What is TAP Enrichment?

Though the Top Achievers’ Programme (TAP) was initially established to support the university application of high-achieving students, it soon became apparent that many students who did not currently have evidently high attainment, if given the proper support, may go on to achieve to their fullest potential.

In 2018, we launched ‘TAP Enrichment’; an arm of the service providing support for all secondary school students regardless of their baseline attainment. With our expertise and partnership-working with Schools/Sixth Forms/Colleges/Parents/Carers, we help each student to gain that winning edge required for progressing to Higher Education (be it at the wide range of Universities or Apprenticeship opportunities).

Over the years, we have produced ample evidence that both TAP and TAP Enrichment are equally effective student-mentoring programmes for raising aspirations and meeting the bespoke support needs of every student.

ENRICHMENT FOR PROGRESSION TO HIGHER EDUCATION

Successful UKCAT Preparation

Our Passion:

The hallmark of the Top Achievers’ Programme (TAP) is to be part of each TAP Scholar’s journey – whatever their social, cultural or economic background – in achieving their fullest potential in University admission. Our strong belief in the Widening Participation agenda makes us especially passionate about raising aspiration, boosting confidence, and thereby enabling social mobility.

This 2-tier project has already been successfully piloted on a small scale to raise aspiration and HE-progression amongst Thurrock students. One of the measured outcomes of this was that 100% participants progressed to HE in September 2017

The current project will scale –up on a proven evidence-based approach to supporting each student in progressing to Higher Education

Raising aspiration

Nurturing ambition

Providing the ‘hand-holding’ intensive-support that is effective in raising participation in the HE application process and ultimate HE-progression.

Pilot Project:

Over two (2) Academic Years, a UK local government council commissioned the Top Achievers’ Programme (TAP) to design and deliver a 2-part project to raise aspiration and HE-progression amongst students from disadvantaged backgrounds selected from schools across that local government area.

TAP achieved its measured project outcome, with 100% of participants progressing to Universities in September 2017; including 70% progressing to Russell Group Universities and highly competitive Medical Schools. This further established the Top Achievers’ Programme as a proven evidence-based approach to supporting the most disadvantaged young people to progress to Higher Education.

Scale-Up Project:

Following the successfully piloted project in Thurrock and amongst similar disadvantaged groups in inner-city London, the “Thurrock Enrichment for HE-progression” project was launched in March 2018. Funded by Make Happen – part of the National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP) by the Office for Students (OfS) –   Top Achievers’ Programme (TAP) in collaboration with Thurrock Council, delivered this scale-up TAP Enrichment project to students that live in target ‘low progression’ wards across Thurrock. These wards were selected because they have: (i) low progression to HE overall or, (ii) lower than expected HE progression based on GCSE attainment.

Regardless of their baseline attainment level at the time of joining the programme, the single criteria for participation by students and their parents/carers is that they live in identified Thurrock NCOP postcodes.

With a series of events for students in Years 9,10,11,12 and 13, this project reached many target students (and parents/carers) from the identified low progression NCOP postcodes across Thurrock. A total of 110 scheduled project activity sessions were delivered across Thurrock Schools, Sixth Forms and Colleges.

Make Happen Top Achievers Programme

– Make Happen –

Thurrock Council– Thurrock Council –

TAP Enrichment Project Outcome

On Results Day 2019, 80% of the Sixth Forms and College student participants received admission to progress to Universities across Wales, Scotland, and England including some highly competitive Universities (such as UCL, LSE, Cambridge, Warwick, Bristol) and a wide range of Courses (including Art, Drama, Education, Economics, Law, and Medicine) with the remaining student participants mostly progressing to Apprenticeship programmes in a range of sectors.

TAP Enrichment : Video #1

Testimonials

"I appreciate all your help and guidance it has really aided me in my decisions for university."
J.B (University Applicant)
"I wanted to thank you for all the help you've provided throughout the application process. It really boosted my confidence and I can guarantee it helped me to get into the position I am in…Again, many thanks, it's been a fantastic experience."
J.H (University Applicant)
“I just want to say the biggest thank you ever! You have been such a help to me, and I honestly appreciate you and all the work you have done for me so much. I can't even begin to understand the amount of work you have had especially during these past few months, but you still found time to help me and I am just so grateful to have had your help. Honestly, just for all the support you have given me, I am just so lucky to have had you to guide and mentor me. Your help has been so invaluable, I can't even imagine how I would have managed. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
M.O (Medical School Applicant)
"Thanks for all of your help Dr Derin, the students really appreciate - as do we!”
J.M (Assistant Achievement Director of Sixth Form)
“Just emailing to let you know I’ve received 3 interviews… Just wanted to say thank you for all the help and support with my application.”
N.A (Medical School Applicant)
“I wanted to let you know that I got an offer from KMMS for Medicine. Thank you for all your help.”
I.Q (Medical School Applicant)
“Thank you for yesterday’s Year 11 Inspirational Assembly. All the students enjoyed it and thought it was very useful for their future progression”.
A.K (Assistant Principal of Academy)
“Hi, I got the offer from Cambridge. Thank you so much for support in guiding me through the application process and helping me prepare for interviews.”
T A (TAP Enrichment Participant & Oxbridge Applicant)
“I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you and thank you! Just for all the help, advice, support and guidance that you consistently gave me. I am so grateful and truly blessed to have had you with me on this long and crazy journey, even though I have not fully finished it yet. I am just so happy and lost for words at this present moment but I knew that I had to send this to you straight away, after I opened it. I know that I must now just aim to meet the terms of my offer but I am just so happy to receive it. This honestly seems so unreal right now. But I just want to say THANK YOU for everything.”
M.O (TAP Enrichment Participant & Medical School Applicant)
“The TAP programme is particularly helpful because students have a valuable personalised interview which enables them to gain relevant information from an additional source. The more information students have then the easier it is for them to make informed decisions about the best pathway for them. It also means that they have help in the research process which can be time consuming if it isn't streamlined for them.”
S.W (Director of Sixth Form)
“Many thanks Dr Derin [TAP Consultant] for all the help, I would not be studying Medicine if it wasn't for your support. I am really enjoying it, even though it can be tough at times.”
T.A (TAP Enrichment participant and Medical Student)