Partnerships

SOAS is the lead institution in Capital L, the London Consortium of the national Routes into Languages programme and includes the University of Westminster, King’s College London, Queen Mary University London and UCL.

Our programme of activities is aimed at enthusing and supporting young people aged 13 to 19 years old to continue to study languages at school, college and university. Launched in 2007, Routes into Languages received Government funding until mid-2016 to address the shortage of linguistics required by the labour market and to address the decline in language studies at school after languages became an optional subject at A-level. 

At Capital L we strive to share our love of other cultures and their languages with young people and their parents. We celebrate multilingualism and strive to provide outreach activities that are fun, creative and instructive.

The Elephant Group is a consortium of secondary schools and universities working in partnership to ensure fair access to the top third universities.for the top third of non-selective state school pupils.

For more information, please visit The Elephant Group

SOAS partners with the education charity The Brilliant Club to help deliver their Scholars Programme. 

The Scholars Programme provides pupils aged 8-18 with an experience of university-style learning through tutorials and trips to highly-selective universities. They are supported by a PhD tutor, teaching a supra-curricular topic based on their current research.

The programme culminates in students completing a challenging university-style assignment, which is marked by PhD tutors.

SOAS hosts launch and graduation trips for the students, and provides PhD students to deliver the programme.

Impact from 2019/20 report

• 266 pupils worked with PhD tutors from SOAS
• 10 SOAS PhD students delivered a total of 25 Scholars Programme placements
• 243 pupils attended SOAS trips

After completing the programme in 2019/2020, the majority of students increased their:

• knowledge in the subject that The Scholars Programme focused on
• ability to complete written work to the same standard as a pupil two years above them at School
• understanding why and how people study when they are at university
• knowledge of the steps they need to take to apply to university in the future
• capability of studying at a highly selective university

Quotes from SOAS PhD students:

Working with the Brilliant Club has helped me to develop my teaching skills such as planning lessons and designing my own course. These skills have enhanced my employability opportunities.

Working with the Brilliant Club has been good for my professional development, as it encourages me to think about how to translate my research to different audiences outside academia. This was especially helpful as I was able to see how the skills I developed over the course of my work as a PhD tutor may be applicable to jobs outside academia.

Get involved

If you are a SOAS PhD student and are interested in becoming a tutor please contact Yenn Lee.

More about The Brilliant Club

SOAS partners with education charity The Access Project to support its delivery of its tutoring programme at Wood Green Academy in the West Midlands. 

The Access Project supports students from a number of schools in London and the Midlands by providing in-school mentoring and by matching them with a volunteer tutor for a subject of their choice.

Impact report from Wood Green Academy - 2019/20

100% students agree that the tutorials:

• are helping them make progress in their tutored subject
• have made them feel more motivated this academic year
• helped them to feel more confident communicating online

The vast majority of students agree:

• The in-school mentoring and workshops are a good use of their time
• That they feel more motivated to attend a top university, since being on The Access Project
• The Access Project  has helped them know how to get to a top university

  More information about The Access Project 

SOAS partners with upReach, a social mobility charity which enables students to explore their career options and develop their employability skills by providing free support worth up to £2,700.

What upReach do

With expert application advice and mock interviews, plus exclusive work experience, employer Insight Days and mentoring opportunities from prestigious employers, upReach help eligible students understand more about careers that might suit them, and what they need to do to succeed.

They offer unique opportunities with over 30 competitive graduate partner employers, as well as support with any application - from start to finish - to any employer.

What SOAS and upReach have done so far

We have been partnering with upReach for a number of years, to enable students to fulfil their career aspirations. Previous participants in the programme have shared these testimonials:

I first came across upReach in a university email and applied straight away - it was one of the best decisions I made during my first year of university...I have seen a massive improvement in my professional development.

...Generally, I feel more confident in making more successful applications in the future; I have even recommended upReach to some of my friends who have either joined or are in the process of joining! Personally, I think joining upReach was the single biggest thing I did to support my career ambitions

I joined upReach...during my first year of university and since then, I have gained a lot of support as an upReach Associate. When I joined upReach, I was very unclear as to what career I wanted to go into or the division I wanted to break into. I have attended various Insight Days from a number of different companies and sectors, from Investment Banking to Technology. They have all been very helpful in gaining an insight into the potential career paths that I would be able to venture into.

How to get involved

For further information, please contact apss@soas.ac.uk to find out if there are SOAS places available, or you can apply directly to upReach.