New partnership extends Star’s aspirational network
Star Academies is extending its network of leading colleges, universities and employers to support more of its pupils to secure aspirational post-16 opportunities with world-renowned educational institutions and blue chip companies.
The initiative not only broadens pupils’ horizons and raises aspirations, but sees Star schools provide personalised support to enable pupils to identify and apply for prestigious opportunities to further their education and careers, including scholarships, internships and apprenticeships.
Underpinned by Star’s ethos of raising the aspirations and attainment of young people in areas of social and economic deprivation, the network aims to close the inequality gap by giving pupils in Star schools wider access to a world-class education and first-class career opportunities.
Bursary and scholarship opportunities will provide a pathway into high-performing FE and HE institutions for the brightest pupils. In its latest initiative, Star has partnered with leading independent school, City of London Freemen’s School, who will offer fully-funded bursaries to pupils at Star schools in the north of England.
The Aspire Programme will see two Star schools in Lancashire partnering with the co-educational independent school in Surrey to raise aspirations for pupils and support them to apply to the country’s highest-performing sixth form institutions, including fully-funded bursaries at City of London Freemen’s School.
Bay Leadership Academy in Morecambe and The Valley Leadership Academy in Bacup will benefit from bespoke mentoring and coaching, together with a comprehensive programme of academic guidance and post-16 progression advice.
City of London Freemen’s School is an independent co-educational day and boarding school for 7 to 18 year olds in Ashtead, Surrey. The school has around 950 students, including roughly 60 boarders from the UK and around the world.
Mouhssin Ismail OBE, Regional Director/Executive Principal at Star Academies, said:
“Freemen’s is an institution with a track record of outstanding results and giving their students the best possible chance to have successful careers. The school’s mission, to ‘learn, lead and make a difference’ perfectly complements Star’s leadership specialism and its mission to advance social mobility for young people.
“We are committed to nurturing young people from all backgrounds by raising aspirations and opening doors to fantastic opportunities that will help our pupils realise their full potential. With the inequality gap rising year-on-year, the Aspire Programme not only helps to tackle social disadvantage but also develops new pathways for the state and independent sectors to work together to share best practice and tackle regional inequalities.”
Roland Martin, Headmaster at City of London Freemen’s School, said:
“We are delighted to be partnering with Star Academies to support the Aspire Programme. For Freemen’s, it is our mission for children to learn, lead and make a difference and we hope that pupils from Bay Leadership Academy and The Valley Leadership Academy will be able to embrace the opportunity to do just that. We look forward to working with Star Academies on this programme.”
Added By: Star Academies | Date Added: 23rd Jan 2023 | Posted In: Latest News