Giving More Chances: How The Rigby Foundation Is Helping Students Rewrite Their Futures

As GCSE results land across the UK, one programme in Birmingham is proudly rewriting the narrative for students who didn’t pass first time and The Rigby Foundation is at the heart of it.

At South and City College Birmingham (SCCB), a pioneering resit initiative funded by The Rigby Foundation and delivered in partnership with Get Further is changing outcomes for 60 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. With free, targeted tuition in English and maths (the gateway subjects to further education and employment) students have been given the chance to reclaim opportunity and their future.  

The results speak for themselves: students at SCCB on the Get Further programme were 25% higher than the regional average in English and 59% higher in maths. These pass rates were also significantly higher than SCCB's own resit results from last year.

Jacqui Maher, Deputy Principal at SCCB, echoed: “Congratulations to these students who’ve made such significant progress thanks to this innovative programme. However, this is about more than simply resitting an exam and getting a better grade. It’s about giving young people a second chance and ensuring that no student is held back because of their background.

The gap in attainment at resit stage between students from disadvantaged backgrounds and their wealthier peers, continues to be well-documented. However, this programme demonstrates the impact that can be achieved when the funding is made available to support small groups of students in a targeted approach. Our thanks go to both Get Further and The Rigby Foundation in enabling us to offer this to our students.”

For The Rigby Foundation,  the real impact goes beyond the numbers too, As Steve Rigby, Chair of The Rigby Foundation, agreed: "Too often, talented young people are held back by circumstances beyond their control. We are proud to invest in their potential and be part of a partnership delivering real, measurable impact."