An Interview with Oliver Peachey, Volunteering Partnerships Manager at UCL

What is your current role at the university?

I manage the Partnerships team in the Volunteering Service at UCL (University College London).

What do you like about CoachBright’s mission and work?

CoachBright’s programmes in Primary and Secondary schools are well thought through and tailored appropriately. I particularly like CoachBright’s focus on building young people’s independence, self-reflection and resilience through coaching – and I value the flexibility their programmes afford to our students who apply to volunteer with them.

Why did you want to partner with CoachBright?

I value volunteering opportunities that are explicit from the off about what’s expected, what’s involved and the impact our students will have. CoachBright makes the full volunteering journey clear and supports those that successfully apply throughout their time with them. UCL students who do volunteer with CoachBright consistently tell my team they’ve had an excellent experience.

What does your current partnership with CoachBright involve?

CoachBright regularly engages with our service – they’re great at updating their opportunities on our platform, notifying us of who they’ve selected to volunteer and requesting targeted communications to specific academic departments. They’re always very engaging at our volunteering fairs on campus, are active participants at our networking events and can always be relied upon to join us on request at relevant panel talks and departmental events ran through my team. This year they’ve been selected out of a highly competitive field to host a team of our students on our UCL Consultancy Challenge this summer.

What impact have you seen on both the pupils on the CoachBright programmes and your own students?

Our CoachBright volunteers tell us they’ve felt comfortable and supported from the beginning of their volunteering journey to the end. They’ve praised CoachBright’s regular communication and support – and come across as confident volunteers that can clearly articulate the impact they’ve had through their volunteering, on themselves and others.

Why do you think other universities should partner with CoachBright?

All the CoachBright staff who’ve been in touch with my team over the years have been friendly, attentive and keen to develop our community partnership to our mutual benefit. Their navigation of our systems, their positive representation at our events and their constant professionalism make them a real pleasure to work with. Their opportunities are flexible, have clearly defined impacts, are well supported and always generate a high level of interest and engagement amongst our students.

An Interview with Kizzi Keast, Access & Outreach Manager @ University of Reading

What do you like about CoachBright’s mission and work?

It’s very individual – a young person gets the support that they need as an individual which means it has a great impact. There’s a time and place for whole-year group or cohort interventions but when it comes to attainment and coaching, an individual approach is key. Since working with CoachBright more closely I have also seen the amount of energy and effort that staff put into building positive relationships with the young people and just how powerful that is.

Why did you want to partner with CoachBright?

We were looking for other ways to support our internal Attainment Raising work, especially at Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 and wanted something that was explicitly targeted at the students who would most benefit – not just the “easy wins”. CoachBright was also already working with some of our partner schools and it seemed like a logical decision to join up for greater impact.

What does your current partnership with CoachBright involve?

We currently fund coaching for 200 young people across 5 schools in our local area – a Year 9 and a Year 11 group in each school. We also host graduation trips on campus for these schools and other schools that CoachBright is working with, in the South East. CoachBright makes it really easy to work with them – there’s not that much extra work for us to do.

What impact have you seen on both the pupils on the CoachBright programmes and your own students?

Our partnership is still new but the results from our first coaching cohorts have been really positive in terms of attainment for the pupils involved. We’re excited to see how it progresses over time!

Why do you think other universities should partner with CoachBright?

CoachBright really does have the interests of the young people at heart and the programme has clear evidence of impact. In terms of partnership work, the team at CoachBright are easy to work with and happy to flex and meet your requirements as well as their own. And the young people are amazing – graduation days are always wonderful!

From Coach to Coachee - a Beneficiary Perspective

When did you join the CoachBright programme?

I joined as a peer mentor when I was 16 years old but then when I turned 18 I applied to receive coaching for myself because I felt like my life was falling apart. My father had been diagnosed with cancer and it was really hard to cope. Home wasn’t an encouraging place to be and I just felt like everything was a huge mess beyond my control. It was a scary time.

Unlike most of my peers, I didn’t have anything figured out in terms of exams, university or career goals. I did have a vague idea of wanting to enter the legal profession but with everything going on I just figured it wouldn’t be possible. The pressure I was under was massive and I lost all my self-confidence.

How did Coaching help you?

The coaching I got made a real difference in my life in quite a short space of time. She was like a friend with great listening skills, as well as an adviser and motivator. She was there just for me and she could still see my spark when I thought it had gone and I couldn’t feel it. She kept telling me that I deserved any and all opportunities that came my way.

My coach not only helped me in terms of revising for my exams but made me see the wider picture in terms of university and experiencing a whole new adventure. I started being able to balance my study time better by not putting so much pressure on myself and for this I am forever grateful because it helped me regain confidence. I began to believe in myself – that eventually, I would find a way to figure everything out and that before too much longer I could be whatever I wanted to be. Without a doubt, coaching helped shape who I am today.

What are you doing now?

So let’s fast forward 4 years to now. I completed a further education placement and joined the Witness Service as a volunteer for a year whilst studying at university (yes, I got into university!) In 2021 I took on a team leader role with the National Citizen Service.

Last year I graduated with a first-class law degree! I accepted a graduate role at a high-street law firm. Basically, I took every single opportunity that came my way. A few days ago I accepted a new position with one of Birmingham’s top city law firms! Yes!

That is so inspiring. What advice would you give other young people?

My advice to any other young person reading this is to never underestimate your unique talents. Regardless of your background or personal situation, you really can still achieve anything you want. Ask for help and hopefully, you can get a CoachBright coach. It is about believing in yourself and learning that you can overcome challenges, and never be afraid of the unknown or of trying something new.

What are your future plans?

In the next two years, I will evaluate my experiences post-graduation and figure out if being a solicitor is something I still really want. If the answer is yes then I will begin a master’s, or I might just redirect my strengths and skills into the education sector.

I learned the hard way that life is unpredictable so I’m not going to impose any time limits upon myself – eventually, I’ll figure it all out.