94% of students on A-COMPS mentoring scheme receive offers from the UK’s top universities

The A-COMPS programme, designed to support London-based students from disadvantaged backgrounds interested in computer science, technology, and engineering, has been running for over a year and has already made a significant impact.  

94% of participating students from Newham Collegiate Sixth Form in East London and St Thomas the Apostle in South London have received offers from the country's top universities, including Cambridge, UCL, Imperial and Durham.  

The high offer rate serves as a testament to the effectiveness of the mentoring scheme, which provides personalised guidance to students throughout their academic journey.  

Preparing students for success 

Participants received regular one-to-one academic and personal mentoring, inspirational lectures from leading academics, and expert-led workshops on UCAS applications, writing personal statements, and student finance.   

The programme also offers students the opportunity to explore their skills, strengths, and career options, providing them with the tools they need to make informed decisions about their future.  

The summer work experience, which took place at 90 High Holborn between the UCL Centre for Medical Image Computing and the UCL AI Centre, was a unique opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience in the field of computer science. 

Elaine Pimentel, Schools Outreach Lead at UCL Computer Science and Mentor on the programme, said:   

"A-COMPS has a clearly defined objective, which is to provide support to A-level students in their pursuit of higher education. The results speak for themselves, as a majority of the pupils who participated in the programme received offers from top UK universities.   

During my time as a mentor, I had the pleasure of working with a brilliant student who had a keen interest in mathematics and a curiosity for computer science. It was a rewarding experience to witness the significant improvements in her personal statement after our discussions, and how providing her with simple explanations on the role of mathematics in science broadened her understanding of the subject.”    

Positive student feedback 

The feedback from the programme has been overwhelmingly positive, with students describing the experience as inspiration. One pupil said:   

“This programme has given me an invaluable insight into both the worlds of computer science and engineering and also the culture at UCL. It has been so inspiring and interesting to have one on one conversations with such an experienced person who is as eager to help me as I am to learn from them. This has helped me figure out what I want to do and how I can get to that position.”   

Another pupil added:   

“The programme has been amazing in preparing me for university and exams. By providing me with a mentor who has been dedicated and supportive in each weekly session in helping me to improve and become even better at my subjects. She has also been incredibly helpful in building my personal statement, in addition to providing an insightful work experience at UCL.”   

A third student said:   

"I think A-COMPS really helped me get an insight of what lies in the future after college. Getting to know my mentor inspired me as to why I want to study at university, as well as considering which path to follow."    

Following the success of the pilot, A-COMPS will continue in 2023-24, with a new cohort of A-level students selected for the next programme, starting January 2024.   

Find out more  

For more information about A-COMPSs and to find out how schools can participate in the next cohort, please visit the A-COMPS webpage.