The future’s bright, the future’s brilliant!

Claremont High School students look to the horizon 

The Brilliant Club is an award-winning UK charity founded in 2011 with the goal of tackling educational inequality by increasing access to highly selective universities for students from under-represented backgrounds. Through its Scholars Programme, the charity places PhD students in state schools to deliver academic tutoring to pupils aged 8 to18, helping them develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to succeed. 

Students complete a research-based assignment that is marked against university standards, promoting critical thinking and academic skills. The programme includes university trips and a graduation ceremony to familiarise participants with higher education environments. Research has shown that graduates of the Scholars Programme are significantly more likely to apply to a competitive university than those who haven’t been part of the Brilliant Club. 

The initiative is led at Claremont by Ms Dixon and this year fourteen Year 10 pupils took part in a STEM-based programme that ran from April to June. They worked with a PhD student in small groups to give them an experience of what it’s like to study at university, with a focus on university-style pedagogy, including independent research, critical thinking and higher-order questioning. At the end of the programme, students completed a final assignment of 2,000 words addressing the question: ‘How can we save nature? Strategies for biodiversity conservation.' This was marked using a university-grading system and allowed the pupils to show the progress they'd made. 

All fourteen Claremont participants submitted their final assignment, with ten achieving either a first or 2:1, demonstrating that they’re working at one key stage above their current one.  

‘It was a real pleasure working with Claremont High School,’ says PhD student Natasha Granville. ‘The students were clever, engaged and keen to learn. The staff were friendly and supportive, and their dedication and high expectations of students contributed to a very successful placement. I wish the students all the best in their future studies and careers.’ 

At the end of the programme, as a way of celebrating the students’ achievements and to give them further insight into university life, there was a ‘graduation’ ceremony in Oxford, which took place on 3rd July 2026. As part of the trip, pupils visited Magdalen College, where they took part in a Q&A with current Oxford undergraduates before the graduation ceremony itself.   

'This was a fantastic opportunity for all of the students,’ says Ms Dixon, ‘in terms of encouraging them to aspire to the top universities in the country.’ 

It certainly left a lasting impression on the participants… 

‘The Scholars Programme gave me a real appreciation for biodiversity and why it’s so important to protect our planet,’ says Siya Bedi 10.11. ‘The course gave me a deeper understanding of the effects of biodiversity on our everyday life and how we exploit it. I especially enjoyed learning about ecosystem restoration and how we can help conserve the life that’s left.’ 

'I found the trip to Oxford University very inspirational,’ adds Patrick Didenco 10.6. ‘I’m now thinking in different ways about the choices I will make regarding university in the future.’