WILLIAM Edwards School in Grays is celebrating the success of 30 students as they graduate from The Scholars Programme, a national university access programme.

Year 8 & 9 students at William Edwards were encouraged to think and work independently across seven tutorials with a subject expert PhD researcher.

During the programme, Year 9s learnt about The Climate Change Conundrum and Year 8s learned about Computational thinking. They then completed a challenging final essay which was given a university-level grade.

The Scholars Programme, run by UK-wide university access charity The Brilliant Club, supports students aged 8-18 to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to progress to the country's most competitive universities and succeed when they get there.

The Brilliant Club is a UK-wide charity that mobilises the PhD community to support students who are less advantaged to access the most competitive universities and succeed when they get there.

By bringing together two communities – PhD researchers and students – who might otherwise never interact with each other, young people on the Scholars Programme can study innovative and inspiring topics.

Student Eeseray commented on her experience: "Completing The Brilliant Club programme has been a really rewarding experience. Writing a 2,000-word essay on climate change using Harvard referencing was challenging at first, but it taught me how to research independently, evaluate different viewpoints, and organise my ideas in a much more academic way.

"I feel much more confident in my writing and now have a better understanding of what university-level study might be like. It has made me realise that I am capable of achieving more than I thought."

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Mrs Liz Amey, Assistant Headteacher at William Edwards said: "The Brilliant Club programme has had a hugely positive impact on our KS3 students. It has raised their confidence, encouraged them to think more critically, and given them a real insight into university-style learning. Many students who were initially hesitant are now far more willing to challenge themselves academically and articulate their ideas with maturity and independence."

Anne-Marie Canning MBE, CEO at The Brilliant Club, congratulated the pupils on their achievements, saying: "Congratulations to these outstanding students as they graduate from The Scholars Programme. They join a community of over 150,000 young people who have taken part in The Brilliant Club since 2011.

"Completing their final assignments was no doubt challenging, but it has shown that these students have a passion for learning and the knowledge to produce university style work already. I hope they use these new skills throughout their education and continue their fantastic work."