Bridge ProgrammeWidening Access
The aim of the Bridge Programme, which was launched in January 2020, is first and foremost to provide academic enrichment for bright boys and girls from families who wouldn’t normally consider sending their children to independent schools.
The programme involves Year 5 children, nominated by their primary school Head teachers, coming to Godolphin and Latymer on one Saturday every month from January through to December. There are a total of 12 sessions, taught by Godolphin and Latymer teachers, with each session consisting of Maths, English, and other lessons or activities on rotation, such as History, Geography, Music or debating. The goal is to give the pupils a taste of what secondary school teaching and learning is like, and to inspire and enthuse them in the subjects. Lessons have included:
- Ice cream making and balloon powered cars – Physics
- Flame testing metals – Chemistry
- A source-based enquiry – History
- A memory map activity – Geography
- Cryptography – Computing
- Plato’s cave allegory – Philosophy
In addition we have partnered with Keystone Tutors to provide two weeks of booster sessions: one at the end of the summer holidays and another during autumn half-term. These are intensive, 5-day courses delivered by experts in independent education. Parents are also provided with advice and information about the financial support offered by independent schools (means-tested bursaries) and our aim is to demystify the whole application process.
Our 2023 Bridge outreach programme included a joint venture between the G&L Futures programme and the LSE.
Over 60 Bridge students participated in a workshop to gain an insight into the world of entrepreneurship. Emily Tout, alumna of LSE Generate and founder of high-protein cheesecake business the Mighty Slice, tasked the Bridge students (with the help of their Godolphin Year 9 mentors) to create a compelling pitch of how she might grow her start-up over the next year. Pupils developed an understanding of the business and the market; developed their ideas and created their branding before developing a final pitch for the growth of Mighty Slice.
In September 2023, five students from the Bridge programme joined Godolphin and Latymer in Year 7, following in the footsteps of the three students who joined in both 2022 and 2021.
The programme has continued to grow and in 2024 80 children are attending the programme from around 40 primary schools. Below you can hear from the Bridge students about their experience of being part of the programme.
If you are a Head of a State Primary School who would like to hear more about the Bridge programme, please email us at: office@godolphinandlatymer.com If you are a parent, please speak to your Head Teacher.