Volunteer with us
Sign up as a volunteer with The Access Project to help a high potential, under-resourced young person beat the odds and get into a top university.
Volunteer tutors
Volunteering is an impactful way to make a difference and pay forward your experience.
Help a young person aged 14-16 to raise their GCSE grades in weekly one-to-one online tuition sessions in a subject of your choice, enabling them to grow in confidence, raise their aspirations and achieve their full potential.
What’s more, no previous experience is needed and we offer full training and ongoing support.
Why should I volunteer?
The Access Project relies on volunteers to fulfil our mission of supporting young people to attend top universities and achieve social mobility.
Volunteers have never been more needed. The most under-resourced young people in England are three times less likely to go to a top university in comparison to their peers from more privileged backgrounds. Inequality in the UK’s education system continues to grow throughout the cost of living crisis.
91% of our students come from the most under-resourced backgrounds. This means they may come from lower income families and have no family history of attending university.
We’re lucky to have over 1,000 volunteers based all over the country. Many have used tutoring as an opportunity to grow their skills, while others see it as an opportunity to give back to a good cause. You’ll get dedicated support from our staff team at The Access Project, and you’ll feel an immense sense of reward as you help a young person learn and grow.
Meet our volunteers
Sonia is one of more than 1,000 volunteer tutors, helping transform young peoples’ lives and put them on the pathway to educational success. She volunteers for one hour per week, tutoring history.
Sonia studies History at Queen Mary, University of London. “It is extremely rewarding to be able to teach something that you specialise in”, she said. “It has been a wonderful experience”.
“I have definitely become more confident in myself and my abilities. It’s kind of like public speaking, the more you do it the less daunting it becomes and it’s now something I look forward to every week. It’s an amazing feeling to know you’ve helped someone. I would recommend it to anyone”.
Milly, volunteer tutor at The Access Project and student at the University of Manchester
Why our volunteer tutors love to support The Access Project
Adam (left) is a volunteer tutor at The Access Project. He tutors A level Maths for one hour per week, and has described feeling an immense sense of reward by helping his students succeed. Since joining The Access Project, Adam has been able to use his Maths degree in a practical, meaningful way for the first time.
“Learning is one of the greatest joys and privileges in life, and teaching someone to learn comes not far behind.”
Our volunteers
of our volunteers would recommend The Access Project to somebody they know
of volunteers believe they are making a positive impact on students
of volunteers said their subject knowledge has improved
Frequently asked questions
Why does The Access Project exist?
Under-resourced young people are three times less likely to go to university in comparison to more advantaged students, according to the Department for Education.
This access gap prevents talented and ambitious young people from being able to achieve their potential. We want every student to have a better chance of accessing a top university and thriving in a career of their choice in the future. We are now working in 40 schools across London, West Midlands, East Midlands, West Yorkshire and the North West to help achieve this mission.
Where does The Access Project operate?
We work with 40 schools across London, West Midlands, East Midlands, West Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire supporting almost 2,000 students. Volunteer tuition and coaching is delivered online via our online tuition platform, so volunteers can be based anywhere in the UK.
How do I help?
As a volunteer tutor, you’ll be tutoring a 14 to 16-year-old student. You will support them to achieve their potential in one of their GCSE subjects. In a weekly tutorial session, you will address the topics that they and their teacher think would be most helpful for them.
What’s in it for me?
This programme is a unique opportunity to pay forward your experiences and inspire the next generation of young people. You will benefit from an opportunity to be a positive role model, gain transferable skills, reconnect with a subject of your choice, gain accredited safeguarding qualification and receive recognition for your volunteering hours (for use in awards etc.).
Where and when will I meet my student?
All tutoring will be delivered online through our dedicated online platform. This way, our tutors and students and continue working together despite geographical distance or logistical restrictions. We advise tutors to hold sessions on weekdays, starting no later than 6:30pm.
What qualifications do I need?
All volunteers need to be either a graduate, studying at university to tutor or have comparable professional experience.
You can tutor any subject you have studied at A level, undergraduate level or equivalent.
You can also tutor a subject if your degree is in a related field (for example, you can tutor English if you studied Law).
Can I apply if I don’t have a degree?
As so much of our programme is focussed on university entry, we feel that having this experience is really important for our tutors. We won’t be able to accept your application if you are currently on a gap year, but we’d love to hear from you once you start your university course. If you have questions or would like to discuss your suitability, please email us at volunteering@theaccessproject.org.uk.
Can I volunteer if I don’t live in the UK?
At this time, we can’t accept applications from volunteers who live outside the UK. We need all our tutors to have a DBS certificate, for which you need to have lived in the UK for at least three months. We would love to hear from you again if you move to the UK in the future.
Can I volunteer if my degree isn’t from the UK?
If you gained your degree outside of the UK and it is a comparable level to a UK undergraduate degree, we would very much welcome you as a tutor. One in 10 of our tutors gained their degree outside the UK. Please note that we also ask that volunteer tutors are able to clearly communicate with their students in spoken and written English.
When can I apply?
You can apply at any point during the year, but tutoring takes place between September and July. We train the majority of our volunteers in summer and autumn.
How does online volunteering work?
You’ll use our dedicated online platform so that your sessions can be engaging and interactive whilst keeping you and your student safe.
You’ll be able to talk with and see your student using your webcam, share documents and work collaboratively using a virtual whiteboard.
We offer training to ensure that you and your student are both comfortable using the platform. We also provide students with any hardware they need to make the most of online sessions.
Do I need specific equipment to volunteer online?
Our dedicated online tutoring platform can be accessed via your internet browser and we will provide you with complete user guides, access to webinars and more information at your training session.
We recommend you have the following to be able to tutor online:
- Access to a PC, laptop or tablet
- A stable internet connection
- Familiarity with video chat or online conferencing platforms, and how to share documents online
- A quiet space without distractions (you may wish to use headphones)
- Google Chrome as your browser for optimal experience
Our dedicated team will be on hand to support you with any questions or issues.
What subjects can I tutor in?
We are looking for volunteer tutors in the following GCSE subjects:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- English
- French
- Geography
- History
- Maths
- Physics
- Spanish
We currently have a high demand for English, Maths and Science tutors.
How much time does it take?
You’ll need to be able to tutor for an hour a week during the school academic year (starting between September-November until July). We also recommend that you plan for at least 30 minutes of preparation time ahead of each tutorial. We recognise holidays and illness mean sometimes you will have to postpone a session.
Will I get any training?
We’ll make sure that you’ve got all the training, resources and support you need to feel confident before starting tutoring. We don’t expect you to come with any prior tutoring experience, and are confident our support provides you with the foundations you need to excel in this role.
You’ll complete a (CPD accredited) Safeguarding Children course and we will also invite you to attend our online training.
We’ll guide you through lesson planning, show you where you can find resources and share tips to make your sessions fun, engaging and effective. You’ll also benefit from guidance from the student’s teacher.
How do I get started?
It’s really easy to get started. All you need to do is fill in our sign-up form online and tell us a bit about your education, your reasons for volunteering and give details of two character references. We’ll guide you through the rest from there, which includes:
- Completing our online safeguarding course – you will receive a CPD accredited certificate for this
- Attending a 2 and a half hour online training session with our friendly team
- Completing a DBS check, organised by us
If you have any further questions, reach out to our volunteering team via email at volunteering@theaccessproject.org.uk.
Contact us
Contact information
The Access Project,
First Floor, Canopi-Borough,
7-14 Great Dover Street,
London,
SE1 4YR
020 4513 5999
info@theaccessproject.org.uk
Media enquiries line: 07767 100582
media@theaccessproject.org.uk
The Access Project safeguarding line: 020 4513 5999 (available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm)
NSPCC helpline (visit the NSPCC website for up to date opening hours): 0808 800 5000 help@nspcc.org.uk