The Brilliant Club has a track record of ten years working with students from underrepresented groups across the UK, providing them with skills and experiences to help them in accessing and succeeding at highly selective universities. In 2023, this work extended to those students from refugee and migrant backgrounds in a pilot project titled ‘The Sanctuary Scholars Programme’ thanks to the funding provided by The Big Give.

Modelled of The Brilliant Club’s flagship programme, Sanctuary Scholars worked with three schools in the Greater Manchester Area, enabling their students to study with PhD researchers from a range of subject areas to tackle the Big Question ‘Is Change Important?’ Students undertook five academic tutorials, had the opportunity to write or present a final piece on the topic, and attended a graduation trip at the University of Manchester. (Details of the event can be found here: Sanctuary Scholars Graduate from the University of Manchester – The Brilliant Club )

For the 2023-24 academic year, The Brilliant Club is looking to expand this pilot to a number of universities across the country, especially those that already have, or are looking to attain, University of Sanctuary status. If you and your institution would like to find out more about The Sanctuary Scholars Programme, and possibly collaborate with The Brilliant Club in the coming year, please contact Dr. Alex Owens at alex.owens@thebrilliantclub.org

We look forward to hearing from you soon!