Corona Tutoring Initiative Award

At the start of the pandemic we reported on a young man from Sunbury who had the brilliant idea of offering tutoring free of charge. Jacob Kelly’s Coronavirus Tutoring Initiative drew on the resources of 4000 volunteer university students who provided 25,000 hours of free online 1:1 tutoring for school pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds across the UK. The band of volunteers offered support to those who could not afford private tutoring, teaching all subjects at GCSE and A Level grades. It was surely a life line to many. This incredible initiative was recognised in one of the Points of Light awards from 10 Downing Street and Jacob received a personal letter from the Prime Minister, praising his efforts. Jacob Kelly Jacob himself attended Halliford School until 6th form. He is now a 3rd year student at Oxford. He recognised how much students would miss out on education once we went into lockdown. Through partnerships with ‘Bramble’ an online classroom, and ‘Project Access’, a charity helping students from underprivileged backgrounds apply to leading universities, the Coronavirus Tutoring Initiative supported more than 2000 students. Jacob said: “I’m delighted that the work done by myself and an amazing group of volunteers from across the UK has been recognised by the Prime Minister. It’s been a privilege to be able to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to maintain a passion for learning, even in the midst of a pandemic.” If you want more information see coronavirustutoring.co.uk