Bristol South was one of the lowest ranking constituencies for social mobility across England in our Opportunity Index. Bristol Achieve is an initiative supporting young people aged 11-18 with high academic potential in the Bristol South area, including Hartcliffe, Withywood and Knowle West. Our Head of Research and Policy, Rebecca Montacute, spoke to Hetty Brown, who co-founded the organisation, to get a better understanding of the challenges facing young people in the area.

RM: Can you tell me a bit about Bristol Achieve? What do you do in the programme? 

HB: Everything we’re doing has been inspired by the Sutton Trust’s research on what could be possible for high potential learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as on the best support to provide for that group.

In the area I work in, data in the Opportunity Index shows pupils aren’t achieving as well as they should at GCSE. Bristol Achieve is about giving those young people opportunities. Our activities all develop valuable skills such as oracy, confidence and communication, as well as really nourishing a love of an area of interest through research.

We foster strong inter-generational mentoring and the transformative power of positive professional and peer-influence. Students receive 10 weeks of intensive and mentoring, before presenting in our celebration event at the end of the programme.

We also take them on residentials to help them build leadership skills, as well as providing tutoring.

RM: When you saw how poorly Bristol South scored in the Opportunity Index, what was your reaction, and what do you think are the reasons behind that ranking?  

HB: It’s so difficult when you know the community and work with them closely. So often these areas are stigmatised and made to feel like they’re failing. A bad picture – but there are so many positive things going on which we need to keep in mind too.

In terms of some of the biggest challenges locally, I think there’s a lack of focus on Bristol and the South West more widely when it comes to recognising disadvantage.

There are kids here who haven’t had a chance to go to the rest of the city, and who are facing really considerable challenges. There’s a huge forgotten community in the south of the city.

Funding is a big issue, we want to stick with kids from Year 7 to Year 13, but it’s always a matter of finding funding. Too often, university widening participation teams with money put aside want to come into an area when young people are in Year 12, they’ll say “let us put you on our access programme” – but we’ve already lost those people in Year 9 – we need much more investment earlier on.

Transport is also a major barrier. The e-scooters have helped somewhat, they’re an affordable quick way to get around, but transport is a huge issue for students getting out of Hartcliffe and experiencing the rest of the city.

We take them to events in central Bristol, in environments very different to what they’re used to, for example in businesses like PwC, or in Redmaid’s or Clifton College [independent schools in Bristol]. These trips are so important to give that feeling of belonging in this type of environment, so when they get to an Oxbridge interview, they feel like it’s a place for them. But we have to use a huge amount of our budget just on transport to get them there. In somewhere like London, the public transport is there, students could access these opportunities via the bus or the tube. The public transport in south Bristol is just not good enough for that. There’s also a mental barrier, some of these students have never been on a train before, and that’s an issue for them when going to something like an Oxbridge access day.

Students from Bristol Achieve at Crook Peak in the Mendips!

RM: What would you like to see change to support the students you work with?  

HB: I want to see businesses coming to this part of the city, and more funding for initiatives to support this group of really talented young people.

Money from government for tutoring is another big ask. There were issues with the National Tutoring Programme, it was not necessarily targeted in the right way at the right students, but funding is needed for schools to get the best tutors they can for those kids.

I’ve also seen so many students here go through endless retakes of English and maths – they can fail three times and just have to keep doing it again and again. We need to see earlier intervention so young people don’t become trapped in that cycle.

RM: What do you want people outside of the area to know about young people from south Bristol?   

HB: The kids here are just so amazingly creative, full of energy and ambition, and there’s a huge opportunity for businesses to make the most out of that talent.

As part of our programme, we take them up to the top of Crook Peak in the Mendips – and it’s such a big, symbolic moment. Allowing those young people to get up high and see that view. That’s what we want to show people, what these young people are capable of if we can show them that view from the top.”

For more information on Bristol Achieve, please contact Hetty Brown on [email protected].