The Sutton Trust

Impact of the Summer Schools in 2014

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OUR SUPPORTERS

We are very grateful to all of our donors who support the Summer Schools programme and are committed to the

Trust’s work.

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In 2014, The Sutton Trust worked in partnership with ten of the UK’s leading universities to deliver the largest

summer schools programme to date.

OUR PARTNERS

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APPLICATIONS

The summer schools attracted a record 10,000 applications from 1740 state schools/colleges across

the UK

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The summer schools reached 1900 students

ATTENDANCE

= 40 students

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96% of attendees had at least 5 A/A* at GCSE or equivalent

ELIGIBILITY

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85% of attendees will be the first generation in their family to attend university

ELIGIBILITY

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74% of attendees came from schools with low attainment

ELIGIBILITY

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49% of attendees lived in areas with the lowest level of progression to university

ELIGIBILITY

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TARGETING HARD TO REACH SCHOOLS

.  

Applications Attendances0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

587

181

984

257

2013

2014

We specifically targeted 900 hard to reach schools through a series of interventions, which resulted in an increase in both

applications and attendances from these schools.

In total there were 984 summer school applicants from these target schools, with 257 of these applicants going on to

attend a Sutton Trust Summer School. 88% of these attendees met 3 or more of the eligibility criteria.

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POST-SUMMER SCHOOL SUPPORT

600 summer school students are currently engaged in mentoring schemes and are receiving follow up support and guidance from undergraduates and

professionals.

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PROGRESSION OF 2012 COHORT

Leading universi-ties (Russell group/1994

groups)

Russell Group Sutton 13 Summer school institution

Host institution 0.00%

1000.00%

2000.00%

3000.00%

4000.00%

5000.00%

6000.00%

7000.00%

8000.00%

9000.00%

10000.00%

7600%

5800%

3900%

2300%

1200%

Attendances (% of total cohort)

Three quarters of Sutton Trust Summer School students went onto leading universities.

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PROGRESSION RATES

‘Our study provides strong empirical evidence that summer schools do work from the perspective of the host universities, the Sutton Trust, the students and society as a whole, which benefits from identifying something that kick-

starts social mobility. Not only does the summer school experience encourage all attendees to target the more elite universities, but what is

particularly encouraging is that they reduce, sometimes to vanishing point, the greater reluctance of the more underprivileged groups to do so’.

A report by Dr Tony Hoare and Rosanna Mann at the University of Bristol found that Sutton Trust Summer

School attendees are 50% more likely to go on to leading universities than their peers.

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HEAR FROM OUR STUDENTS

‘I believe that the summer school has broadened my horizons and allowed me to see that an education at my dream university is perhaps not as unreachable as I first thought. Also, it was an amazing experience to be able to meet so many like-minded people and to be able to talk to people with the same aspirations and the same passion as myself. Thank you very much for allowing me to take part in this wonderful opportunity!’

‘Thank you so much for this opportunity!! It has given me so much more confidence to apply to the top universities I wouldn't have gained from elsewhere. As well as the fascinating subject hours!!!’

‘It was such an amazing experience that I'll never forget and I enjoyed all of my academic sessions. They were so interesting and the academics were really inspiring. The student ambassadors were great too!’

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CASE STUDY ONE

Nik Cerutti First year undergraduate at The University of Cambridge

Nick was a student on the 2013 UK summer schools programme and subsequently gained a place at the University of Cambridge studying Natural Sciences. He is the first in his family to attend university.

‘The summer school was above all an amazing experience. It helped me to firmly decide my university choice and made me

believe it was achievable.’

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CASE STUDY TWO

Helen Sheehan Graduate of the University of Nottingham

Helen grew up in Edgware, London where she attended St James Catholic High school and was eligible for free school meals. Her mother was a secretary and her father a carpenter. In 2006, she attended a Sutton Trust summer school at the University of Nottingham and two years later returned there to study Physics (Msci) . She is currently working at Bloomberg as a software developer.

‘The Sutton Trust summer school was a great experience and it really boosted my confidence. It showed I had an interest in my

subject beyond what I had learnt in my A-levels’

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CASE STUDY THREE

James Duffy Graduate of the University of Oxford

James grew up on a council estate in Surrey with his mother, who worked as a receptionist and his father, who was as a part-time barman/security employee. He was eligible for free school meals. In 1999, he attended a summer school at Oxford University. He subsequently applied to Oxford to read Law and was offered a place in 2000. He was the first in his family to attend university. He went on to achieve a First and then study a Masters (Bachelor of Civil law) at Oxford. In 2005, he was called to the Bar and is now a barrister at Fountain Court Chambers in London, specialising in commercial law.

‘The Sutton Trust summer programme was my first experience of Oxford: it was a chance to meet tutors and current undergraduates

who instilled a belief that students from all backgrounds could aspire to study at Oxford. I left that summer inspired and determined to

come back. Sutton Trust opened the door and gave me the confidence to walk through it and not look back.’