The Brilliant Club

The Brilliant Club exists to increase the number of pupils from underrepresented backgrounds progressing to highly-selective universities. It does this by mobilising the PhD community to share its academic expertise with state schools.

In pursuit of its mission, The Brilliant Club runs two core programmes: The Scholars Programme and Researchers in Schools. The Scholars Programme recruits, trains and places doctoral and post-doctoral researchers in state schools to deliver programmes of academic enrichment to small groups of pupils. Through a combination of university trips, in-school tutorials and online resources, The Scholars Programme supports pupils aged 10-18 to develop the knowledge, skills and ambition needed to progress to highly-selective universities.

Researchers in Schools offers a bespoke route for PhD graduates to enter the teaching profession as full-time classroom teachers. Working in partnership with other providers, RIS offers a programme of initial teacher training and ongoing professional development that equips participants to utilise their academic expertise to the benefit of pupils, schools and universities.