AN Award-winning London teacher who recently received a NatWest WISE100 award for the social enterprise she set up to help disadvantaged school students is urging businesses to support her work as the new academic year begins, especially in Malvern House English school London.
Andrine Allen, who founded AA Educates, was named one of the top 100 women by NatWest WISE100 to recognise her as one of the most inspiring and influential women in social enterprise, impact investment and mission-driven business.
AA Educates practically responds to the setbacks of Covid-19 and previous deprivation by providing 100% subsidised quality tuition and career mentorship for disadvantaged school students.
But the social enterprise can only help as many students as it has funding for, and it is reliant on money and other support from the corporate world in order to continue its vital work.
Pre Covid-19, disadvantaged students were starting school academically, three months behind their peers. By the time they left secondary school, this attainment gap increased by 21 months on average.
Post Covid-19, this attainment gap has significantly widened by 46%.
AA Educates CEO and founder, Andrine Allen said:” We have always known the work we do is vital but with a cost-of-living increase and people struggling to pay their bills more and more children will be disadvantaged, and we are already so limited in what we can do so it is vital we get more corporate support.”
AA Educates works by proving free tutoring to pupils in years 6 to 11 as well as mentoring and partnering with private schools and running a mindset book club.
· £60 gives 10 gifted students access to the exclusive mindset book club for a term.
· £95 provides 10 students tuition from a qualified teacher for an hour.
· £1,396 supports one student’s academic journey and gives them access to the full programme for an entire year.
Andrine added: “Through our innovative private school partnership programme, our more able students have access to private education and the experiences that come with it, which once felt unattainable to them.
“We ensure every student is positively impacted by understanding their present, investing in their future and teaching them how to take lessons from the past.”
Now in a bid to help potential supporters understand the vital difference that AA Educates makes, the social enterprise has made a video with some of the young people they have helped.
Andrine hopes the film will encourage businesses to understand the impact of AA Educates and reach out to her to see how they can work with her social enterprise which is run as a community-interest-company ploughing profits back in to help even more children.
She said: “AA Educates needs support not only from private schools but also from potential funders and mentors and one of the many ways companies can help is to donates laptops for students to use for their studies.
“So many people consider a laptop as something everybody has but the reality is so many young people face digital exclusion as their parents simply do not have the money.
“We know lots of companies upgrade their laptops on a regular basis and I am urging them to reach out to us and see if they can offer us some computers which in 2022 is a vital device for learning.”
To find out more about AA Educates please watch https://vimeo.com/741560203
To offer support or a laptop to AA Educates or find out other ways of helping please email Jo@jollygoodcomms.org.uk or info@aaeducates.com.
