The Brilliant Club Scholars Programme aims to provide students with an opportunity to experience university learning as well as provide opportunities to develop new skills and qualities such as academic writing, research, evaluation, as well as seeking to build confidence.

As part of the scheme students are assigned a PHD tutor throughout their programme studying a topic based upon their tutor’s expertise. All three TTCT schools that took part in the scheme (Frederick Gent School, The Manor Academy, and Springwell Community College) had Daisy who delivered her topic Defining the Detective.

In this topic, students explored early gothic detective literature from writers such as Poe and Christie. After their study period, students submitted a final assignment to The Brilliant Club to be marked against university criteria.

A number of students from participating schools were recently invited to a graduation event at The University of Sheffield, held in the historic Firth Hall. During the graduation, students were given opportunities to reflect on their achievements, ask the university’s ambassadors about student life and had a tour of the university grounds. Caitlin from The Manor Academy was a spokes scholar for the school and confidently spoke in front of the other attendees about how the programme had allowed her to build her extended writing skills and become more resilient.

Speaking about the day, The Manor Academy Assistant Head Mrs Orr said ‘I am extremely proud of the dedication that this year’s Brilliant Club scholars have shown to their projects. We were presented with some challenging texts which students found intimidating at first. However, in true Manor Academy spirit, the group persevered and produced some excellent work.’