Gateacre Sixth Form students have successfully completed The Brilliant Club Scholars Programme, a nationally recognised initiative that gives students the opportunity to experience university-style learning.
What is The Brilliant Club?
The Brilliant Club is a UK-wide charity that works in partnership with schools and universities to increase the number of students progressing to highly selective universities. Through The Scholars Programme, PhD tutors deliver university-style tutorials in schools, supporting students to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to succeed in higher education. The programme is designed to challenge students academically while raising aspirations and providing a meaningful insight into university study.
Learn more here.
Working closely with PhD Scholar Zainab Mahmood from Liverpool John Moores University, students took part in a series of challenging, degree-level sessions focused on the growing role of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Across six weeks, they explored how AI is transforming the medical world, from diagnosis to treatment, while developing key academic skills in research, critical thinking and essay writing.
As part of the programme, students were required to complete a series of shorter assignments before producing a final extended essay, mirroring the expectations of university study.
The quality of work produced by Gateacre students was exceptional, with one essay nominated for publication in The Brilliant Club’s journal, The Scholar.
Reflecting on the experience, Ms Mahmood shared:
“The students were absolutely brilliant, so engaged and genuinely curious. I was actually blown away by the quality of the work; I’m even nominating one of the Gateacre School students to have their essay published in The Brilliant Club journal because it was just that good.”
Student Experience
“My essay was focused on AI in diagnosing breast cancer from mammograms, and writing it taught me so much about how useful it is when used alongside medical professionals.” - Beyonce
“I wrote an essay about the pros and cons of using AI to screen for lung cancer. I found the final essay to be challenging and a great insight into what studying at university would be like.” - Chloe
Graduation Ceremony
Student success was formally recognised both in school and beyond. After a celebratory breakfast with the Principal and Head of Sixth Form, students attended a graduation ceremony at the University of Manchester.
The ceremony gave students insight into what their own future university journey could look like. Seven students achieved a First-class grade, five were awarded a 2:1, and two achieved a 2:2.
Callum and Oscar also gave a keynote speech about their experience on their research project to all the graduates in attendance.
Student Spotlight
A special mention goes to Jakub, whose work stood out for its academic rigour and depth of analysis. His final essay explored the question “Can AI improve healthcare in real clinical settings?”, examining the potential of artificial intelligence in medical diagnosis, particularly in the detection of lung cancer.
Jakub’s work demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of complex concepts such as machine learning, deep learning and the use of convolutional neural networks in analysing medical imaging.