The Access Project

What The Access Project does

The Access Project is a UK registered charity (Charity Number 1143011, Company Number 07473072) founded in 2008 that supports young people aged 14–18 from under-resourced backgrounds to access selective UK universities. Its core delivery model combines one-to-one and small-group academic tutoring, Skills for Access life-skills coaching, embedded in-school mentoring delivered by dedicated University Access Officers, and university-linked enrichment trips. Approximately 25% of programme cost is funded by partner schools; the remaining 75% is sourced from university partners (including The Queen's College Oxford, Keble College, Imperial College London, and The University of Manchester), corporate sponsors (Rothschild & Co, Kaizen Reporting, Vodafone, Jangala, The Reading List Foundation), and individual donations. The organisation works with around 1,900 students across 39 non-selective state schools in Greater London, the West and East Midlands, West Yorkshire, and the North West of England, reporting that 96% of Year 13 students received a university offer and 83% received a top-university offer in 2025.

The technology backbone is built entirely on third-party SaaS: the Access Hub (a Moodle-based learning management system hosted by Accipio, used for online tutoring with recorded sessions for safeguarding), Salesforce as the central CRM, BambooHR for HR, Mailchimp for supporter communications, and standard paid social/Google Analytics stacks for marketing. Specialised product modules include the Oxbridge Pathway, Healthcare Pathway, Group Tuition A-level programme, and a University Transition Programme for alumni. Services are free at the point of delivery to students. Governance is by a board of trustees chaired by John Kelly-Jones; leadership has been headed by CEO Anna Searle since October 2023.

Name

The Access Project

Legal name

The Access Project

Website

https://theaccessproject.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Access Project is a UK education charity that supports young people aged 14–18 from under-resourced backgrounds to access top universities, via one-to-one tutoring, embedded in-school mentoring by University Access Officers, life-skills coaching, and university enrichment trips across 39 partner schools in England.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Charity Services (Widening Participation)

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (6117), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs (EDAJALAL), Under-18 / High School-to-University Foundation Pathways (EDAIAJAI), Title I & Compensatory Education Programs (EDAJAGAJ)

Keywords

• University access programmes
• Widening participation tutoring
• Education charity mentoring
• School university mentoring
• Social mobility support

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations from individuals: Individual donations from supporters who contribute to the charity's mission of supporting under-resourced young people.
2. Corporate sponsorships: Partnerships with corporations such as Kaizen Reporting that provide employee volunteering programmes and funding.
3. University partner funding: Funding from university partners including The Queen's College Oxford, Imperial College London, and others to support outreach and widening participation programmes.
4. School programme contributions: Approximately 25% of the programme is paid for by partner schools.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Access Project is a UK education charity that delivers a multi-year widening participation programme combining one-to-one and group tutoring, in-school mentoring by dedicated University Access Officers, Skills for Access life-skills coaching, and university trips and enrichment activities, aimed at helping under-resourced students aged 14–18 raise GCSE and A level grades and secure places at top UK universities.

Product overview

The Access Project is an education charity offering a single integrated programme of tutoring, mentoring, and enrichment to help under-resourced young people access top UK universities. The core programme combines one-to-one and group tutoring, in-school mentoring from University Access Officers, Skills for Access coaching, and university trips. Specialised pathways include the Oxbridge Pathway and Healthcare Pathway for students targeting competitive courses. The programme is delivered through The Access Hub learning management system (hosted by Accipio) and supplemented by a University Transition Programme for alumni.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Access Project Programme Multi-year widening participation programme combining one-to-one tutoring, in-school mentoring, university readiness support, and enrichment activities for under-resourced students in non-selective state schools to help them achieve places at top UK universities.
• Oxbridge Pathway Specialised pathway supporting students through the application process to Oxford, Cambridge, and other highly selective universities with additional admissions requirements.
• Healthcare Pathway Specialised pathway supporting students applying for Medicine, Dentistry, and related healthcare degrees at selective universities, including UCAT preparation and interview support.
• University Transition Programme Post-programme support for alumni students transitioning to university, providing resources, guidance, and tracking of university outcomes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students are 50% more likely than statistically similar peers to place at top universities
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Kaizen ReportingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 May 2026Employee volunteering partnership where Kaizen employees volunteer as skills coaches to support students from under-resourced backgrounds. The partnership provides coaching opportunities to build student confidence, develop key skills and improve access to higher education opportunities.
• The University of ManchestercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2025New widening participation partnership where The University of Manchester's Faculty of Humanities supports The Access Project's university access programmes, helping reach more young people through outreach and widening participation initiatives.
• The Reading List FoundationminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 15 May 2024Scholarship partnership awarding students £275 to help pay for first year textbooks, supporting access to higher education.
• The Queen's College, University of OxfordcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2022Partnership to support The Access Project programme in four schools across the north west (Lancashire and Cumbria). The college provides volunteer tutors, facilitates visits to the college, and helps resource the charity's core programme. Originally founded for students from the north west.
• Keble College, University of OxfordminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting The Access Project at Colmers School in the West Midlands, contributing to the school's partnership programme.
• Imperial College LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership supporting The Access Project's West Midlands programme, including enrichment activities and university trips.
• Rothschild & CocoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partnership where Rothschild & Co awards the R&Co4Generations Bursary to students. Students receive £6,000 per year towards living costs while studying at university to help with financial barriers to higher education.
• University of LeicesterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity destination for students, with alumni going on to study courses such as Microbiology.
• JangalaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity partnership providing 120 Get Boxes (low-cost WiFi devices) to students living in digital poverty, enabling them to access online tutorials and learning resources.
• Vodafone (Charities Connected scheme)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing over 200 SIM cards to boost students' ability to stay connected to their learning from home as part of Vodafone's Charities Connected scheme.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sutton Trust: UK foundation focused on social mobility through education, running summer schools, university access programmes, and influential research on widening participation. Comparable in mission and funder relationships (trusts, universities, government) though more research/policy-oriented and less embedded-delivery than TAP.
• The Brilliant Club: UK education charity placing PhD researchers into non-selective state schools to deliver university-style tutorials and widen access to highly selective universities. Directly comparable mission (top-university access for under-resourced students) with a slightly different delivery model (tutorial-based rather than 1:1 tutoring).
• Social Mobility Foundation: UK charity running mentoring, aspiration-raising, and skills programmes (including employer mentoring) for state-school students targeting professional careers and top universities. Overlapping target cohort and university-employer partnership model; competes for similar corporate and trust funding.
• IntoUniversity: UK education charity operating local learning centres in disadvantaged areas, providing after-school academic tutoring, mentoring, and university access support to under-resourced students aged 7–18. Most direct peer — same target population, very similar tutoring-plus-mentoring model, and competes for overlapping school, university, and corporate partnerships.
• Brightside: UK online mentoring charity connecting under-represented young people with university students and professionals for university and careers guidance. Similar widening-participation mission delivered through a more technology-mediated mentoring model.

Broad incumbents

• The Prince's Trust: Large UK youth charity supporting disadvantaged 11–30 year-olds into education, employment, and training. Overlapping beneficiary population and corporate-partnership model but much broader scope; not a direct competitor for university-access funding.
• Teach First: Large UK education charity placing teachers in low-income schools and running broader widening-participation programmes. Larger and broader in scope, but overlapping beneficiary population and corporate-partnership funder pool; competes for trust and corporate CSR funding.

Emerging players

• Future First: UK charity building state-school alumni networks to help current students access careers and higher education. Comparable beneficiary population (non-selective state school students) and corporate-partnership model, but more focused on careers/alumni networks than tutoring/UCAS support.
• Speakers for Schools: UK charity connecting state-school students with leading professionals for talks, work experience, and aspiration-raising programmes. Comparable in working with non-selective state schools and corporate partners but focused on inspiration/work experience rather than academic tutoring.
• Generating Genius: UK charity supporting disadvantaged students into top STEM universities through university partnerships and residential programmes. Comparable widening-participation mission with a STEM specialism that overlaps with TAP's Healthcare Pathway and STEM A-level group tuition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC8sRuhPTgP1AhOQ9SxTDC0g/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheAccessProjectUK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-access-project
• Instagraminstagram.com/theaccessprojectuk
• Xx.com/AccessProjectUK

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Access Project