Researchers are set to explore whether getting teenagers to tackle a big social issue in their community with the support of business mentors can improve their motivation and engagement at school.

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) announced today that 780 pupils at 30 English schools will take part in the trial of Community Apprentice, a programme run by the Envision organisation.

The research follows an Ofsted finding that most of England’s schools fail to prepare their pupils for the world of work through effective careers education.

Through weekly coaching sessions, workshops and cross-city events, groups of around 10 teenagers will identify an issue they care passionately about and devise a way to help and work with local businesses and charities to make it happen.

That will lead to an inter-school competition, with the winners demonstrating how they have made the biggest difference to their community and honed skills valued by employers, such as communication and problem-solving.

Independent evaluators will measure the impact that taking part in the programme has on character skills, such as self-efficacy and persistence, as well as on maths and English GCSE results.

The trial is being funded by a million-pound partnership between the EEF, The Careers & Enterprise Company and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

‘Little evidence available’

A second trial, funded by the same partnership and evaluated by a team from the National Foundation for Educational Research, will test the impact of Stem-related work experience on GCSE results in science and maths. Past placements involved organisations such as the Met Office and South West Water.

Pupils at 130 schools will take part in a trial of a work-experience programme for Year 10 pupils. Schools will help to identify students who might otherwise struggle to find a placement.

EEF chief executive Sir Kevan Collins said: “Schools and colleges are under more pressure to provide their pupils with a strong careers offering, but there is little evidence available on how to do this well.

“We are keen to see if engaging young people in tackling issues that matter to them motivates them to do better in school and to develop the skills valued by employers.”

Both trials are recruiting schools, via the EEF website.

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