Study support aims to provide creative ways of engaging and supporting children in learning, and evaluation has found firm evidence that participating pupils do better than expected from baseline measures in academic attainment, attitudes to school and attendance at school. Research has also found that students from disadvantaged backgrounds and those in need of additional support with their learning, as well as ethnic minority students, benefit the most from participation in study support activities. It therefore can make an invaluable contribution to achieving the aims of the City Challenge.

City Challenge is a highly targeted drive to crack the cycle of under-achievement among disadvantaged children in primary and secondary schools in three urban regions: London, The Black Country and Greater Manchester.

It is an expansion of the successful London Challenge and will provide support over three years from 2008 to improve outcomes for young people in the Black Country and Greater Manchester and continued support for the London Challenge.

City Challenge will be delivered in partnership with all those working in education in the three city regions, and backed by significant additional investment. The Challenge will build on improvements already underway to develop strategies tailored to local needs in each area. By 2011, the main outcomes of the programme would be:

• a sharp drop in underperforming schools, particularly focusing on English and Maths
• more outstanding schools
• significant improvements in educational outcomes for disadvantaged children.

back to top ^