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2021-07-31-accounts

upReach Charitable Company 2020/21 Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31st July 2021

Company Number: 08300398

Charity Number: 1158896

www.upReach.org.uk

Introductions from our Chairman, Patron and CEO 04 This Year’s Headlines! 06 Associate Stories 08 Our Mission and Vision 10

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“My Programme Coordinator understood what I was going through, and how rocky the journey can be…she made sure my confidence was still there. There was constant communication and support throughout the whole application process.”

CONTENTS

Our Year in Review

Our Mission

Our Three Main Programmes Why Our Work is Important Who We Support

How We Make an Impact

Giving Our Associates the space to Grow, and Foster their Independence 18 Providing Personalised Support 19 Helping Associates To Build Their Networks 24 Providing Work Experience Opportunities 26 Creating Opportunities with Graduate Employers 28 Collaborating With Universities 30 With Thanks to All of our Partners 31 Supporting Students Prior to University 32 Continual Engagement With Our Alumni 34 Fundraising & Raising Awareness of Social Mobility 36 The Impact 38 Supporting Our Staff 40 What Comes Next? 42 Thank you to Supporters, Collaborators and Partners 43 Advisory Group 44 Trustees 45 References 46 Financial Statements Legal and Administrative Information for the Year to 31 July 2021 49 Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year to 31 July 2021 50 Independent Auditor’s Report to the Trustees for the Year to 31 July 2021 57 Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities for the Year to 31 July 2021 61 Group Balance Sheet as at 31 July 2021 62 Charity Balance Sheet as at 31 July 2021 63 Consolidated Cash Flow Statement as at 31 July 2021 64 Statement of Financial Activities for the Year to 31 July 2021 65

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Introductions from our Chairman, Patron and CEO

With the pandemic having continued to expose and exacerbate social inequalities during 2020/21, the help which upReach provides to university students to get top graduate jobs has never been more important. I am therefore delighted to report that we have continued to grow to support over 2,200 students despite all the operational challenges which Covid has thrown at us.

To support this growth, we have increased the number of university and Edward Astle employer partners from 47 to 76, expanded the sectors for which we provide Chair of Trustees career support, and grown our regional presence from two to five regional offices. In growing our income to £1,904,877 we have also continued to

diversify our funding base, with notable grants from trusts and foundations, major donors and our successful Close the Covid Gap campaign. We finished the year with a surplus of £277,000 and unrestricted reserves of £555,180, comfortably ahead of our minimum reserves policy.

We can thus continue to invest in our growth, and have accordingly set ourselves some ambitious targets for 2025 to further close the employability gap for those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. Over the next 3 years, we plan to grow our core programmes of support to reach 4,000 students, while also extending our reach in less intensive ways through our Aspire programme for sixth formers, our Social Mobility and Alumni networks and by getting more employers to use our contextualised recruitment platform.

The year also saw new senior appointments and promotions to strengthen our management team, and an increase in the diversity of skills and backgrounds on our Board along with updated policies and procedures to ensure that our governance keeps pace with the charity’s growth.

In summary 2020/21 was a year of tremendous achievements for upReach and one which has only increased our determination to extend our reach and impact. For this we are indebted to our partners and funders, to our passionate staff and to the students who work so hard to take full advantage of our programmes. We are also indebted to our CEO John Craven who is moving on after 7 years. It is his leadership and energy which has made upReach one of the leading and most impactful social mobility charities, and which has created such a solid foundation for the next stage of our growth.

A message from our Patron

The significant and measurable impact that upReach continues to have on its Associates in the middle of a global pandemic is inspiring. upReach shows how necessary it is to prepare their students for a life beyond Covid, and positively influence not only their Associates, but all others who engage with their mission, whether they are partners, volunteers or staff, to achieve and inspire those around them. I anticipate that this will continue to accelerate in the years to come, and I very much look forward to seeing where upReach will take its impact in the future.

Baroness Helena Kennedy upReach Patron

I joined upReach as Chief Executive in January 2016, a time when socioeconomic diversity was barely on the radar of all but the most progressive employers. As the leading national charity focused on improving access to professional employment, upReach have played a major role in changing this. Boosting diversity of socio-economic background is now an important priority for firms of all sizes, sitting alongside ethnicity and gender. But while employers are more engaged than ever, there remains much more to do. A small but growing number of organisations are now measuring and publishing the socio-economic background of their workforce. When they do, the true scale of the problem is revealed, and an action plan created to close the gap.

John Craven

Chief Executive of upReach

It is often said that talent is spread widely, but opportunity is not. At school, the gulf in educational opportunity, access to extra-curricular activities,

careers advice, professional networks and work experience shows no sign of closing. In fact, the pandemic has exacerbated these inequalities. This continues to drive significant differences in who gets professional graduate jobs, in particular, those at the most elite organisations. These roles not only provide unrivalled career and remuneration opportunities, but are historically the stepping stone to senior leadership roles across society. Historic under-representation of those from lower socio-economic backgrounds at entry-level is the main factor behind why those from professional backgrounds, particularly those from private schools, dominate executive and management positions in almost every sector.

While acknowledging that the differences in opportunity prior to age 18 should be tackled, upReach’s primary objective is to close the gap once a student begins at university. Delivered in close partnership with employers and universities, upReach’s intensive employability programmes now support over 2,200 undergraduates each year. These programmes and partnerships have gained national recognition for their impact, most recently with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise, one of nine winners in the Promoting Opportunity category. Having grown from an initial cohort of 39 students in 2012/13, we aim to support 3,000 in 2021/22 and 4,000 by 2024/25.

It has been another year of growth on other measures too. Our new platform, the Social Mobility Network, went live, becoming the network for those without a network, directly connecting students to volunteer professionals. upReach’s regional expansion continued, as we opened new offices in Nottingham, Newcastle and Bristol to help us support more students from outside London and in social mobility coldspots, and to provide more local opportunities. Having successfully built Springboard Programmes in sectors such as Banking & Finance and Law, this year, with the generous support of Hg Foundation, we launched our biggest programme yet, Tech500, as well as a new Digital Skills Builder programme enabling all our Associates to develop skills increasingly critical to success in any sector. Our Aspire programme, broadening career horizons of sixth formers at state schools continues to go from strength-to-strength, and we welcomed more employers onto REALrating, our contextualised recruitment platform. Finally, as our Alumni community expanded, so has our programme to support their progression.

A key strength of upReach has always been our ability to respond quickly to events or opportunities. While in 2020, we created the Assessed Virtual Internship Programme as a response to internships being cancelled, we have since rapidly returned to in-person activities when it has been safe to do so. In August 2020, having gained insights to A-Level results databases through our work developing REALrating, our contextualisation platform, we rapidly published research that exposed the unfairness of the A-Level grades algorithm. This was widely featured in the national press, including the front page of the Observer, and was the basis of calls from the Fair Access Coalition and Fair Education Alliance for the government to perform a U-turn. This materialised days later, allowing thousands of students from less-advantaged backgrounds to take up places at their preferred university that they would have otherwise been denied.

Looking ahead, key challenges risk sending social mobility into reverse, from the rapid increases in cost-of-living that will most impact those least well-off, to closing the attainment and employability gaps made worse by the pandemic. This year I’ve worked closely with the team, our Advisory Group, Board of Trustees and other stakeholders to develop our 2025 Strategy. This sets out ambitious plans to grow all aspects of the charity’s work, working in close collaboration with other organisations in the sector to transform social mobility. On a personal note, in June 2022, I will be leaving upReach after six and a half years, to take up a new opportunity at the Social Mobility Commission. While I am sad to leave, I am proud of the terrific team that we have built, and what the organisation has so far achieved. I look forward to closely following their impact in the years ahead. On behalf of all the Associates who have benefitted, thank you to all of the team, our partners, mentors and volunteers for their tremendous support.

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This Year’s Headlines!

This Year’s Headlines!

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We raised over
Despite the difficulties We provided REALrating,
£240,000 for our
caused by Covid-19, our contextualised
‘Close the Covid
75% of Associates who grading system to help
Gap’ Fundraising
graduated in 2019 (the employers identify hidden
We worked with 52 Campaign
cohort looked at in our 2021 talent and potential, to 13
Employer Partners to
Impact Report) were in different employers
provide opportunities to
highly skilled employment
our 2,200 Associates
or Higher Education 15
months after graduating Our 60 page Aspire guide
was sent to over 2,500
state schools across the
UK to provide career advice
to thousands of students
Our 2021 Impact report looked at considering their options in
upReach Associates 15 months sixth form and college
after graduation and found that
the median salary of an upReach upReach opened new
Alumni who graduated in 2019 offices in Newcastle
and is in highly skilled full time and Nottingham, with
We supported over
employment 15 months later is five offices now opened
1,500 Alumni of
£30,000. This is £3,500 higher across the UK
upReach’s programmes,
than the average salary of a
helping them to ‘get on
comparable peer group
after getting in’
The first students and
We impacted thousands of
professionals joined the
students across the country
We partnered with 10 with our research on the Social Mobility Network, our
of the top universities in Ofqual A-Level grading network for those without a
the country on our Rise algorithm (more information network (see page 25 for more
Programme on page 43) information)
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Associate Stories

“As an Associate, I engaged frequently with the programme and developed the skills and confidence to gain professional experience and, ultimately, a graduate role.”

I was attracted to upReach as an undergraduate seeking career guidance, given that none of my family were in professional careers. Within a week of being an Associate, I attended an Insight Day at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy which opened my eyes to the opportunities available to me. As an Associate, I engaged frequently with the programme and developed the skills and confidence to gain professional experience and, ultimately, a graduate role. My Programme Coordinator supported me with application reviews, mock interviews and informal chats. I also regularly attended Video Forums, Insight Days and Careers Academies where I Tia-Mae’s developed an understanding of a wide range of Partner Employers, from the Story public and charity sector to consulting and technology, given I wanted to explore as many different careers as possible.

When internships were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, upReach’s Assessed Virtual Internship Programme allowed me to gain valuable experience in a range of sectors and build my professional networks. My feedback helped me to improve my interview skills, which I then used to secure an internship later that summer. I also had a mentor in the Civil Service, through upReach’s Professional Mentoring Programme, who helped me to develop my understanding of the Civil Service and recruitment process. With her support, I secured a graduate role at the Office for National Statistics!

I knew that maintaining my involvement with upReach was very important to me when I started my graduate job, and upReach offers many opportunities for me to do this as an Alumni. I have offered to volunteer on upReach outreach events, and I am really excited to be a founding member of upReach’s Alumni Advisory Board. On the Board, I am using my experience as a past Associate to represent current Associates, championing social mobility and acting in the best interests of upReach’s current and future beneficiaries. Helping to advise on the charity’s future and strategic plans is a way for me to further develop my own skills, learn about charity governance and support upReach in an impactful way.

Associate Stories

“Most importantly upReach supported me in instilling a confidence that this was a career change where I could achieve my career goal to contribute to systemic change in a meaningful way.”

My name is Eva and I currently work as a Child Protection Social Worker on the Frontline Graduate Programme whilst completing my MSc in Advanced Relationship Based Social Work Practice with Children and Families. Away from work, I have a passion for running, fundraising and travelling.

To begin with, my journey with upReach began during my undergraduate degree. I graduated from The University of Exeter, 2019, completing a BA in English Literature and History. During my first year, I signed up to become an Associate on the programme after hearing about the charity via our university Eva’s brand ambassador.

Story

I joined upReach as a first generation humanities student that was unsure of career prospects and in need of tailored support. I signed up to programmes including the Springboard, utilised 1 to 1s with my programme co-ordinator and used the portal to get involved in video forums and insight days. These opportunities gave me a clearer understanding of the application processes and the sector/roles itself. Also, upReach’s support helped me learn of the ways I could confidently apply myself to such job applications.

From this support I secured extended Communications Internships at both The Civil Service and ING Bank, UK- developing an understanding of Communications in both the public and private sector. As of 2021 to present, I work as a Child Protection Social Worker. upReach supported me in making this career change by helping me prepare for the rigorous assessment centres, written tasks and interviews for the spot on Frontline’s Graduate Programme. Most importantly upReach supported me in instilling a confidence that this was a career change where I could achieve my career goal to contribute to systemic change in a meaningful way.

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Our Mission and Vision

upReach exists to help young people achieve their potential by providing an intensive, personalised and free programme of career support. Founded in 2012 with an initial cohort of 39 students, upReach has grown to support 2,218 students in 2020/21.

Working in close partnership with leading employers and universities, we believe that our personalised support, combined with a series of targeted activities designed to raise aspirations, develop skills, and support students in succeeding in the graduate labour market; is key to closing the employability skills gap. In addition, we help our Associates to gain networks and undertake work experiences to provide them with as many job opportunities as possible.

As well as our core programmatic activities, we undertake a variety of other activities and initiatives to achieve our mission. These include:

Facilitating contextualised recruitment by graduate employers

Supporting sixth-formers, explaining post-18 and graduate career options

Our Mission and Vision

Our vision is of a society in which everybody has an equal opportunity to realise their full career potential, regardless of social background.

Socio-economic disadvantage continues to be the most significant driver of inequality in terms of access to and outcomes from higher education. We want to change this.

We take a double benefit approach to addressing this social mobility challenge, working with both students and employers.

We help young people achieve their career potential by providing an intensive programme of support that addresses socio-economic barriers to employment.

We also work to influence the hiring behaviours of top organisations so that a commitment to equal opportunities permeates their organisational culture and they recognise the social and economic value of greater diversity with their workforce.

Help students to understand their employability; identifying strengths and areas for improvement

Recognise students’ successes and creating vital role models

Giving students access to a professional network

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Our Mission and Vision

Our Three Main Programmes

We take a double benefit approach to addressing the social mobility challenge:

Intensive Programmes

Each of our three programmes (Rise, Sector, Aim) includes 15 different activities aiming to broaden horizons, helping Associates understand career pathways, and develop the skills, networks and experiences needed for career sucess. 75% of our 2019 graduates were in highly skilled roles or further study 15 months after graduation. They had a median income of £30,000, £3,500 higher than a benchmark, due to being more likely to secure competitive roles in higher paid sectors. We aim to maximise the number that secure highly skilled and (within that) top graduate jobs, relative to benchmarks of similar students. As we grow, we therefore aim to at least maintain these positive progression and salary differentials, so that our impact grows proportionally.

High quality, tailored 1-to-1 support is the key to our success, so as we grow, each Associate will continue to be supported by a dedicated upReach Programme Coordinator, and be able to access a comprehensive range of activities:

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ASPIRE DEVELOP SUCCEED
Skills Application
Insight Days
Workshops Reviews
Careers Practice
Video Forums
Academies Online Tests
CV Career Mock
Reviews Courses Interviews
1-to-1 Professional Mock
Coaching Calls Mentors Assessment
Centres
Online Exclusive Work Social Mobility
Resources Experience Network
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Rise is a three year programme of support that helps students explore their career options and develop their employability skills. It is available to students at our partner universities across the UK, or who participate in one of our sponsored programmes funded by individuals or other donors, reaching a wide range of students.

Sector programmes are customised to help students interested in a particular career to develop employability skills specific to that sector. The programmes can differ in length and structure depending on the nature of the sector. With the generous aid of the Hg Foundation, 2020/21 saw the creation of a new sector programme, the upReach Tech500, which is aimed at giving students exclusive training, networking and development opportunities in the Technology space.

Aim is a targeted professional development and applications support programme, available to undergraduates from any university. Associates receive in-depth support for each of their applications made to our employer partners, maximising their success rate.

“I first came across upReach in a university email and applied straight away for the banking and finance stream – one of the best decisions I made during my first year of university. For the first few months after I joined, I worked hard on completing my springboard (successfully achieving gold) and working closely with my PC in submitting applications for spring weeks within banking and finance. By attending several skills workshops, insight days and regularly utilising the my upReach platform, I have seen a massive improvement in my professional development. One of the best things about being part of upReach is the many mock interviews I have had with my PC and other upReach staff – a big contributing factor in helping me secure a spring programme with RBC. Generally, I feel more confident in making more successful applications in the future; I have even recommended upReach to some of my friends who have either joined or are in the process of joining! Personally, I think joining upReach was the single biggest thing I did to support my career ambitions and I look forward to participating in many more opportunities at upReach in the future.”

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Why Our Work is Important

The UK has a persistent social mobility problem

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Amongst Russell Group universities, students from workingclass backgrounds who graduate with a first class degree are less likely to secure an elite job than a more privileged student who received a 2:2[4]

Graduates from a household with an income under £25,000 progress to highly skilled employment or further study at a rate 5 percentage points lower than those with a household income above £42,600[5]

Even when those from poorer backgrounds are successful in entering professional occupations, they earn on average 7% less, than their more privileged colleagues with the class gap being as high as 17% in some cases[6]

Although independent schools educate only 7% of the UK population, two thirds of the Cabinet, 65% of senior judges, 60% of leaders in financial services and 44% of newspaper columnists were educated at independent schools.[7]

Why Our Work is Important

Top professions continue to be dominated by those who went to private schools. Whilst significant progress has been made increasing the number of students from less-advantaged backgrounds that secure university places[1] , few then progress into the top graduate programmes. Despite these often being the gateway to senior and influential positions in society. As few as 30% of those on some top graduate schemes are from non-selective state schools that educate 89% of the population.[2]

Students from lower-income households, living in poorer parts of the country, or attending lower performing state schools, are less likely to have benefited from the work experience, career knowledge, extra-curricular activities and professional networks required to succeed in an increasingly competitive graduate labour market, where social and cultural capital are often more important than academic credentials.[3]

The Social Mobility Commission have published research on the ‘postcode lottery’, which leads to disparity in earning between people from disadvantaged and affluent backgrounds.[4]

This year we have continued to tackle issues of social mobility by focusing on our regional expansion to reach more Associates around the country. You can find out more about this on page 17

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Who We Support

Our Associates are from diverse backgrounds from all over the UK.

To become an upReach Associate, students must meet our minimum eligibility criteria:

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Household income Attended UK state schools Achieved at least BBB
below £42,620 (only) in top 3 A Levels
(or contextualised equivalent)
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Our programmes are oversubscribed, and we aim to prioritise our support to those students with multiple indicators of disadvantage. As of July 2021, the students on our programme had the following characteristics:

52% 75% 76% of our Associates of our Associates of our Associates are have been eligible have a household first in their family to for free school meals income below £25k attend university

Who We Support

We are particularly focused on supporting students from UK regional coldspots

Research from the Social Mobility Commission clearly demonstrates that where you are born impacts your future employment outcomes, to the extent that disadvantaged young adults in areas with high social mobility can earn twice as much as their counterparts in areas where it is low.[6]

In 2017 the Social Mobility Commission identified that organisations working to promote social mobility can have a greater impact through working with students outside of London and the South East who have less opportunities than their peers living near the capital.[7]

This was reinforced in their 2021 ‘State of the Nation’ report, in which they identified that there are many deprived areas outside of urban centres, and that those with the highest income deprivation often have the greatest internal disparities. It was highlighted that areas with lower pay for disadvantaged people, and with less equality of opportunity are often more deprived, including having fewer labour market opportunities in professional occupations.[8]

The Social Mobility Commission encourages employers to expand the geographical diversity of their workforce and target outreach opportunities in the areas that need them most. In response to this, we are working hard to support a geographically diverse pool of talented students. upReach also encourages its Partner Employers to look outside of the capital city in order to tap into a more diverse pool of talent.

46% 11% 3% Attended low of our Associates of our Associates performing schools have previously are refugees or (GCSE / A Level) been a carer/ in care asylum seekers

We support undergraduates at 80 universities, who came from 875 different state schools across the UK. We do not select on the basis of gender or ethnicity, but we find our programmes often align to the diversity priorities of the organisations we work with. Our Associates in July 2021 were:

55% 73% 9% of our Associates of our Associates of our Associates identify as female are from ethnically identify as having a diverse backgrounds[5] disability

8% 28% of our Associates of our Associates identify as who are from Polar 4 LGBTQ+ Quintile 1 and 2 areas.

In 2020/21: upReach offices Our Associates came from London (2012) 80 different universities Manchester (2018) and 8 different regions , based of their home postcode Bristol (2020) when completing their A-Levels. Newcastle (2021) We continued our regional Nottingham (2021) expansion by opening offices in Newcastle and Nottingham , to broaden our reach alongside maintaining our offices in Manchester, Bristol, and London.

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Giving Our Associates the space to Grow, and Foster their Independence

We aim to build our Associates’ knowledge and understanding in all areas regarding employability.

The attainment gap emerges early in the education system, and continues to grow during each academic stage right up to university. At GCSE the attainment gap between pupils eligible for Free School Meals and their counterparts is 28%.[9 ] Higher education can be a crucial tool for social mobility, and indeed, the attainment gap tends to close once students get to university. Therefore, much work has been done to widen participation in higher education, and more students from less-advantaged backgrounds are now progressing to university than ever before.

However, university access is not enough because less-advantaged students are not getting the same graduate jobs as their peers. Graduate schemes at the most prestigious employers in the top professions are still dominated by those from privileged backgrounds - due, in part, to the employability skills gap.

Alongside giving Associates personalised 1-1 support, we also provide them with the resources necessary to develop their employability skills independently and continue to grow their confidence and capabilities on their own.

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Providing Personalised Support

We give the students that we work all of the support that they need to thrive in the graduate job market.

We believe an intensive programme of personalised support, combined with a series of targeted activities designed to raise aspirations, develop skills, and supports students in succeeding in the graduate labour market, is the key to closing the employability skills gap. Every undergraduate has their own needs, and upReach programmes are designed to support Associates in a way that addresses this. It is our belief that it is not one of these interventions, but rather a combination of these, that has the highest impact on graduate success. This is well received by students on our programme - 99% of our Associates in 2020/21 would recommend upReach support to a friend.

The Graduate Employability Framework

upReach’s Graduate Employability Framework (GEF) underpins all upReach’s programmes, and ensures students develop the skills necessary to succeed in the graduate labour market. Recognising that graduate employers are increasingly looking at key skills in internship and graduate recruitment processes, the GEF helps students to improve their employability by identifying their key areas for growth, ensuring interventions are timely and high-impact.

Using the GEF, upReach guides students through a structured learning journey built around employability skill development, career sector exploration, practical work experience and network building. All upReach interventions and activities are tagged to one of ten skill areas, empowering Associates to develop awareness of, and take action on, their own strengths and development needs, and allowing Programme Coordinators to signpost relevant activities.

getEmployable.org, our GEF assessment tool, comprises an online questionnaire which measures students’ performance and experience against the ten categories. Each student that takes the questionnaire receives a Personal Employability Report, which they can use to plan their development in their priority areas.

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Providing Personalised Support

Support from our Programme Coordinators

Our programme is purpose-built around each Associate, shaped by their relationship with an upReach Programme Coordinator. Associates are matched with a Programme Coordinator, who gives 1-to-1 support throughout their engagement in the programme, providing intensive, personalised long-term guidance.

This year 3,327 1-to-1s were conducted, with 99% of Associates finding them useful.

Application/CV Reviews

As part of the personalised support Associates receive from their Programme Coordinators, they are encouraged to submit CVs, Cover Letters and Applications for review. For Associates on our Aim Programme, Programme Coordinators work closely with them on applications to our Partner Employers, utilising unique insights drawn from our exclusive training with these Employers. In addition to this, Associates on the Rise programme can submit an application to any employer for feedback.

“II was able to upload my CV multiple times to be looked over by my programme coordinator, as well as any cover letters and I was able to get very quick feedback. This meant I was able to write both a strong CV and cover letter which allowed me to progress further in the WarnerMedia application process where I have now been able to secure an industrial placement.”

- Paniz, University of Liverpool

This year, 97% of Associates who had a CV review from their Programme Coordinator found it useful.

Mock Interviews

Mock Interviews are provided in two ways, via structured individual mock interviews and mock Assessment Centres. By tailoring each mock interview, Associates receive personalised advice on their strengths and development areas as part of their interview preparations.

“After a successful application and video interview, Lulu took the time to have an hour-long mock interview with me, tailored to the law firm and the specific interviewing style. The examples we worked through and feedback given in this mock interview were actively used in my real interview, giving off a professional and well thought-out impression. As a result, I can’t stress enough how much UpReach has assisted me.”

- Chloe, University of Exeter

Our Programme Coordinators ran a total of 1,384 Mock Interviews with 782 Associates and Recent Graduates in 2020/21.

Providing Personalised Support

The my.upReach website:

When an Associate first joins an upReach Programme, they are given access to our Associate portal, my.upReach. Here they can find numerous resources designed to support them with their applications, including bespoke Employer Guides, Skills Guides, Aptitude Tests, and Career Courses.

In 2020-21 2,487 Associates and Recent Graduates logged onto my.upReach a total of 57,109 times.

99% of Associates find the online resources available on my.upReach useful, with 96% of Associates finding online tests useful and 95% finding careers courses useful.

“My.upReach was extremely useful for keeping track of all my applications. The site also included mock assessments which were very similar to the psychometric tests I took in many applications. This was a great way for me to get a grasp of areas which I was struggling with and could use the site to improve this.”

- Mahfuza, University of Warwick

The Springboard Award

A ‘Springboard Award’ system is used to motivate Associates and allow them to easily track, and celebrate their progress on the programme.

The Springboard Award is made up of 8 steps: upload a CV for review , attend a video forum, practice 2 online tests, upload a cover letter/application for review, attend an Insight Day, complete a careers course, complete a mock interview, and complete a skills workshop.

Associates make their way through the set steps, completing a percentage of the programme each time they engage with an intervention. They achieve a Bronze Award on completing 30%, a Silver Award at 60%, and a Gold Award at 100%.

When Associates achieve their Gold Award they can then share their achievement with their networks through Linkedin, and by including it in their CV.

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Providing Personalised Support

Providing Personalised Support

Video Forums

In addition to our events run in partnership with Employers, Programme Coordinators also run in-house webinars, called Video Forums. These 40 minute sessions introduce Associates to a myriad of topics, from tackling interviews to boosting their commercial awareness of a particular sector.

There were a total of 5712 video forum attendances by 1362 Associates and Recent Graduates across the 679 Video Forums organised by our Programme Coordinators during 2020/21.

“The public sector video forums provided a great introduction into the array of careers and graduate schemes in the public sector. A key highlight being the forum on Civil Service competencies, they prepared me greatly for both assessment centres and telephone interviews alike.”

- Alex, University of Warwick

Skills Workshops

Skills Workshops are workshops structured around the ten skills that form the upReach Graduate Employability Framework and are typically held on the campuses of our partner universities but due to Covid-19 these remained online this year.

They are delivered by Programme Coordinators to boost employability skills, who tailor their sessions according to the needs of those attending. There are three types of Skills Workshops conducted: Welcome Event Workshops, Graduate Application Workshops and Employability Skill Workshops. There were a total of 955 attendances from 409 Associates and Recent Graduates across the 36 Skills Workshops held in 2020/21.

“The webinars and workshops facilitated by upReach provide thorough answers to many of the questions and apprehensions regarding my career potential. The informative presentations are valuable to understanding the context of sectors as well as broadening my business acumen. I am genuinely grateful for the support upReach has provided me. My career prospects are brighter and my confidence has improved notably as a consequence of their assistance.”

- Josh, University of Birmingham

Careers Academies

Careers Academies are events featuring information and skills development sessions delivered by the upReach team and partner employers. These used to be in person half day events but as with all of our interventions, they were transferred to become online workshops at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Holding sessions from a range of different sectors provides Associates with the opportunity to network with professionals from different industries and broaden their career horizons. There were a total of 445 attendances from 348 Associates and Recent Graduates across the 10 Career Academy sessions in 2020/21.

“I have attended several workshops at organisations/companies that I’m interested in applying to such as the Civil Service and have attended really useful career academy days. upReach has been amazing. The quality and level of support I have received is something I would not have found elsewhere. ”

- Zeba, King’s College London

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Helping Associates To Build Their Networks

Helping Associates To Build Their Networks

We offer a range of interventions to help Associates make valuable contacts in professional industries.

Whilst wealthier students may have access to family and school networks, enabling them to understand career options and gain early work experience, students from less privileged backgrounds may not have connections with anyone working in relevant industries. Students from private schools are six times more likely than state school students to have had opportunities to connect with people working in professional careers.

The network for those without a network

In 2021 we launched our new networking platform, The Social Mobility Network, informally known as the SMN.

Our Insight Days are hosted by a Partner Employer and provide an in-depth insight into the culture at the firm. They provide Associates with the opportunity to meet employees at top firms and ask them question about their roles, their employer, and the sector they work in. They also reveal the opportunities available for undergraduates, usually with guidance on the application process. Insight Days help Associates who have some understanding of their career direction, and who may have identified the host employer as an organisation they are interested in.

There were a total of 2196 attendances across 43 Insight Days held in 2020/21.

“After attending the insight day for Rothschild & Co, I decided to apply for their Professional Week. The insight day run by upReach was a fantastic day that gave me lots of knowledge about the firm and made me excited to apply. The sessions included networking and application support and it really highlighted what Rothschild stands for and the work they do.”

- Chloe, University of Warwick

Our Professional Mentoring Programme enhances students’ personal and professional development by giving them access to a professional who can provide industry insight, help explore career options, offer professional advice/guidance relevant to their sector, and expand their network as part of a three or six month mentoring relationship. Matching our Associates with mentors from our Partner Employers gives them the chance to access informal support, helping to close the knowledge gap between those from more and less advantaged backgrounds. 769 Mentorships took place during the year 2020/21: 253 mentorships were continued from the previous year, and a further 516 new matches were made.

“The mentoring scheme run by upReach allowed for constant support with an industry professional who helped build my commerical awareness, understanding of the role of a consultant and interview preparation. Both Niamh and Tom have been incredibly supportive and the opportunities upReach provide has allowed me to secure an amazing graduate role at PwC”

- Pragash, University of Warwick

The Social Mobility Network is a platform built by upReach to enable students from less-advantaged backgrounds to access a network of professionals who work in a broad range of industries.

By growing their professional network within their chosen sector, students build a greater understanding of career pathways, develop technical knowledge and commercial awareness, and build the social and cultural capital that employers value so highly, allowing them to fulfil their career potential.

Despite only launching towards the end of the year, we ended 2020/21 with 305 Associates on the platform, who had access to 140 mentors from 17 different employers. Since then the SMN has been continuing to grow rapidly as we aim to onboard all of our Associates onto the platform.

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Providing Work Experience Opportunities

We give Associates opportunities to gain work experience their chosen sector.

State school students are 42% more likely than those who went to private schools to have not completed work experience in a professional environment. Private school students are 4.5 times more likely to secure work experience, often through family or friends, than those at state schools. They may also benefit from financial support from parents, enabling them to complete unpaid internships. A lack of work experience prior to university acts as a significant barrier for disadvantaged students when entering the graduate labour market, and therefore we work to ensure our Associates have access to much needed professional experience opportunites.

The Assessed Virtual Internship Programme

We introduced the Assessed Virtual Internship Programme (AVIP) in 2020 when many internship opportunities and experience weeks began being cancelled due to Covid-19. The AVIP was introduced to provide Associates with an opportunity for develop their skills and sector knowledge where other opportunities were unavailable.

Over four weeks, upReach delivered Assessed Virtual Internships in six different sectors, combining technical and skills training, alongside the opportunity for Associates to participate in group projects, panel and networking opportunities with leading firms in their chosen sector.

Associates also had the opportunity to take part in mock assessment activities during the final week, where they received feedback from experienced volunteers and the upReach team, equipping our Associates with the tools to succeed in future assessments.

Providing Work Experience Opportunities

We offer students the chance to take part in Professional Experience Weeks and Exclusive Internships.

Two of our highest impact activities are Professional Experience weeks and Exclusive Internships, offered in collaboration with our partner employers and exclusive to upReach Associates. These work experience opportunities offered through upReach provide meaningful opportunities to develop a practical skill set, and in many cases the ability to convert the experience to the offer of an internship or full-time work.

I really enjoyed the interactive nature of the sessions. Given the virtual environment, Aviva really did their best to ensure we were able to have our questions answered by leaving ample time for the Q&A, even if it meant going slightly over the allocated time. Aviva endeavoured to involve everyone. I also enjoyed the variety of the sessions, for example we did not only spend time learning about Aviva and the business but also partook in yoga sessions, which really showed to me how Aviva care about their employees’ wellbeing.

I really enjoyed hearing from professionals talking about their experiences. It allowed us to gain a closer and personalised insight of the role rather than reading what is on their website.

Amrit University of Warwick

The programme has definitely made me consider a career in insurance and asset management, which is something I was not really familiar with prior to the programme.

In its second year, in 2021, 115 Associates completed the AVIP.

In the summer of 2020 the AVIP was praised by Universities Minister Michelle Donelan during a speech at the NEON summit on widening access and mobility. She acknowledged the challenges of engaging students in a virtual covid world and identified the importance of the AVIP in providing opportunities for disadvantaged students during the pandemic.[10]

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This year we ran a 10 Professional Experience Weeks (PEWs) with Capco, Coutts, Deloitte, The Diversity Project, GCHQ, Horizon Capital, KPMG, Macfarlanes, Rothschild & Co, and Slaughter and May.

We also ran exclusive internships with 8 employers: Aviva, Carbon Limiting Technologies, CIL, Close Brothers, Czarnikow, Loquet London, The National Audit Office and Surveyor Capital.

Application Fast-Track Opportunities

Alongside providing exclusive experience, we partnered with Bank of America, EY, Citadel, and Unilever to offer a fast-track through their applications.

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Creating Opportunities with Graduate Employers

Creating Opportunities with Graduate Employers

Partnerships with leading employers are key to our success, and employers work with us in a variety of ways. We currently partner with over 50 leading employers and are committed to supporting their mission for a more socially diverse organisation. Our partnerships are impact driven, helping them attract more applications from high calibre students from less-advantaged backgrounds, with a very high success rate.

Each partnership is bespoke, and through our professional development programme we coordinate Insight Days, Professional Work Experience and Exclusive Internship opportunities for upReach Associates, all in close collaboration with our Employer Partners. Employers can also use our contextualised data model, REALrating, to ensure they are selecting on potential not privilege.

We work with a variety of partners to

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REAL (Relative Educational Attainment Level) is upReach’s contextualisation platform, which provides a single net indicator of socio-economic disadvantage and an adjusted measure of an individual’s A-Level grades.

REAL uses a research-backed algorithm and takes into account fourteen indicators of socio-economic disadvantage. The contextualised grades that REALrating produces combines students’ actual grades with research-based adjustments based on these indicators, including school performance decile, free school meal eligibility and postcode data. This allows us to both identify those who were top performers in their schools, and to accept students onto our programmes who were unable to fully realise their academic potential earlier in their education.

All of our Associates are given a REAL rating when they join the upReach programme and are encouraged to provide their contextualised grades alongside their formal grades on their CV when making applications.

REAL is also being increasingly used by employers to get a fairer measure of applicants’ academic achievement and potential than grades or contextual flags alone. While contextual admissions have been increasingly used by universities to improve access for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, many graduate employers have been slower to account for applicant backgrounds, reinforcing the “progression gap”.

Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to secure a good graduate job than those from more privileged backgrounds on the same course and at the same university. By looking at a number of indicators of disadvantage, REAL helps to ensure that students from less-advantaged backgrounds are given the same career opportunities as their more privileged peers. This is a valuable tool for employers, who are able to invest in developing potential that might otherwise go untapped.

In 2020/21 11 employers used REAL Rating and there was over 11,000 submissions to REAL.

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Collaborating With Universities

We partner with leading universities to help them support their less advantaged students.

Our Rise University Partnerships:

upReach’s comprehensive programme of professional development helps universities increase the proportion of students from an underrepresented background that secure internships and graduate jobs. Through personalised support from a dedicated Programme Coordinator, and a range of exclusive opportunities with our partner employers, upReach help engage students, broaden horizons, raise aspirations and help students develop the skills, networks and experience they need to succeed.

This year we continued to expand our engagement across social mobility coldspots for universities with Keele and Leeds in northern social mobility coldspots.

In 2020/21 we had 10 University Partners, including new partners Keele, Surrey, and Leeds. These Rise University Partners funded 597 Rise Associates. This means that 136 more Rise Associate places were funded in 20/21 compared to 19/20 which is an increase of 22.8%.

We agreed partnerships to start in August 2021 with the University of Bristol, The University of East London, and De Montfort, with our new partnership with Bristol strengthening our presence in the South West, another social mobility coldspot.

University Impact

In late 2019, analysis from the University of Exeter using graduate destination data taken from HESA’s Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey for 2017 graduates 6 months after graduation, found that students who had been part of the upReach programme not only outperformed other students from less-advantaged backgrounds at the university, but even outperformed their more advantaged peers.

The analysis shows that, despite many barriers to graduate success, upReach’s tailored programme of support is helping Associates outperform their peers after graduation.

“The University of Exeter is delighted to be a partner University and support the excellent work that upReach offers our students in supporting their career plans. The upReach team are passionate about what they do, and the range of help and activities enables students to realise their career goals and aspirations through engagement with employer partners and support from mentors to meet their individual needs. Truly inspiring stories from upReach Alumni Associates!”

Careers Consultant (Widening Participation), University of Exeter

With Thanks to All of our Partners

University Partners

Employer Partners

Programme Funders

REALrating Partners

Supporters

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Supporting Students Prior to University

In addition to our core work supporting undergraduates, we also provide information, inspiration and advice to help sixth formers understand their university and career options.

“I am very impressed with the Aspire Guide - I have been involved in careers and transition points for students for many years, and I feel the Aspire Guide and what you write is just perfect. I am bombarded all the time with “stuff” to help students, usually totally irrelevant, but I read your Guide and looked at your website - and it’s great.”

- Mrs Wallis, Careers team at Maghull High School

Alongside disparity in the graduate labour market, socio-economic background affects students’ likelihood of accessing higher education. We partner with several charities who help students access university (see page 36) and we have also developed our own resources to support sixth form and colleage students understand their career options, both with or without a degree.

Prior to the pandemic there was a 19 percentage point gap in access to university, with 45% of non-FSM students attending university vs 26% FSM students. Pupils who have spent 80% of their schooling in poverty were also on average 22.7 months behind non-disadvantaged pupils. While this disparity was already sizable Covid-19 then further exacerbated it with around 30% of disadvantaged students reporting that they are less likely to be able to afford to study.[11]

Aspire is our 60-page guide aimed to help students understand more about careers and make more informed decisions whilst at school. Alongside this, an Aspire Career Video Library was created to provide insight into different sectors from experts in the field.

We published the 20/21 Aspire Guide on 17th June 2021 and a hard copy was then sent to 2,524 UK state schools on 17th June 2021. Schools were sent a copy of the 60-page guide, a covering letter, and A3 posters. 890 extra copies were also requested by schools.

The new Aspire website launched on 19th March 2021 and was viewed 35,185 times, with the online guide being viewed 7,386 times before the end of 2020/21. The guide also had 128 TES downloads in this time. Online resources include an updated Career Video Library and teacher toolkit.

Our 60 page guide was sent to 2,524 schools in 2020/21!

https://aspire.upReach.org.uk

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Continual Engagement With Our Alumni

We continue to providing support for our former Associates, and provide them with ways to give back and help other students like themselves.

In 2020/21 there were over 1,500 Alumni of the upReach programme, who upReach continues to support after graduation through the upReach Alumni Programme. The programme is designed to support former Associates as they enter the world of graduate employment and beyond - helping them to ‘get on after getting in’. It is also a way for former Associates to meet up and maintain the connections, links and friendships made during their time as an Associate, as well as making new ones.

The Alumni Programme consists of three core elements

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Exclusive events Networking Giving back to
designed to help opportunities among upReach, be it as
Alumni progress in the hundreds of a mentor, through
their careers, develop former upReach making useful
skills and expand participants connections, or by
networks making a donation
so that upReach can
work with even more
students in the years
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We held many different events for Alumni this year, including a coaching programme for those who are in the first few years of their role. Other examples of Alumni events that took place during this year include:

Continual Engagement With Our Alumni

Our Alumni also have the opportunity to give back, helping us to support current and future Associates. Alumni support us in a variety of ways, included volunteering with us to talk at events and mentor Associates, by referring their employer to upReach, and even by donating.

“I joined upReach in 2016 and joined the consultancy springboard soon after learning about what consultancy was as a concept through upReach. I’d previously never heard of it before, but it aligned very closely with my interests in problem solving from a top down angle and speaking to clients in order to gain an understanding of what was happening in the company. Had I not had access to upReach’s resources, I think I would be in a very different career path, but right now I’m currently thriving in a tech consultancy role after having been networked by upReach into the tech sector and then later on combining that with my fascination with consultancy.

Abbey’s

Story

In total I went to 53 events at upReach, including Insight Days - days at upReach where they invited their partner companies to come speak to us to learn about different industries. It was through these that I learnt about consultancy - about how to be professional in these spaces, how to network and apply the skills that upReach was encouraging me to learn but in a safe setting so I could practice how to speak to professionals and problem solve in settings I’ve never been used to before. I was also able to learn these skills through workshops, and was supported continually for 3 years through 2 different mentors, both of whom were constantly available to me for very generous and constructive feedback for my applications and development. As a result my confidence was very obviously developed through upReachs support - I am very grateful.”

After graduating in 2019, Abbey undertook several roles including an Internship with Development Reimagined in Beijing, China, followed by a Freelance Journalist role working within Tortoise Media. Abbey then converted an Internship into a Data Scientist position at Czarnikow, and is now currently working with Capgemini as an AI & Analytics Associate Consultant.

Abbey now sits on the upReach Board of Trustees leading the way in shaping the Associate Experience. She has also worked as a panellist for upReach Q&A sessions, and has actively worked to take the mission of social mobility elsewhere through Academic research, tutoring and working with non-profit organisations such as Voice ESEA.

The Art of Asking - An event hosted by Goldman Sachs, where we discussed how to communicate with impact and how to ask difficult questions in the workplace.

A personal Finance Masterclass - Hosted by our CEO John Craven, we helped Alumni to understand the basics of personal finance, including things like understanding your pay slip and effective budgeting.

International Women’s Day: In Conversation with Jennifer Chamandi - We invited Alumni to hear Jennifer’s inspiring career story, including how she went from a successful career in banking to becoming a luxury shoewear designer, and discussed different challenges facing women in the workplace today.

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Fundraising & Raising Awareness of Social Mobility

Our ‘Close the Covid Gap’ Campaign

In January last year, we launched our 2021 fundraising campaign, ‘Close the Covid Gap’. With Covid-19 exposing and exacerbating inequalities in our society, we set an ambitious target of raising £250,000 over the course of the year, to combat the lost learning opportunities, cancelled internships and significant financial hardship faced by underrepresented students across the UK.

Thanks to a herculean effort throughout the year, and the generosity of our supporters, we had raised a total of £192,151 by the end of July, equivalent to 77% of the target. By the end of 2021, we had raised a total of £241,683, or 97% of our overall target. We’re grateful to all our supporters in helping us to achieve this, including the 30+ individuals taking part in challenge events throughout the year.

The funds raised in our Close The Covid Gap campaign will be used in line with our regional expansion strategy, which focuses on supporting more students from social mobility coldspots outside of London, including areas that have been hit particularly hard by Covid-19. Amongst other things, they will create an extra 140+ places on our intensive programme of support in 2022.

upReach has a double benefit approach, working to raise awareness of social mobility and help employers improve their practices when it comes to diverse hiring in addition to working with students. To this end we also held several external webinars and spoke at various events throughout the year, including:

We also continued to be a part of the Fair Access Coalition (member organisations shown below) and the Fair Education Alliance, working in partnership with a range of charities who are dedicated to progressing social mobility. Through the work of these groups we were able to play a role in helping thousands of students access univerisity by encouraging the government to make a U-Turn in August 2020 on the use of the Ofqual Algorithm to decide A-Level grades (more information on page 39).

Fundraising & Raising Awareness of Social Mobility

We support our students on campus to spread the word about Social Mobility and advocate for change.

The upReach Social Mobility Societies Network is a key aspect of the on-campus community strategy promoting the cause of social mobility. While the Societies project began at upReach in 2016/17, with societies at Exeter, King’s and Southampton, in 2020/21 societies at 10 new universities were established: Lancaster, Manchester, Liverpool, Cambridge, Warwick, UCL, KCL, SOAS, Exeter, Nottingham. With over 200 students bringing upReach’s mission to campuses across the country, we’re proud of all the passion and hard work that our Associates are pouring into these societies, and we look forward to bringing.

With an innovative instagram presence and by collaborating with other partners in the Social Mobility space, the Manchester affiliated upReach Society has gone above and beyond in it’s mission to spread social mobility awareness on campus. Surpassing their initial targets and gaining over 70 members, Manchester upReach has gone on to hold multiple events with positive feedback offering a measurable impact on campus.

“In my time as President of the upReach affiliated Society at The University Roheema, of Manchester, one of the most amazing and challenging aspects of the role has been strengthening my leadership and teamwork skills. Working with University of diverse committee members over a period of two years has provided me with Manchester valuable experience in organising and hosting successful events. For example, we hosted an event on ‘How to Deal with Imposter Syndrome?’ in collaboration with another social Mobility focused organisation - Social Knowbility and this was a fantastic and interactive event on Instagram Live. We received insightful questions on the issues one may face when entering new and professional spaces and provided tips on how to build one’s confidence and self-esteem. Overall, we had many attendees and the feedback we received was extremely positive as many people left feeling inspired and encouraged to feel less like an imposter in environments they deserve to be in.

Furthermore, I have gotten to know more about my committee and Society members which has definitely helped build a community at Manchester University. As this society is a safe space to talk, many people have opened up about their personal struggles alongside the adversity they’ve faced, and I think this has made everyone more understanding of social mobility issues and why societies like these are vital in uplifting and championing like-minded students. It is important that we recognise that those from underprivileged backgrounds may face more barriers than their peers but with the right support, resources and network which upReach has helped create, students can succeed and accomplish their goals. I would like to thank upReach for believing in me and providing me with this role which has been an incredible experience.”

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role which has been an incredible experience.” up Reach
Society Mobility Society
University of Manchester
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The Impact

2020/21 was another year of fantastic impact, where we reached and benefitted more students than ever before.

We use three key metrics to measure the success of our programme:

For the final two, we compare our Alumni with their peers nationally. These results are then reported in our annual Impact Report, which can be found on our website. From our most recent Impact Report, which measured the success of our 2019 Graduating Cohort, we found:

75%

Of upReach Associates who graduated in 2019 were in highly skilled employment or HE/Professional level further study 15 months after graduation.

The Impact: The Ofqual Grades Algorithm

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic forcing exams to be cancelled, A-Level grades in 2020 were instead based on the Ofqual grade algorithm, which looked at teacher-assessed grades, peer achievement and past GCSE results. It was immediately clear that students of the same ability were handed vastly different grades through the algorithm, and students from disadvantaged backgrounds were left disproportionately worse off compared to the wider cohort.

In response to this, upReach released research in August 2020 revealing the unfairness at the heart of the Ofqual algorithm.

‘Ofqual’s flawed methodology resulted in rampant grade inflation in subjects more popular at independent schools such as Classics. By their own definition, Ofqual and the government have thus failed in their attempt at maintaining a “Gold Standard” by capping grades. Popular subjects more commonly studied at Sixth Form colleges saw no grade inflation. This, together with the use of a flawed algorithm based on historical data, has unfairly destroyed the dreams of thousands of ordinary students.”

- John Craven, upReach CEO

upReach’s research showed

upReach Associates who were in highly skilled employment 15 months after graduating had a median average salary of £30,000, which is £3,500 more than their comparable peer group.

Application Successes

In addition to tracking our long term impact, we measure the successful applications that our current Associates make each year, in addition to the skills and employability growth and development throughout an Associate’s time on a programme.

In 2020/21, current Associates made a total of 1978 successful applications, which included spring insight programmes, summer internships, Industrial Placements and formal graduate roles. We will continue to work with these Associates as Alumni of our programmes, and report on their successes 15 months after their graduation date in our 2022 Impact Report.

Impact through wider influence

In addition to our direct impact on our Associates, we aim to raise awareness and have an impact through improving social mobility more widely in society. We were able to do this in 2020/21 through our research on the algorithm used to decide A-Level results during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the case study opposite describes.

upReach’s research led the Fair Access Coalition and Fair Eduation Alliance to call for a U-Turn on the use of the algorithm to decide on students grades, and as a result, their university places. As such, many thousands of students from lower income backgrounds achieved the grades that they deserved and were given the chance to attend their top choice universities.

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Supporting Our Staff

At upReach, we are passionate about supporting the development of our staff as well as our Associates.

upReach staff are fundamental to our success, providing the fantastic support that our Associates receive. At the end of the 2020/21 financial year we had 54 staff working in a mix of Associate facing and non-Associate facing roles. The team is spread across our offices in Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester, Newcastle, and London.

Many of our staff have joined us through our Future Charity Leaders Programme (FCLP). The FCLP is a unique 2.5 year graduate scheme created in 2016 which aims to train a new generation of leaders in the charity sector. In 2020/21 this has continued to grow, and we had 31 members of staff taking part in the programme.

The Future Charity Leaders Programme is for ambitious graduates who passionate about social mobility from any university, academic subject or background. People on the programme take on the role of a Programme Coordinator, and works with up to 80 undergraduate students to help them benefit from upReach’s interventions. In addition to this programmatic work, participants work for one day a week learning about a different aspect of charity management, on a rotational basis. Individuals spend six months on each rotation, so that during the 2.5 year programme they experience and learn about up to five of the areas of charity management.

Supporting Our Staff

I learnt so much on the FCLP - the responsibility from day 1 and ability to follow my own interests meant I developed my skills and abilities quickly, and prepared me for my step into management. Working with the Associates on our programmes has been a real highlight - I’ve seen them grow from when I first met them in their first year to now celebrating them graduating and moving into their careers. It’s been so rewarding to have contributed to their development and to have been a part of their journey.

The FCLP provided me with the leadership skills to progress quickly in my career - now I manage 5 current FCLPers and look after our largest sector programme! Using the experience I had from mentoring my Associates means I now get to nurture talent within the upReach team and empower them to succeed too!

Mabel joined upReach via the FCLP in 2019 and now manages one of our sector programmes focusing on technology.

We have an amazing, supportive team - a genuinely lovely group of people, who are all committed to changing society for the better and work hard every day to help upReach make a difference. Working at upReach encourages you to learn quickly and develop in areas you’re particularly passionate about. I’ve been able to shape my role at upReach, suggesting new ideas or areas of focus that have allowed me to progress in the things that are important to me. As a rapidly growing charity, you’re given lots of responsibility early on, and with the support of the team you have the chance to quickly develop professionally. I was particularly keen to use my skills of coordination/organisation to develop our practice, and have been working on new projects to implement this to the whole team, something you only get in a growing, supportive organisation.

Sam joined upReach in December 2020 as Fundraising and Events Senior Officer, and has since been promoted to Manager.

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What Comes Next?

Since being founded in 2012, upReach has grown into one of the leading social mobility charities in the UK. As we enter our 10th year, we are excited by what can be achieved in the years to come.

upReach have shown that we can consistently deliver high quality, high impact programmes, this being recognised through the long term support of our partners, and the winning of multiple national awards. Our recently published 2022-2025 Strategy lays out several areas goals that upReach will be pursuing in the next few years, demonstrating our aspiration to offer support to every undergraduate from a disadvantaged background who seeks it.

By 2024/25, we will support 4,000 students across our intensive programmes to help them reach

their full career potential.

Thank you to Supporters, Collaborators and Partners

upReach are grateful to all our supporters, without whom our Associates would not have achieved such career success. We are delighted to be working with people and organisations that share our vision of a society in which everybody has an equal opportunity to realise their full potential.

The Development Advisory Board

Established in 2018, the upReach Development Advisory Board enables individuals to support our mission of boosting social mobility in the UK. We are very grateful for the investment that these individuals have made, which has enabled upReach to accelerate our growth. Each Board member is invited to help us develop our long term strategy, and commit to making an annual contribution to the charity for at least two years.

Anush Newman, Managing Partner, JMAN Group

Brian Gilvary, CFO, BP plc

Ed Shuckburgh, Director, Montagu

We also plan to extend our reach beyond our core programmes, such that in 2024/25:

So, by 2024/25, we aim to reach 25,000 young people.

We will only be able to reach these goals with the continued support of our partners and donors, and the hard work of our team. On behalf of the team and all of the Associates who we are working with, thank you for your support.

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Jennifer Chamandi Boghossian, Luxury Footwear Designer and Former Banker

Members, Supporters and Sponsors

Our Membership Scheme launched in 2018 to allow more individuals to donate to upReach on a monthly basis. This scheme is designed to help us support even more young people to achieve their career goals. We are grateful to all Members, Supporters and Sponsors who donate to support upReach. Every donation brings us one step closer to achieving our goal of supporting 2,500 students from less-advantaged backgrounds per year by 2022.

upReach wishes to thank all of our individual sponsors and supporters for their generous financial contributions to our work.

Christina Farrow Julia Thompson Olivia Gillan-Bower Samantha Fletcher
Sean Salji Ebenezer Asmah John Gibbons Rebecca Smart
Richard Rawstron Owain Service Sian Brannan Ethan Adams
James Harkin Paul Olanrewaju Alakija Calum Craig Tai Lee
Eric Personne Nick Tucker Johnathan Braithwaite Awais Riaz
Hayley Gibbs Seye Ibare-Akinsan Chris McEvilly Richard Lewis Jones
Eoin Murray Philip Brodie Jan David Gropp Tim Martin-Jenkins
Pierre Mendelsohn Katy Ingle Victoria Boelman

We would also like to thank the London Community Response Fund for their grant, funded by City Bridge Trust.

Mentors

Our Professional Mentoring Programme is run in partnership with several of our employer partners. While every upReach Associate has a designated Programme Coordinator for continuous support, our mentors provide more in-depth career knowledge and help Associates understand how to succeed in a particular career. Thank you to all our mentors for the fantastic support they provide our Associates.

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Advisory Group

Claudine Adeyemi

Andrew Bargery

Founder & CEO The Student Development PwC Company and Career Ear

Talent Engagement Senior Manager

The Student Development

Emma Moore

Emma Turnbull

Head of Careers & Employability University of Liverpool

Pro Bono & Community Investment Officer

Allen & Overy

Kate Eggers

Kate Foster

Careers Consultant Widening Participation University of Exeter

Attraction Marketing Manager Bank of America

Nicholas Cornwell Manager Clara Analytics Team

Phil Wilson

Chief Psychologist and Assessor Civil Service

Reggie Nelson

Analyst Legal and General

Dinti Batstone

Lawyer

Jenna Follett

Talent Acquistion Lead Bloomberg

Michael LeoValan Co-Founder and CTO JMAN Group

Prasanna Kannan

Co-Founder Native Finance

Tania Lyden

Career Mentoring Manager and Doctoral Researcher University of Reading

Hollie Crompton

Social Mobility Lead PwC

Sarah Webster

Director Greenhouse Sports

Dr. Louise Ashley

Senior Lecturer Royal Holloway University of London

Rachel Glaze

Resourcing Lead Aviva

Trustees

Amrit Sandhu

Amy Dicketts

Al Marshall

Jennifer Hamilton

Azhar Chaudhry

Edward Astle

Owain Service

Timothy Fosh

Katy Ingle

Valentina QuinteroRodriguez

Abbey Wong

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References

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

Legal and administrative information

Full name upReach Charitable Company Registered company number 08300398 Registered charity number 1158896 Trustees A J B Marshall A R Peake (Resigned 3 November 2021) G Atherton (Resigned 13 July 2021) A Chaudhury K Ingle V Quintero Rodriguez O Service E M Astle T I Fosh A Dicketts (Appointed 5 November 2020) A K Sandhu (Appointed 18 May 2021) J Hamilton (Appointed 18 May 2021) Company secretary J B Craven

Company secretary Registered office

CAN Mezzanine 7-14 Great Dover Street London England SE1 4YR

Auditors

UHY Hacker Young 14 Park Row Nottingham NG1 6GR

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TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

Governing document

The charity is governed by Articles of Association which lay out the charity’s objects and powers, as well as setting out its governance structure. The charity is constituted as a Company Limited by Guarantee with charitable status and governed by the Board of Trustees.

Objectives and activities

The objects of the Charity are for the public benefit to relieve charitable need and to advance education, particularly, but not exclusively, by providing advice, training, guidance, mentoring and support to undergraduates and graduates who are in need and/or disadvantaged by reason of their social background and consequently in relative disadvantage in relation to professional opportunities to improve their potential access to and success in professions in the fields of Accounting, Advertising, Business Intelligence, Civil Service, Education, Engineering, Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Financial Services, HR, Insurance, IT, Journalism, Law, Management Consultancy, Marketing, Media, Pharmaceutical, Property, Public Relations, Publishing, Recruitment, Research, Third Sector, Utilities and such other fields as the trustees may determine.

Our mission is to create the conditions for undergraduates from less-advantaged backgrounds to access and sustain top graduate jobs.

upReach’s professional development programme aims to close the employability skills gap, by providing personalised intensive support to students, in partnership with universities.

We help students to develop the skills and networks needed to succeed in the graduate jobs market. Our partnerships with top employers help to broaden career horizons, raise aspirations and provide work experience opportunities for students. Through these partnerships we also aim to influence the hiring practices of top organisations, encouraging them to recognise the importance and value of diversity in the workplace. This ‘double benefit’ approach helps us to tackle the social mobility challenge from both sides, working towards eradicating social inequality in graduate recruitment.

The upReach programme is designed to support Associates in a way that best reflects their needs and preferences. Associates are individually assigned a Programme Coordinator, who works with them throughout their engagement in the programme.

Practice online tests, mock assessments and application and CV reviews help to prepare Associates for job applications; video forums and skills workshops help Associates to develop essential soft skills; and professional mentoring and exclusive Insight Days give Associates a taste of the professional world.

Achievements and performance

Our recent growth trajectory has continued its upward path, with an increase of 27% in the number of Associates supported this year, from 1,750 in 2020 to 2,218 in 2020/21, leaving the Charity well-placed to achieve or exceed its goal of working with 2,500 students by 2022.

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

upReach’s strategy of regional expansion continued to take shape, enabling us to provide additional focus on students and employers in less-advantaged areas around the country. Our Manchester office continued to grow, and we were excited to add Bristol as our newest regional location, with Nottingham and Newcastle opening in September 2021.

In line with our increasing focus on supporting students from outside London and the South East, and in social mobility coldspots, we launched our Close the Covid Gap fundraising campaign in January 2021, aiming to raise £250,000 to help address inequalities that have been exacerbated by Covid-19. Students have faced lost learning opportunities, cancelled internships, and significant financial hardships, and these funds will allow us to support more students from areas outside London and the Southeast, which have been hit particularly hard by Covid-19. By the end of July 2021, we had received donations totalling nearly £200,000 and are confident of achieving our £250,000 goal by the end of the calendar year.

Despite in-person events being ruled out due to Covid-19 restrictions, the upReach team were able to maintain our high level of one-to-one support and regular online skills development sessions. We worked with our employer partners to offer a broad range of online events including virtual insight days and career academies allowing over 1,000 students to gain exposure to professional working environments.

Our Assessed Virtual Internship Programme, introduced in July 2020 as a response to Associates missing out on internships and work experience due to Covid, was repeated in July 2021 with 115 participants. Almost 200 professionals volunteered their time to support the programme, conducting 57 hours of mock interviews and delivering 37 technical masterclasses.

In addition, we secured funding from a foundation to build a new platform called the Social Mobility Network, which launched in January 2021. Designed to be “the network for those without a network,” it provides students with access to a broad range of professionals who are able to answer “Ask an Expert” queries, conduct technical Mock Interviews or simply arrange a Career Chat to find out more about opportunities in their chosen sectors. By growing their professional network in their target areas, students build a greater understanding of career pathways, develop technical knowledge and commercial awareness, and build the social and cultural capital that employers value so highly, allowing them to fulfil their career potential. We are grateful to the growing number of professionals who are keen to support less-advantaged students and to our corporate partners who have provided additional financial support and internal staff committed to working with our Associates. At time of launch, we had 18 partner firms committed to providing professionals to the platform.

Financial review

In the 2020/21 financial year, our income grew by 49% to £1,904,877 (2020 = £1,278,909) of which £34,509 was attributable to Gifts in Kind (2020 = £79,001). Excluding Gifts in Kind, income was £1,870,368, an increase of 56% on the previous year (2020 = £1,199,908).

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TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

Despite initial uncertainty around funding due to Covid-19, we were again delighted that substantially all of our corporate and university partners renewed their partnerships with us. We also welcomed many new partners, resulting in the number of partners we worked with increasing by 62% to 76 compared to 47 in 2019/20. Additionally, we were successful in a number of grant applications to major Trusts and Foundations, including a 3-year commitment from The Hg Foundation who will be supporting 500 Associates on a new Technology Springboard programme, as well as providing funds for capacity building to facilitate continued growth across the organisation.

Expenditure during the period was £1,627,869 an increase of 43% on the previous year (2020 = £1,136,601), of which £34,509 was attributable to Gifts in Kind (2020 = £79,001). Excluding Gifts in Kind, expenditure was £1,593,360, a 51% increase on 2020 (£1,057,600). Given our model of intensive personalised support for Associates, the vast majority of the increased expenditure reflects the additional headcount needed in order to allow us to work closely with our beneficiaries, as well as growth in non-delivery staff such as marketing, fundraising and HR, providing the necessary backoffice infrastructure to support this expansion.

Overall, there was a surplus of £277,008 for the 2020/21 financial year, an increase of 95% compared to £142,308 in 2019/20. This provides upReach with unrestricted reserves of £555,180, which allows us tosupport additional growth in 2021/22 and beyond, whilst remaining in line with our Reserves and Solvent Closure Policy.

As of 31st July 2021, there was a cash balance of £866,514 (an increase of £311,461 compared to the prior year-end).

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

We have an increasing number of multi-year commitments across all our partnerships, including corporates, universities and trusts and foundations, which helps to mitigate any risks around annual funding renewals.

We have continued to invest in technology, enhancing our internal platforms enabling us to deliver support to beneficiaries even more effectively, as well as new initiatives such as the Social Mobility Network platform, which provides our beneficiaries with direct access to industry professionals to build their networks and understanding of career pathways.

The expansion of our core programme working with undergraduates from less-advantaged backgrounds, is complemented by our other initiatives such as Aspire, our University and Careers guide for 6th-formers, and REALrating, our contextualised recruitment platform which enables graduate employers to better understand the true potential of their applicants and identify those who performed well academically against significant disadvantages.

We anticipate that much of our focus in the years ahead will be on supporting more students from outside London. We look forward to building long-term relationships with many more students, universities and employers around the country in the years ahead.

Appointment of trustees

All Trustees when appointed signed a declaration of known conflicts of interest and the Charity Commission’s Trustee Eligibility Declaration. They have all been appointed through the following process:

Reserves policy

Reserves are needed to bridge the funding gaps between expenditure on charitable activities and receiving income through donations and fees, as well as enabling upReach to fulfil its financial obligations in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

The Charity aims to ensure that over a projected 12-month period, the consolidated unrestricted cash reserves of upReach Charitable Company and its wholly owned subsidiary upReach Services remain the higher of:

a) Three months unrestricted expenditure (forward-looking).

Unrestricted reserves at year-end totalled £555,180, above our solvency targets of three months projected unrestricted expenditure (£188,667) and the estimated costs of closure including 20% contingency (£348,302).

Plans for future periods

upReach has supported a record number of Associates in this financial year, and we look forward to achieving or exceeding our ambitious goal set in 2018 of working with 2,500 Associates by 2021/22.

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TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

Trustee induction

upReach have a formal Trustee Induction process, including a checklist of items that a new trustee needs to complete with support from the Chair of the Board. A welcome pack, including the Trustee Handbook, is sent to the new trustee upon joining. The Trustee Induction process was refreshed in 2021.

Organisation

The charity is governed by the Board of Trustees, who meet five times per year. There are additional Sub-Committee meetings covering the core areas of Finance/Risk and Delivery, attended by upReach Management and selected Trustees. Day to day management is carried out by the Chief Executive who is accountable to the Board of Trustees. The charity’s core public benefit is delivered through a team of Programme Coordinators and Programme Leaders, who provide direct support to the Associates. These are managed by the Head of Programmes & Impact, accountable to the Chief Executive. An Advisory Group offer informal and unpaid advice and support to the Chief Executive, Head of Programmes & Impact and Chair of the Board.

Risk management

The trustees carry out their duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.

The Board analyse a comprehensive risk register, with risks categorised into Financial, Partnerships, Operational, Organisational, Competitors, Strategy and Mission, Programme, Structural and IT. Each risk was assessed according to their likelihood of occurrence and impact on the organisation, with a description of how the risk is mitigated. The risk register is reviewed quarterly by the Finance and Risk Sub-Committee, and annually by the Board as a whole. Our Risk Register and Risk Management Process was reviewed and updated in the 2020/21 financial year.

Provision of information to independent auditor

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

upReach uses online accounting software for bookkeeping and payroll purposes, as well as producing management accounts. The auditor has been provided with full access to this software.

Public Benefit Statement

Our package of tailored support and opportunities enables talented undergraduates from less-privileged backgrounds to overcome the barriers to entry, access top jobs and secure professional employment.

The issue of social mobility is not simply one of fairness but also economic necessity for the country as a whole. Through tackling this issue, the UK economy could see cumulative gains totalling £1.3 trillion over the next forty years.

If the issue of access to the professions is not addressed, then ‘the typical professional of the future will now be growing up in a family that is better off than seven in ten of all families in the UK’. The continuation of unequal access to professional employment contributes to persistent intergenerational inequality and the UK’s sluggish social mobility performance. Our work plays a role in solving this.

For many years there has rightly been a focus on improving access to university. As a result, more individuals from less-privileged backgrounds now attend university; however, this does not translate into equal access to top jobs. In ‘The Issue: Access to the Professions’ we showed that a degree from a top university was not enough. Our work shows that graduates from less-privileged backgrounds face a number of challenges progressing into the professions. Our support empowers undergraduates to overcome these challenges, effectively compete for top jobs and realise their potential.

Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements

The charity trustees (who are also the directors of the upReach Charitable Company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing a trustees’ annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the charity trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable group for that period. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are required to:

So far as each of the trustees are aware at the time this report is approved:

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TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and the group and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Statement as to disclosure to our auditors

In so far as the trustees are aware at the time of approving our trustees’ annual report:

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of upReach Charitable Company (the ‘parent company’) and its subsidiaries (‘the group’) for the year ended 31 July 2021 which comprise Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, Consolidated Balance Sheet, Charity Balance Sheet, Consolidated Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

Approved by the trustees on 10 February 2022 and signed on its behalf by:

E M Astle

Chair Person

Company Registration Number: 08300398 Charity Number: 1158896

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to report to you where:

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 6, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the group’s and the parent company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the group or the parent company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Based on our understanding of the charitable company and the industry in which it operates, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to the acts by the charitable company, which were contrary to applicable laws and regulations including fraud, and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006. We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls), and determined that the principal risks were related to inflated revenue and the charitable company’s net income for the year.

Audit procedures performed included:

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and the further removed noncompliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it. Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and to the charitable company’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Note
Income from:
Donations
2
Investments
3
Charitable activities
4
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
5
Charitable activities
6
Total expenditure
Net income
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought
forward
Total funds carried
forward
15		 Unrestricted
funds 2021
£
658,470
1,239
453,406
1,113,115
11,869
824,238
836,107
277,008
278,172
555,180		 Restricted
funds 2021
£
791,762
-
-
791,762
-
791,762
791,762
-
-
-		 Total funds
2021
£
1,450,232
1,239
453,406
1,904,877
11,869
1,616,000
1,627,869
277,008
278,172
555,180		 Total funds
2020
£
881,790
1,351
395,768
1,278,909
6,295
1,130,306
1,136,601
142,308
135,864
278,172

David Allum

(Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of UHY Hacker Young, Statutory Auditor

14 Park Row Nottingham NG1 6GR Date: 18/02/2022

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GROUP BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 JULY 2021

Note
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
10
Current assets
Debtors
12
Cash at Bank
Creditors
Amounts falling due within one year
13
Net current assets
Net assets
Funds
Unrestricted funds
15
Restricted funds
15		 2021
£
25,800
25,800
401,011
866,514
1,267,525
738,145
529,380
555,180
555,180
-
555180		 2020
£
11,931
11,931
238,147
555,053
793,200
526,959
266,241
278,172
278,172
-
278172

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 10/02/2022 and were signed on its behalf by:

E M Astle Chair Person

CHARITY BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 JULY 2021

Note
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
10
Investments
11
Current assets
Debtors
12
Cash at Bank
Creditors
Amounts falling due within one year
13
Net current assets
Net assets
Funds
Unrestricted funds
15
Restricted funds
15		 2021
£
25,800
100
25,900
577,795
476,109
1,053,904
547,459
506,445
532,345
532,345
-
532,345		 2020
£
11,931
100
12,031
251,897
423,360
675,257
414,602
260,655
272,686
272,686
-
272,686

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 10/02/2020 and were signed on its behalf by:

E M Astle Chair Person

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CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT AS AT 31 JULY 2021

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

1. Accounting policies

CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net cash provided by operating activities (note 18)
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Net cash outfow from investing activities
Increase in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 August
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 July		 2021
£
334,936
(23,475)
(23,475)
311,461
555,053
866,514		 2020
£
353,641
(2,760)
(2,760)
350,881
204,172
555,053

1.1 Basis of preparation of accounts

upReach Charitable Company is an incorporated charitable company registered in England and Wales. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity. The address of the registered office is given in the legal and administrative information on page 1 of these financial statements. The nature of the charity’s operations and principal activity is to address the inequality of access to top jobs for those from less-advantaged backgrounds.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)) (issued in October 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain items at fair value. The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity and rounded to the nearest £.

The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise stated.

1.2 Basis of consolidation

These financial statements consolidates the results of upReach Services Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the charitable company.

All intra-group transactions and balances between group companies are eliminated on consolidation.

1.3 Going concern and COVID-19

The trustees have reviewed the circumstances of the charitable company and consider that adequate resources continue to be available to fund its activities for the foreseeable future. The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for at least 12 months from the date the financial statements are approved.

The Charity’s response to Covid-19 has been positive. New sources of funding have been sought whilst continuing to deliver the charitable objectives during a period which has been particularly challenging for not just our Associates but also our Partner Employers and Universities. At the time of writing, the trustees are of the opinion that the charity will continue to increase both existing and find new funding opportunities to enable them to support more Associates. Scenario based cash flow forecasts are regularly reviewed and the trustees expect that the charitable company will continue to generate cash and pay liabilities as they fall due for the foreseeable future.

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

1.4 Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in note 15.

1.5 Income recognition

All incoming resources are included on the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

1.8 Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Fixtures and fittings – 20%-33% on cost

Computer equipment – 25%-33% on cost

1.9 Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

1.10 Donated goods, facilities and service

Donated goods, facilities and services, including volunteers, are included at the value to the charity where this can be quantified.

Donations are recognised on a receipts basis.

1.11 Pension

Grant income is recognised when the formal offer of funding is communicated in writing to the charity and spread over grant period on a straight-line basis. The grants received are collaborations between the charity and the partners and as such the charity does not have overall control for meeting the terms and conditions of the grant. The trustees have departed from the relevant provision of the Charities SORP to the extent necessary to show a ‘true and fair’ view by not recognising the grant income on receipt of the formal offer of funding.

Donated services and facilities are recognised once the services have been performed.

1.6 Resources expended

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Expenditure relating to those restricted funds linked to supporting a cohort of students has been calculated on the basis of the expected costs of supporting 80 students, this being pro-rated on an individual partner basis with reference to the number of students involved.

1.7 Charitable activities

Charitable activities comprise those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and service for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

Payments to defined contribution retirement pension schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

1.12 Leases

Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to income on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease.

1.13 Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

In the application of the company’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

Critical judgements

Recognition of grant income

The trustees believe that the deed of grant and collobaration agreements in place with the partnerships confirms that the charity is not in control of meeting the terms and conditions of each grant and as such the income should be recognised over the life of the grant period.

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

2. Voluntary Income

Donations
Grants
Donated services and facilities		 2021
£
694,253
721,470
34,509
1,450,232		 2020
£
436,978
365,811
79,001
881,790

Included within donations is restricted income of £99,178 (2019 - £12,497) and unrestricted income of £595,075 (2020 - £424,481).

Included within grants is restricted income of £692,584 (2020 - £345,811) and unrestricted income of £28,766 (2020 - £20,000).

Included within donated services and facilities is restricted income of £nil (2020 - £nil) and unrestricted income of £34,509 (2020 - £79,001).

3. Income from Investments

2021 2020
£ £
Deposit account interest 1,239 1,351

All investment income is unrestricted income.

4. Charitable Activities

Activity 2021
£		 2020
£
Partner fees Relief of charitable need and advance of education 453,407 394,068
Partner income University funding of internships - 1,700
453,407 395,768

Included within charitable activities is restricted income of £nil (2020 - £1,700) and unrestricted income of £453,407 (2020 - £394,068)

5. Fundraising Trading: Cost of Goods Sold and Other Costs

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

6. Charitable activities expenditure

Staff costs
Training costs
Recruitment fees
Premises expenses
IT Development & Maintenance
SSMA expenses (2021 event
postponed)
Printing, postage and stationery
Advertising
Legal and professional fees
Computer and telephone
Subsistence and travelling
expenses
Networking Platform
Development
Memberships & subscriptions
Bank charges
Irrecoverable VAT
Depreciation
Foreign exchange gain
Bursary payments
Bad debt written off		 2021
Direct
£
1,293,262
-
-
-
-
192
-
-
-
-
-
45,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,338,454		 2021
Support
£
-
9,000
8,455
42,859
67,054
-
684
9,668
19,518
24,225
3,516
980
227
6,057
9,606
(303)
70,000
6,000
277,546		 2021
Total
£
1,293,262
9,000
8,455
42,859
67,054
192
684
9,668
19,518
24,225
3,516
45,000
980
227
6,057
9,606
(303)
70,000
6,000
1,616,000		 2020
Total
£
892,542
-
766
67,921
51,324
10,444
995
18,901
40,742
8,963
27,656
489
237
3,309
6,917
(900)
-
1,130,306

Included within the direct costs is restricted expenditure of £636,596 (2020 - £324,513).

Included within the support costs is restricted expenditure of £155,166 (2020 - £35,495).

2021 2020
£ £
Purchases 11,869 6,295

All purchases in this regard are unrestricted expenditure.

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66

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

7. Net Income

7. Net Income
This is stated after charging: 2021
£		 2020
£
Operating lease costs 35,064 65,679
Depreciation – owned assets 9,606 6,719
Remuneration paid to auditors – for audit services 6,450 6,450

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

2021 2020
Number Number
£70,001 to £80,000 - 1
£80,001 to £90,000 1 -

The total employee remuneration and benefits of key management personnel was £146,480 (2020 - £133,040).

8. Trustees’ Remuneration and Benefits

There were no trustees’ remuneration payments or other benefits for the year ended 31 July 2021 nor for the year ended 31 July 2020.

Trustees’ expenses

There were no trustees’ expenses paid for during the year ended 31 July 2021 nor for the year ended 31 July 2020.

9. Staff Costs

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Defned pension scheme contributions		 2021
£
1,120,067
99,320
73,875
1,293,262		 2020
£
771,049
68,054
53,439
892,542

Included within staff costs is restricted expenditure of £636,596 (2020 - £324,513).

10. Tangible Fixed Assets - Group and company

Cost
As at 1 August 2020
Additions
`
Depreciation
At 1 August 2020
Charge for year
Net Book Value
At 31 July 2021
At 31 July 2020		 Fixtures and
fttings
£
3,411
-
3,411
631
175
806
2,605
2,780		 Computer
equipment
£
22,970
23,475
46,445
13,819
9,431
23,250
23,195
9,151		 Totals
£
26,381
-
26,381
14,450
9,606
24,056
25,800
11,931

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

2021 2020
Charitable activities 42 28

The number of staff who received remuneration within each banding are totalled below (including directors):

11. Fixed Asset Investments – Charitable company

Unlisted
Investments
£
Cost & Net Book Value
As at 1 August 2020 & 31 July 2021 100

There were no investment assets outside of the United Kingdom. The charity wholly owns the £100 share capital issued in upReach Services Limited.

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68

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

12. Debtors: Amounts Falling Due Within One Year

Trade debtors
Amount due from subsidiary company
Other debtors		 Group
2021
£
2020
£
327,031
205,785
-
-
73,980
32,362
401,011
238,147		 Company
2021
£
2020
£
218,667
162,285
299,554
64,771
59,574
24,841
577,795
251,897		 Company
2021
£
2020
£
218,667
162,285
299,554
64,771
59,574
24,841
577,795
251,897
251,897

13. Creditors: Amounts Falling Due Within One Year

13. Creditors: Amounts Falling Due Within One Year
Trade debtors
Taxation and social security
Other debtors		 Group
2021
£
2020
£
24,836
13,284
72,841
23,581
640,468
490,094
738,145
526,959		 Company
2021
£
2020
£
9,835
184
36,928
16,704
500,696
397,714
547,459
414,602
414,602

Included within other creditors is deferred income of £18,224 (2020 - £nil) which falls due after more than one year.

14. Operating Lease Commitments - Group and company

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

15. Movement in Funds

Unrestricted Funds
General funds
Restricted funds
CSR grant
Foundation
Individual donation
Law bursaries
Partner University Grant
Trust
Total funds
Unrestricted Funds
General funds
Restricted funds
Associate travel expenses
Foundation
Partner University Grant
Trust
University Intern Grant
Total funds		 At
1 August 2020
£
278,172
-
-
-
-
-
-
278,172
At
1 August 2019
£
135,864
-
-
-
-
-
135,864		 Income
£
1,113,115
79,130
325,481
29,178
70,000
223,065
64,908
1,904,877
Income
£
918,901
12,947
90,289
162,936
87,429
1,700
1,278,909		 Expenditure
£
836,107
79,130
325,481
29,178
70,000
223,065
64,908
1,627,869
Expenditure
£
776,593
12,947
90,289
162,936
87,429
1,700
1,136,601		 At
31 July 2021
£
555,180
-
-
-
-
-
-
555,180
At
31 July 2020
£
278,172
-
-
-
-
-
278,172

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70

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

Name of restricted fund Description, nature and purpose of the fund

Associate travel expenses Funds provided to cover travel expenses for undergraduates attending internships or events

CSR grant, Foundation & Various Grants to support less-advantaged undergraduates on Trust a programme of support to improve their access to professional employment, to develop or support our technology platforms including the Social Mobility Network Platform, to grow the Charity’s regional presence, and to increase organisational capacity.

Individual donation An individual donor funds the salary of a Senior Fundraising Officer.

Law bursaries Funds provided for distribution to selected Associates on the upReach Law Springboard or similar programmes.

Partner University Grant Funding to support a cohort of less-advantaged undergraduates on our Rise Programme of intensive support to improve their access to professional employment. University Intern Grant Funds provided to cover the salary costs of an undergraduate intern.

16. Partner gifts in kind

Partner
Activity
Allen & Overy LLP
Pro-bono legal services
Allen & Overy LLP
Provision of offce space for training
Allen & Overy LLP
Pro-bono graphic design services
Aviva
Donation of reconditioned laptops
Bank of America (training)
Apprenticeship Levy Funding
Bank of America
Event catering and hosting
Civil Service Fast Stream
Secondment of employee
Close brothers
Event catering and hosting
Commercial law frm
Pro-bono legal support
Imitor Graphica
Pro-bono graphic design services
JMAN Group
Pro-bono technology services
Macfarlanes
Pro-bono legal support
Total funds		 2021
£
-
-
-
7,000
9,000
-
-
-
6,000
6,320
500
5,689
34,509		 2020
£
28,006
10,181
3,015
-
-
962
16,352
405
-
3,580
16,500
-
79,001

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

17. Legal status of the Charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each trustee in the event of winding up is limited to £1.

18. Operating cash flow

Net income for the reporting period
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
Increase in creditors
Net cash provided by operating activities		 2021
£
277,008
9,606
(162,864)
211,186
334,936		 2020
£
142,308
6,917
66,078
138,338
353,641

19. Net assets note

19. Net assets note
Fund balances at 31 July
are represented by:
Tangible fxed assets
Cash
Net current liabilities
Total net assets		 Unrestricted
funds
£
25,800
567,552
(38,172)
555,180		 Restricted
funds
£
-
298,962
(298,962)
-		 Total
2021
£
25,800
866,514
(337,134)
555,180		 Total
2020
£
11,931
555,053
(288,812)
278,172

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72

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR TO 31 JULY 2021

20. Financial instruments

The group’s financial instruments may be analysed as follows:

Financial assets
Financial assets measured at amortised cost
Financial liabilities
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost		 2021
£
1,193,545
-
683,941		 2020
£
760,838
503,378

Financial assets measured at amortised cost comprise cash at bank and trade debtors.

Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost comprise trade creditors, other creditors and accruals.

21. Related party transactions

There have been no related party transactions in the reporting period that require disclosure (2020 – none).

74