The Law Family Ambition Programme

Raising aspirations - realising ambition

A major passion for Andrew and Zoe is ensuring that all young people with talent have the opportunity to realise it. A key focus of the Law Family Charitable Foundation is supporting education and social mobility, as these are key elements in bringing about real social change.

This starts by showing young people what they are capable of, and how they can develop their potential through university study. Next, it’s about supporting those same students during their studies: alleviating any financial concerns that arise from leaving home and going to university; and helping address any problems they face during their studies. Finally, it is about ensuring those students can take the skills they have developed and apply them in the real world.

Making such a big difference is no simple task, which is why the programme has been split into three areas, each building on and enhancing projects which are already supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Before university

For many young people, the decision about what to do after school is fundamental. And for many without a family history of higher education, it can be difficult to make an informed decision. That’s where Sheffield’s Discover Programme comes in.

The Discover Programme is open to post-16 students, and brings them onto campus to discover for themselves what university life is like. Through a residential summer school, people on the programme get to meet peers in a similar position, as well as current students, experience classes, the Students’ Union and halls. There are specific courses to sample across Arts and Humanities, Law, Medicine, Dentistry and STEM subjects, and those who complete the Discover Programme can also benefit from an adjusted offer to study at Sheffield.

Previously, the Discover Programme operated across schools in the Sheffield City Region, but now thanks to the Law Family Ambition Programme it has been able to expand its reach into schools across the north of England. 

It has also been able to expand its provision of work placements, to give those same pupils hands-on experience in the career they might go into to see if it’s right for them. A particular focus for this has been given to medical and dental positions, which see an especially low number of entrants from widening participation (WP) backgrounds.

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Starting university

After making the decision to apply, and successfully passing their exams to earn a place at Sheffield, the next concern for many is whether they can afford to go to university. 

Without the benefit of having financial support from friends and family, it can be a real struggle to make ends meet, even with student grants and part time jobs. That is where the Experience Sheffield Scholarships come in.

The University offers over 150 undergraduate scholarships each year, and in addition to these the Law Family Ambition Programme is funding a further 30 scholarships each year, which are prioritised towards students joining Sheffield from the Discover Programme. The scholarships help with living costs, reducing financial worries, so the students can focus on their studies. We know these make a big difference because students have told us:

Support also comes in the form of mentoring. This is provided during the first few weeks of term, before students get too far behind and worry about feeling out of their depth. Delivered by PhD students employed as part-time Graduate Teaching Assistants, it makes the best use of local talent and provides skilled, part-time work for more senior students.

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Preparing for work

With their studies successfully underway, the programme now turns to helping students prepare to take their knowledge and qualifications and put them to use.

Through extensive networking, mentoring, placements and employability workshops, the Law Family Ambition Programme provides a variety of ways to help students decide where they want to take their career. The majority of these schemes start during the second year, before the stresses of final year projects, and in time for students to tailor their module choices towards their career goals.

Students will be given the opportunity to be mentored by alumni. The alumni advisors will be at different stages and levels of seniority. From alumni who graduated a few years ago who will have recently gone through the recruitment cycles so know what employers are expecting, to senior leaders who are shaping the direction of multinational organisations and the sector itself. 

Different schemes supported in this phase include:

e-Mentoring

• One-to-one pairings for students with an alumni volunteer in their chosen sector, running across a semester to address and develop an issue of the student’s choosing
• Primarily carried out online, these relationships frequently blossom into great friendships, often continuing after the end of the scheme and leading to great career opportunities

Coach Cafe

• Group workshops with early-mid career alumni organised on a faculty basis
• Each online session includes three rounds of speed networking, giving students a chance to meet a variety of graduates and professionals in their chosen sector, and is followed by informal networking to carry on the conversations

Inspiring Success

• A three-day intensive employability workshop run during the summer with SMEs from the Sheffield and City Region
• The workshop includes skills-based sessions led by alumni and employability specialists, to fine tune the experience and abilities of the students before they apply for positions in their chosen field
• This is run in conjunction with a series of visits to SMEs in the wider Northern and Midlands region for networking and skills development sessions

Together, the Law Family Ambition Programme provides a clear and comprehensive support scheme to help students from some of the most disadvantaged backgrounds change their lives. All this is done by showing them they have the skills and talent necessary, and by supporting them to nurture their abilities, and take the next steps to achieve their ambitions themselves.