About Researchers in Schools
The Researchers in Schools programme is delivered by The Brilliant Club, an award-winning charity that exists to widen access to highly-selective universities for pupils from under-represented groups. The way that we do this is by recruiting, training and placing doctoral and post-doctoral researchers in non-selective state schools across the country.
Researchers in Schools is currently delivered in partnership with 15 School-Centred Initial Teacher Training providers and has placed participants in more than 75 schools, as well as charity partners, link universities and the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL).
The Brilliant Club
Delivered programmes to over 15,000 pupils
The Brilliant Club is an award-winning charity that mobilises the PhD community to increase fair access to highly selective universities. The charity recruits, trains and places PhD researchers as part-time tutors and full-time teachers in non-selective state schools. Their two flagship programmes, Researchers in Schools and The Scholars Programme, employ over 600 PhD researchers and have worked with over 15,000 pupils in the last five years.
King’s College London
A world leading university for both education and research
King’s College London is a world-leading university, currently ranked 19th in the world (6th in the UK and 8th in Europe) in the 2013 QS World University Rankings. There are currently 12 Nobel Prize laureates amongst King’s alumni and current and former faculty.
King’s is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the European University Association, the Russell Group and Universities UK. It forms part of the ‘golden triangle’ of British universities. King’s College London are supporting the programme through their Widening Participation Department and their Graduate School.
Challenge Partners
Made up of over 300 schools collaborating to drive school improvement
Challenge Partners is a school improvement network which improves performance through effective learning partnerships and rigorous quality assurance processes. An innovative peer-to-peer network is the main focus of the partnership’s activities.
This has its roots in the London Challenge programme, which pioneered an approach to school improvement based on school-to-school support and practitioner led innovation. When the programme ended, many of the school leaders who played a role in that work committed to developing a self-funding and sustainable way, through Challenge Partners, to continue and develop this approach nationally. The partnership now contains over 300 schools across the country.
Lampton School
Highlighted by Ofsted as one of 12 key outstanding schools serving disadvantaged communities
Lampton School was designated as one of the first 100 teaching schools in the country and now has responsibility for leading the ‘self- improving school system’ in their local area and beyond.
They work closely with 18 primary, secondary and special schools and a variety of HE partners collectively known as The London West Alliance. Lampton School is judged to be ‘Outstanding’ in every category by OFSTED and was included in the OFSTED ‘Twelve Outstanding Schools – Excelling Against the Odds’ publication.
George Abbot SCITT
"Have trained over 200 teachers in 10 years"
George Abbot SCITT is a respected and established provider delivering school based initial teacher training. The school offers school-centred training in a wide range of secondary subjects through SCITT and School Direct routes. Their training programmes all include ‘opt in aspects’ that allow trainees to create bespoke training experiences to suit their future career aspirations.
OFSTED has rated the delivery of training across their partnership as ‘Outstanding’ and the testimony from past trainees is excellent. In 2012 they were one of only two providers in the UK to be asked by the Teaching Agency to lead the way in the future of teacher training in schools by developing the new SCITT programme.
The inaugural 2014 cohort of Researchers in Schools teachers were placed in the following schools: