything they have done for me!

Friends of GT Scholars – Online volunteering opportunities and support!

Friends of GT Scholars – Online volunteering opportunities and support!

by Marilyn Friends of GT Scholars Volunteers

Friends of GT Scholars –  Online volunteering opportunities and support!


Happy Friday! Hope you’re having a good day? We’ve been busy getting started with the new term. Right now, innovation and thinking out the box is a must and no one knows when life will return to normal! Over the past few weeks, we’ve been spending a lot of time brainstorming ideas on how we can pivot and still support young people at this crucial time in their lives. Made you curious? Keep an eye out for more information in the next couple of weeks. But for now, here’s this week’s newsletter.


Join our online meetups for volunteers!
We’re not sure when next we’ll all get to meet in person but thank goodness for Zoom! We’re planning to run monthly online meetups for all volunteers! Whether you are a new volunteer or you’ve volunteered with us for a few months or years, you’re more than welcome to join! During the meet-ups, we’ll run a short Q&A for new volunteers, we’ll also have some time for volunteers and members of our team to give advice and share their experiences. The first session is planned for mid-June and I’ll keep you posted with the details. If you’d like to co-host a session or be on our panel of speakers please get in touch!

Can you help us improve our mentoring worksheets!
We’re updating our mentoring worksheets, adding impactful coaching and mentoring questions to the sheets and providing mentees and volunteer mentors with more information, checklists and exercises to help with mentoring sessions. Thank you to everyone who confirmed their availability. We’ve scheduled an online meeting for Wednesday 20th May from 4pm-5pm. If you’d like to join us for the meeting or have mentored with us before and have an idea of topics that you think will make a great addition to our current worksheets, please let me know.

Check out the *NEW* Online Learning Directory!
If you’ve signed up to tutor with us this term or thinking about volunteering as an online tutor then you definitely need to visit the new GT Scholars learning director! This directory hosts more than 250 free learning websites for young people aged 4-18. You can easily narrow down your online resource search by filtering content by age and subject. There are lots of lesson types to choose from, including interactive stories, lessons, games, activities and revision videos. You can visit The Learning Directory by following this link.

Friends of GT Scholars – Thank you for your help this term!

Friends of GT Scholars – Thank you for your help this term!

by Marilyn Friends of GT Scholars Volunteers

Friends of GT Scholars –  Thank you for your help this term!


Ahh….. Friday you wonderful thing! Even though most of us are working from home, the weekend still has that special feeling that it brings! If you’re looking for something different to do this weekend, go check out Social Distant.Co set up by Tony, a friend of GT Scholars. They’ve got lots of fun online events that will get you moving and activities to get you meeting new people and spending more time with friends and family! But first, let me share this week’s newsletter with you.

 

Thank you for your help this term!
It’s the end of the term and we’d like to say a huge thank you to all the volunteer tutors and mentors for their help this term! Many of our volunteers this term had to juggle sudden changes in work arrangements alongside volunteering but they still showed up for the young people and the feedback has been great! I’d also like to thank everyone who’s helped in other ways like writing a guest blog, featuring in a volunteer spotlight or getting involved with crowdsourcing group projects! I feel privileged to be part of such a talented network!

Can you volunteer as an online tutor or mentor next term?
I’d like to find out if you’d be available to volunteer as an online tutor or mentor next term? I know some volunteers already confirmed their availability- thanks guys! If you’re interested in joining us next term as an online tutor, you’ll need about 1-hr a week to schedule weekly sessions with your tutee. If you’ve been thinking about becoming a volunteer mentor, you’ll need to be free for 6 hours during the 12-week term. The new term will start late April/early May so please let me know if you’d like to get involved by sending a quick email.

Could you help with creating NEW mentoring worksheets?
We have an upcoming short term volunteer opportunity that you can get involved with. We’re looking for 3-4 volunteers to help us with creating new mentoring worksheets! It’s the perfect volunteer project for you if you’ve ever coached or mentored young people before or have some ideas on how to support them with some of the challenges they face. If you have about 4-5 hours to spare and can join our crowdsourcing project meeting next week Wednesday or Thursday, please get in touch.



Have a fantastic weekend!

Friends of GT Scholars – Online volunteer opportunities you can get involved with!

Friends of GT Scholars – Online volunteer opportunities you can get involved with!

by Marilyn Friends of GT Scholars Volunteers

Happy Friday! How are you? I hope well and that you’ve had a great week so far? Since we’re all probably planning to spend more time at home for a while,  I was looking for something fun to do. (There’s only so much Netflix one can watch!) So I surfed the internet for some inspiration and I came across EarthCam and WebcamTaxi where you can watch live HD video feeds of different countries, iconic landmarks and even wildlife! Who says you can’t have the best of both worlds?

We’re creating some new Online courses for young people!
Over the next couple of weeks, we are going to be a bunch of busy bees creating online courses for young people. Not only will it allow more young people to join our courses but it will also allow us to reach out to young people living outside of London. The online workshop will cover a range of topics including growth mindset, study skills, applying to university, Oxbridge, choosing a career and time management. If you’d like to get involved in helping us, please get in touch! 

Online Parent information sessions!
We’re doing our next parent information session a little bit differently this time. We’ll be hosting our next parent information session online.  We’re looking for 3-4 volunteers who would like to join our virtual panel of speakers and share their volunteer experience with parents interested in joining the programme next term. This will be a 10-minute video insert during the session. Please let me know if you’d like to join the panel.

Are you available to tutor or mentor next term!
We’re almost at the end of the term with less than 4 weeks left! Thanks to everyone who volunteered this term! You guys are doing a great job! With the new term just around the corner, I’d like to find out if you would be available to volunteer next term. Online volunteer tutors schedule weekly 1-hr sessions and mentors divide their sessions up into monthly 2-hour or bi-weekly 1-hr sessions. If you would like to sign up as an online volunteer tutor or mentor for the next 12-week term starting 20th April, please contact me. 

Have a lovely weekend!

Friends of GT Scholars – Would you like to support young people in tech?

Friends of GT Scholars – Would you like to support young people in tech?

by Marilyn Friends of GT Scholars Volunteers

Happy Valentines Day! It’s the day of love and it seems that it’s also the day for pets!! Did you know that more than 9 million people are expected to buy gifts for their pets this Valentine’s Day? I’d be curious to know what gifts people go out and buy? What would you look for? Would you wrap it up? Do you include a card? What’s the etiquette here? Oh well – the weekend is finally here and I’ve got a few things to share with you…


For the love of tech!
We’re planning to run a 6-month GirlMeetsCode programme for girls to help develop their coding skills and learn more about the opportunities available in this field. We’re looking for corporates who are interested in supporting programmes in tech. If you can help by introducing us to a contact in your network who might be interested in supporting the girls on this programme and partnering with us, feel free to send me a quick email!

More volunteer opportunities you’ll love!
Time is one of the biggest deciding factors when it comes to volunteering. Our schedules are full and we can quickly become swept away by the everyday hustle. Luckily, we have a few volunteer opportunities that don’t require a fixed-term commitment like with our volunteer tutor and mentor roles. There are still ways you can help this term and make a significant impact. To find out more about some of our quick and easy volunteer opportunities click here. 

Communication tips for volunteers!
To build a successful relationship with your tutee and mentee you’ll need great communication skills! Young people like to be heard and having a good line of communication between you and your scholar is invaluable. As a volunteer working with young people you really want to make the best of your sessions and make sure that they take in the knowledge and advice, you share with them. This blog on communication is really insightful and you can read the full post here.

Have a lovely weekend!

Friends of GT Scholars – Here’s how you can volunteer in 2020!

Friends of GT Scholars – Here’s how you can volunteer in 2020!

by Marilyn Friends of GT Scholars Volunteers

We’re back! I hope you’ve had a great festive season and you’re looking forward to the New Year as much as I am? There’s a lot of new things on the horizon which I hope you’ll be interested in getting involved with, like extra support for volunteers and our new Inspiring Future Leaders Programme starting next month! So grab a cup of coffee, take a quick break and enjoy the first official newsletter of 2020! 

Can you tutor English?
Wow, we have such a demand for English tuition this term and that’s really awesome! We’ve been able to offer a couple of young people a place on the programme. Thanks to everyone who’s confirmed their availability so far. We still have 7 more scholars who need support in English and need your help. So if you’ll be able to volunteer as an English tutor for 1 hour a week from January to April please get in touch! This can make a great difference in a young person’s life!


We’re looking for mentors for the Inspiring Future Leaders Programme!
This new programme sponsored by the Mayor of London & National Lottery Fund will kick-off in February and run until July 2020. The focus will be on helping young boys in London at risk of exclusion, between the ages of 12-14. Young boys joining the programme have been identified as having high aspirations but also struggling with some challenging issues in their personal lives. We’re looking for volunteer mentors to deliver monthly face-to-face mentoring sessions in London. Please feel free to contact me if you’d like more information on mentoring and supporting this group.

Work experience opportunities!
During the last term, I’ve received quite a few enquiries from parents about work experience for young people.  Work experience can help young people build their CV and develop skills and have a life-changing effect on them that can set them on course to a great start and future! We’re hoping to connect our GT Scholars alumni with work experience opportunities. Please let me know if you know of any work experience opportunities within your company or network and I’ll give you a call for a quick chat!


Have a great weekend!

Friends of GT Scholars – Thank you! It’s been great!

Friends of GT Scholars – Thank you! It’s been great!

by Marilyn Friends of GT Scholars Volunteers

How are you? I hope well and that you’re ready for the last mad rush before Christmas? I still need to get some last-minute Christmas shopping done and I’m just bracing myself for the crowds and the insane queues – I really can’t believe there are only 11 days left of 2019! But before the year draws to a close, I’d like to share a few last things with you!

Thank you for your help this term!
On behalf of the whole team at GT Scholars, I’d like to say a huge thank you for all your help and support this term and throughout 2019 – It’s been great working with so many talented volunteers and having your support! Thank you to each and every one of you – to all our tutors, mentors, event volunteers, guest bloggers, guest speakers, workshop facilitators, supporters and to the advisory board!!  We’re really looking forward to working with you again soon and to welcome new volunteers on board! 


We’re closed for the holidays!
I just wanted to remind you that our office will be closed over the festive season! It’s a season to be jolly and we intend to have some fun! Please note that our last day at the office will be today Friday 20th December and we’ll be back for the new year and a new term on Monday the 6th of January. Please feel free to contact us if there’s anything on your mind – but note we’ll only be able to get back to you once we’ve opened again in the new year. 

Can you tutor English?
We’ve received quite a few applications for English tuition for next term, which is really great! But, we’re in a bit of a predicament as we’ve only a couple of English tutors confirmed for next term and we have over 10 scholars specifically needing English tuition! So if you’ll be able to volunteer as an English tutor for 1 hour a week from January to April please get in touch! This can make a great difference in a young person’s life!


That’s all for now folks! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Friends of GT Scholars – Will you be coming to the End of Year Celebration?

Friends of GT Scholars – Will you be coming to the End of Year Celebration?

by Marilyn Friends of GT Scholars Volunteers

Happy Friday! Isn’t it just a great time of the year? The festive season is finally here now that Michael Bublé has emerged from his cave to signify the start of Christmas!!! As we get closer to the end of 2019, I’d like to tell you more about the End of Year Celebration with GT Scholars and upcoming volunteer opportunities!

Celebrate the end of the year with us & meet some of our scholars!
We’re having our end of year celebration at GT Scholars next Wednesday 11th December and we’d love to have you there! Some of the scholars will also be joining us for the evening and leading some fun games and activities!! We really hope you can come along and show them your support!!! It’s a great chance to mingle and meet our volunteers, trustees, workshop facilitators, supporters, funders and other friends of GT Scholars! We’ll also share the impact we’ve made and our plans for next year! Please register your attendance for an evening of good food and good company! The event will be at Airspace which is a 1 min walk from Tottenham Court Road station. 


Could you volunteer as a tutor or mentor next term?
Applications for the new term has opened and as more applications from ambitious young people are rolling in, we want to make sure that we can match as many scholars as we can with a mentor and an English or Maths tutor. The new term will run from early January until mid April 2020. Please let me know if you’d be available to tutor for 1 hour a week or mentor for 6hrs during the term period. I’m looking forward to finding you a match!

Can you share your volunteer experience with parents?
We still need a couple of volunteers to sit on our panel at our information sessions for parents who are interested in enrolling their child in our Bright Ambitions programme. The Parent and Pupil Information Session will be on Saturday the 14th December from 2:30pm-4:30pm & 5:00pm-6:30pm and will take place at Canada Water Library (1 min walk from Canada Water Station). If you’ve volunteered as a tutor or mentor in the past few months and would like to join our panel, please let me know and I’ll get in touch with more details.

An interview with one of our volunteer online tutors – Arash Khosravi

An interview with one of our volunteer online tutors – Arash Khosravi

by Marilyn Online volunteering Volunteer spotlight Volunteers What's new?

Tell me a little bit about you and what got you to where you are today?
I went through school and after that, I did Economics at A-level and then studied Economics full time at UCL. During my time at UCL, I was the president of the UCL branch of the charity Team Up. After graduation, I was offered a job at the Bank of England where I worked as a Data Analyst.

What made you decide to become a volunteer tutor?
I really feel like I want to give back to society and give back to people that are in a less fortunate position than I am, through no fault of their own, and help them achieve their full potential. I did some informal tutoring a few years ago and I got really good feedback. That made me think and I then decided to take my strengths and use them to help people that really need the support. Since volunteering at UCL, I was trying to find other opportunities to volunteer that could fit in with my work schedule. I find that tutoring is a really good option and that I can make a real difference in a young person’s life.

What did you enjoy most about tutoring your scholar?
What I enjoyed most was really seeing the development of my scholar throughout the 12 week term. I think the highlight for me was in week 4 when I logged into Skype for our session and my scholar said: ‘’Sir, sir you know the thing we’ve done with the area of the square? I tried it in class and my teacher said I got the question right!” She was really chuffed about it and that was great to hear. I think engaging with the scholar and building a good relationship is what I’ve enjoyed most. I was very lucky to be matched with someone who is really engaged and ready to learn.

What challenges have you helped your scholar to face?
What I found at the beginning of this term in my scholar was the fact that she was doubting herself. I think the challenge was to reinforce the knowledge she already had and building her confidence. In the beginning, I would ask a question and she would attempt to solve 60% of the question but wouldn’t have the confidence to work through the remaining 40%. She would then say she did not know how to do it. I focussed on building her confidence and to say to herself, I do know how to do it and I won’t give up. It’s really great to see how much her maths has developed and improved.

What goals have you helped your scholar to achieve?
I think a good example of one of our goals would be the mock test my scholar had coming up. A week before the mock test we did two tutoring sessions so I could help her prepare for the test. After the test, she came back and said that a lot of the work we revised did come up in the test and she really felt confident answering them. We also set up goals for some of the topics she felt a bit weaker in and although she was struggling with it earlier on in the term she was able to tackle them after a few week’s sessions.

Why do you think tutoring is valuable to young people?
Because I feel that students at school have a wide range of abilities and are at different levels. I don’t think that the modern skill system can factor that in with a class of 30 students, with different abilities and learning styles. Some young people need additional support and a lot of them don’t have the opportunity to get 1-to-1 support and can fall behind. I think tutoring can help fill that gap between school and home. Free tutoring is great to bridge the gap between young people who can afford private tutoring and those who cant.

Do you have a message for young people?
I would say they should keep working, keep trying and keep persevering with whatever they want to do in life. There’s no one path to get you where you want to go. Be who you are and don’t try to be anyone else. And with that mindset try things and really persevere. Like with the GT Scholar Programme, even if you don’t get the results initially, keep trying and pushing forward and towards where you want to go.

How important has support been in getting you to where you are today?
My dad is a maths lecturer, I could not get away from maths as a young person (laughs). Until about GCSE I was rubbish at maths, I used to get 40%. I think it was because I wanted to get away from maths because my dad will always be talking about it. At that age, I did not realise the importance of it. Until my dad sat me down and got me to engage and focus and made me realise the importance of it. In terms of other subjects, I did not have formal tutors but had support from my peers and family that helped me a lot.

What have you gained from volunteering with GT Scholars?
I feel like I gained a lot of confidence. I was a bit nervous before my first session because I see it as a real responsibility and duty to help a young person on their journey with mathematics. I really wanted to do a good job and make an impact on my scholar’s life. Having my scholar come back by the fourth session saying how she benefited from our sessions had really boosted my confidence. I think there are a lot of children out there that don’t see their own potential and it’s really opened my eyes to that. I have also gained a great relationship with my scholar and we even joke around during sessions sometimes.

Would you recommend becoming a tutor with GT Scholars?
Definitely. I think the whole process is really good and I gained a lot from the experience. For a tutor to be able to come in and really feel the positive impact made with a scholar and really seeing the journey you’re both going through during the 12 weeks is just amazing. The programme is really great for those scholars who are at average or just below, to give them that extra boost they need. Volunteering as a tutor is a nice way to start volunteering, whether it’s your first time or if you’re an experienced volunteer. I definitely recommend it in terms of it being a great way to volunteer and help young people.