The Brilliant Club

Who we are

We work across the UK, mobilising the PhD community to support less advantaged students to access the most competitive universities, and to succeed when they get there.

The Brilliant Club was co-founded in 2011 by Jonathan Sobczyk and Simon Coyle, two teachers who became involved in university access through their work in inner-city schools. As classroom teachers, they recognised the barriers that pupils from less advantaged backgrounds face in accessing the most competitive universities.  

They started a project aiming at  supporting these pupils to progress, by utilising the expertise and passion of PhD researchers, to deliver university-style tutorials to small groups of pupils. From an initial placement of 12 pupils in London, The Brilliant Club won a Guardian Charity Award in 2015 and now works with 20,000 pupils a year in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.  

We celebrated our 10th birthday in 2021. To find out more about our decade of impact across the UK, watch our video below.

Our culture and values

The Brilliant Club has three core values, which we expect all employees to embody:

1) We get to a solution

2) We seek and act on the best data available and

3) We understand that little things go a long way.

The Brilliant Club exists to increase the number of pupils from underrepresented backgrounds progressing to highly selective universities.

We think it is important that our charity reflects the lived experience of our beneficiaries, and we want to be an organisation where employees from any background can thrive. We particularly welcome applications from disabled, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME), Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans including non-binary (LGBTQ+) candidates, and candidates from low income families. These groups are currently underrepresented at The Brilliant Club and we are committed to increasing representation and diversity at the Charity.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Pay Gap Transparency and Evaluation

We are committed to transparency and accountability. As part of this, we publish our gender pay gap report annually.

We also voluntarily conduct an ethnicity pay gap analysis using CIPD-recommended methodology. The findings are reviewed by our People Committee and shared internally to support continuous improvement.

We regularly evaluate our progress on equality, diversity and inclusion.

This includes using tools such as the Social Mobility Index and the Disability Confident Leader template. Our strategies are shaped by the voices of our staff and the data we collect, ensuring that we stay responsive and grounded in evidence.

Inclusive Recruitment

We are proud to use inclusive, skills-based recruitment practices that prioritise fairness and reduce bias. We design our recruitment processes to ensure every candidate has the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and potential.

To learn more about how we recruit, please visit our Careers page.

Supporting Professional Growth

We believe that everyone at The Brilliant Club should feel supported in their professional development. We encourage creativity, collaboration and ambition in how colleagues shape their learning and progression.

All staff have access to annual professional development days and a wide range of internal training and learning opportunities. These sessions reflect both professional goals and personal passions, helping build a learning culture that is open, ambitious and inclusive.