Some of us have seen the difference extra tutoring has made to children we know. We’ve seen it boost confidence. Enable excellence. Change lives. We may have seen it make someone pull back the hoodie they’re scowling behind – and emerge smiling.

Professor Sue Richards is chair of SPAG (St Peter’s Activity Group). She and her Team (including Trustee James Burberry who’ll assist in her talk) have been making extra-tutoring available to poorer kids in Islington since 2019. Also, during three weeks of the long summer holidays, SPAG brings together pupils from six partner schools for its N1 Adventure School, where the emphasis is on learning, fun and good food.

Sue was professor in the School of Public Policy, University of Birmingham, a founding director of the Office for Public Management, and Director at the National School of Government in the Cabinet office. She has lived in Islington since 1980.

Here’s what some of local kids said about SPAG:
“The extra sessions really helped me understand things I found hard before, and I feel much more confident in my learning now.”
“I liked working in small groups. It made maths make sense for me.”
“The booster helped me understand maths better. I liked working in a small group it made it easier to ask questions.”
“I learned that I can improve very quickly! I know how to calculate percentages. I want to do more boosters.”