Burngreave After School Study Support Group

Speaking to Diane Haimeed (Study Support Coordinator) she told us how the group has been supporting young people for 8 years.

“It was set up because parents were complaining about how their children were not doing well at school academically. It used to be about 20 kids; now we have 60-80 attending weekly. It's had a massive impact on a number of people's lives. It's raised the aspiration of hundreds of young people who come together to learn and make friends. We also help them with writing CVs, finding courses and applying for college. We do health courses, emotional well-being courses, we offer a lot of support. And a lot of college kids come back for support with their A levels.”

The Messenger spoke to the young people benefiting from Burngreave After School Study Support

“I’ve been coming to study support since Y8. It’s a positive place and a good working environment. I usually ask for help with work that I find hard. You can concentrate here, it’s hard to do that at home. It motivates me to do better.” Nwaaneka Y12

“I've been coming to study support since Y3, when I first came I wasn't that good at English. It has helped me get higher marks in English, maths and science.” Tasneem Y7

“It’s helping me with my science exam in January. I bring my homework or I tell the teacher what we've been learning and we go over it, and that helps me to remember it.” Maimouna Y10

“I've been coming about a month, it helps me at school and makes me improve. If there was no study support, I would be mad, where would I go to do my homework? I'm trying to move up to a higher grade.” Justice Y9

A letter written by Abu-bakr to a councillor about closing study support:

Dear Councillor, After school project is a very helpful place to learn, it gives you a chance to revise if there is any test or GCSE and be ahead of people in your class.

It is less stressful than school as a result I and other kids work better and make more progress and learn more. This is a place for kids to learn how to make progress in their learning as well as having fun. I also enjoy meeting my friends there.

This place has felt like home for so many. We feel happy when we come here you can see it in our faces, light up like a diamond. Children have somewhere to go and do something productive, learn instead of playing games and watching TV, plus after school study support helps to improve in our learning and do well in school.

If we behave well, we are treated and we are taken on a trip. As well as this, the teachers in after school study support are very helpful and understanding. They explain things more clearly than other teachers. I also like how the support staff are from the same ethnicity as I am and have a similar culture to me. There are also different cultures that come to after-school study support which allows everyone to mix and learn about other cultures.

Yours sincerely, Abu-Bakr, Burngreave After School Study Support