News

The Brilliant Club & Scholars Programme 2026

The Brilliant Club – a charity aiming to widen access for outstanding pupils in non-selective state schools to the most selective universities around the country. Providing the chance to experience a taste of learning and life at universities such as Cambridge, Oxford, SOAS and Manchester is a way of guiding and motivating most able students towards pathways to help them fulfil their academic potential.

What is The Scholars Programme?

• It is a programme that places university researchers (PhD Tutors) in schools, to give students the experience of university-style learning. 
• The PhD tutors taught university-style tutorials to groups of students, based around super-curricular topics designed to stretch and challenge pupils.
• At the end of the programme, students completed a final assignment of 2500 words, which was marked in university-style with pupils receiving a 1st, 2.1, 2.2. Our student’s accomplishments were celebrated during our end of term Spring assembly where certificates were given out.

The impact report from The Brilliant Club reported that an excellent standard of work was produced by our Year 12 students. Six ICS students achieved a First-class grade, with 50% participants earning either a First or a 2:1 in their final assignment – an outstanding accomplishment that reflects their hard work and dedication.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to our PhD researchers for sharing their expertise and inspiring our students:

Alice Rossi (King’s College London), who delivered the course Are Stem Cells the Future of Medical Research?, drawing on her research into Neural Stem Cell Biology: The Role of Nucleoporins in Regulating Neural Stem Cell Quiescence.

Jana Manuelpillai (Birbeck, University of London), who led the course Exploring Blindness and Race in US Television, based on his research Reorientating Darkness: The Intersection of Racial Diversity and Blindness Within Television Technology and Representation: a Case Study of US TV

Their enthusiasm, knowledge and commitment provided our students with an invaluable insight into university-level study and academic research.

We are proud to announce that 6 students achieved a 1st in their final assignment! Our students have shown great enthusiasm for the programme and have demonstrated high levels of engagement and academic rigor.  They have gained valuable skills that will serve them well in their future studies.  

• Aaisha
• Amina
• Jerusha
• Mahin
• Ishraq
• Shreyas

“A 100% submission rate and high marks from the start of the programme is a brilliant achievement.” Eve Sergeant – Senior Programme Officer, The Scholars Programme

“Brilliant Club was really important to me because it helped me discover more about stem cells and their potency. This was helpful as I want to pursue a career in medicine. I learnt a lot from my tutor Alice as she helped me understand core topics such as differentiation of stem cells. Overall, Brilliant Club was really useful for me as it strengthened my understanding on content and also helped build a foundation for my future.” Jerusha – Year 12 and participant in the The Brilliant Club Scholars Programme

Jerusha

Yr 12 student and participant in The Brilliant Club Scholars Programme

Share!