CoachBright

What CoachBright does

CoachBright Charitable Trust (Registered Charity Number 1194092) is a UK-based nonprofit founded in 2014 by Robin Chu and currently led by CEO Joe McGinn, headquartered in Birmingham with operations across six English regions — London, the Midlands, North East, North West, South East and South West, plus the Isle of Wight. Its purpose is to narrow the educational attainment gap for disadvantaged young people, with stated impact metrics including 89% of coached pupils progressing to university in 2018 and pupils improving subject grades 2.2x more than non-coached peers.

The core product is an Academic Performance Coaching programme delivered one-to-one by university student volunteers using the GROW-model methodology, with supplementary offerings including a Peer-to-Peer programme (older students coaching younger ones), a Young Professionals Programme run with the Academy of Executive Coaching, and an Education Endowment Foundation research trial. Virtual coaching was added in 2020 to maintain delivery during pandemic disruption. Technology is essentially human-coaching methodology plus standard productivity tooling — there are no disclosed AI/ML systems.

CoachBright generates no commercial revenue; its income mix comprises individual donations, charitable trust and corporate grants (Eveson, Big Lottery, Clothworkers', Tesco Stronger Starts, O2 Think Big, EEF), the Birmingham Community Lottery, the Easyfundraising affiliate scheme, Give A Car, and challenge events such as the London Marathon. Distribution is partnership-led and entirely indirect to end beneficiaries — schools, universities (Oxford, Exeter, King's College London, UCL, LSE, Wolverhampton), and employer partners — with no B2C/B2B product sales and no disclosed pricing. Customer concentration risk is dispersed across many small school relationships, but funder-side concentration is a real exposure given the reliance on a handful of named trusts.

Name

CoachBright

Legal name

CoachBright Charitable Trust

Website

https://coachbright.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CoachBright Charitable Trust is a UK nonprofit founded in 2014 that delivers one-to-one Academic Performance Coaching by university-student volunteers to disadvantaged pupils across six English regions, with the goal of improving grades, confidence and university access.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Coaching Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Study Skills & Learning Strategies Coaching (EDAMAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

School Success & Academic Habits Coaching (Motivation, Goal-Setting, Mindset) (EDANADAJ)

Keywords

• Academic performance coaching
• Social mobility programs
• Youth education charity
• Peer tutoring services
• Student mentoring programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Camden Town

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations: Individual donations from supporters to fund coaching programmes for disadvantaged young people.
2. Community Lottery: Birmingham Community Lottery tickets sold at £1 each with 50% of ticket sales going directly to fund CoachBright programmes. 1 in 50 chance to win weekly prizes including £25,000 jackpot.
3. Easyfundraising: Partnership with easyfundraising allowing supporters to generate free donations while shopping online with over 7,000 participating brands.
4. Trust and Foundation Grants: Funding from charitable trusts including The Eveson Trust to support specific regional programmes.
5. Fundraising Events: Challenge events including London Marathon, treks, cycling, skydiving, and swimming events. Legacy giving through charitable wills.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CoachBright is a UK-registered charity that delivers one-to-one academic performance coaching to pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, using trained university student volunteers as coaches. Programmes are run in partnership with schools and universities across England, focusing simultaneously on grade improvement, confidence building, and raising university aspirations. The charity is funded by donations, grants, and fundraising rather than fees from beneficiaries.

Product overview

CoachBright is a social enterprise offering academic coaching programmes designed to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve places at top universities. The core offering consists of one-to-one Academic Performance Coaching delivered by university student volunteers, complemented by Peer to Peer Programmes where students coach fellow students. The organisation also runs a Young Professionals Programme in partnership with AoEC, and an Evidence-Based Education research trial (EEF). Fundraising initiatives including donations, events, and lottery programmes support the charity's operations, while volunteer opportunities span Coach, Head Coach, and Society leadership roles across London, Birmingham, Exeter, and Oxford.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Academic Performance Coaching Programme One-to-one coaching programme delivered by trained university students and graduates to help pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds become independent and resilient learners, improving their grades, confidence, and expectations to win places at top universities.
• Peer to Peer Programme Structured programme where older students (often Year 10 or Year 12) coach younger students in academic subjects, building peer support networks, confidence, and attainment within partner schools.
• Young Professionals Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• 70% of CoachBright pupils from Class of 2017 went to UK's top third most selective universities
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AoEC (Academy of Executive Coaching)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Young Professionals Programme providing coaching training and accreditation
• SSAT (Schools, Students and Teachers network)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational network partnership supporting schools and sharing best practices
• Oxford UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWidening participation partnership delivering coaching for Year 11 pupils to improve chances of challenging for top universities. Oxford student volunteers serve as coaches.
• University of ExetercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExeter university student volunteers coach local pupils. Hosted graduation celebrations for CoachBright students at campus.
• King's College LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity student volunteers deliver coaching programmes at partner schools. Featured in partner logos.
• LSE (London School of Economics)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner for coaching programmes with student volunteers
• UCL (University College London)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUCL student volunteers serve as coaches on CoachBright programmes
• University of WolverhamptonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosted graduation celebration for students from The Phoenix Collegiate
• Birmingham Community LotterycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWeekly lottery partnership where 50% of ticket sales (£1 per ticket) goes directly to fund CoachBright programmes
• EasyfundraisingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFree donation scheme allowing supporters to raise funds while shopping online with over 7,000 participating brands
• ARK Globe AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partner school; Head of Sixth Form contributed guest content; featured in Annual Report case studies
• Bacon's CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school with Principal Chris Mallaband providing testimonial praising CoachBright's high impact intervention
• IDEA (International Debate Education Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal debate provider partnership for debate series launching May-June 2015 for young people
• Bayer UKminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner hosting Peer to Peer Programme graduation at Highdown School
• Exeter Science CentreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional science education partner (visible in partner logos)

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Teach First: Large UK education charity placing graduates into disadvantaged schools — broader in scope and significantly larger in budget, but addresses the same attainment-gap and social-mobility mission.
• Sutton Trust: UK foundation focused on social mobility research, programmes, and policy advocacy — a more established funder and thought leader in the same disadvantaged-pupil space where CoachBright operates.

Direct peers

• The Brilliant Club: UK charity deploying PhD researchers as tutors to deliver university-style tutorials to disadvantaged pupils — analogous 'expert volunteer' model targeting the same university-access outcome.
• The Access Project: UK charity supporting disadvantaged students to access top universities through one-to-one online tutoring from volunteer professionals — direct peer in mission, beneficiary profile, and school-partnership delivery model.
• IntoUniversity: UK education charity running local learning centres that provide academic support, mentoring, and university access programmes for disadvantaged young people — closest functional peer with a comparable school and university partnership model.
• Tutor Trust: Manchester-based charity recruiting and training university student volunteers to provide free tutoring to disadvantaged pupils — direct regional peer operating a near-identical volunteer-coaching model.
• Action Tutoring: UK charity that recruits volunteer tutors (often university students) to deliver small-group tuition to disadvantaged pupils in maths and English — overlapping volunteer model and pupil cohort with CoachBright.
• upReach: UK social mobility charity providing undergraduate students from disadvantaged backgrounds with mentoring and career support — comparable mission around university access and graduate outcomes for low-income pupils.

Emerging players

• Debate Mate: UK charity using university-student mentors to run debate programmes in disadvantaged schools — overlapping volunteer-coach architecture and partner-school footprint with CoachBright.

Regional players

• Reaching Higher: UK charity focused on supporting looked-after children and care leavers into higher education — adjacent social-mobility mission with a narrower, more vulnerable beneficiary cohort than CoachBright.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CoachBrightUK
• Instagraminstagram.com/coachbrightuk/?hl=en
• Facebookfacebook.com/CoachBrightUK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coachbright

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 CoachBright