Brightside Impact Report 2025

Brightside is an online mentoring charity connecting disadvantaged young people with professional mentors to raise aspirations and support decision-making around education and careers. Their 2025 impact report records 6,796 mentees matched across 44 partners, with mentees achieving a full A-level grade higher than their school average.

Report snapshot
6,796 mentees matched to mentors; 104,471 messages sent by mentees across 44 partners Key Metric 1
Mentees achieve one full A-level grade higher than their school average (long-term HEAT/HESA analysis) Key Metric 2
Mentees twice as likely to enter higher education and twice as likely to complete their degrees Key Metric 3
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📋About

Online one-to-one mentoring, Spotlight in-school careers programme, STEM mentoring, Career Game classroom sessions, Brightside 7.0 platform launch

📊Key Metrics

6,796 mentees matched to mentors; 104,471 messages sent by mentees across 44 partners Key Metric 1
Mentees achieve one full A-level grade higher than their school average (long-term HEAT/HESA analysis) Key Metric 2
Mentees twice as likely to enter higher education and twice as likely to complete their degrees Key Metric 3

Key Outcomes

  • 19 percentage point increase in mentees' understanding of apprenticeships; 100% of Spotlight mentees reported increased knowledge of all post-school pathways
  • 51% of young people surveyed worried about their future; Generation Worry campaign launched in response to analysis of 8,000 young people's comments
  • 87 mentoring projects launched; all 8 Spotlight schools wanted to participate again; Brightside 7.0 platform launched with video calling and tailored tasks

📍Geography

UK-Wide

2024

Impact Report 2023/24

32,000+ children reached across core programmes; 20,315 children supported to access real working farms
Key Metric 1
41.8% of children in partner schools meet EVER6 Free School Meals criteria (national average 26.3%) — demonstrating focus on highest-disadvantage communities
Key Metric 2
95% of children felt farms were important after their visit (up 11% on prior year); 100% of teachers said programmes gave pupils new opportunities they wouldn't otherwise have accessed
Key Metric 3
Programmes target children least likely to access green space — particularly those in urban deprivation, with SEND, or facing other barriers to outdoor experience
2024

Impact Story 2020–2024

63 projects backed with £5 million in funding, unlocking £60 million+ in follow-on investment — £12 for every £1 given; 8 million+ children and young people engaged through funded projects
Key Metric 1
17 million+ people reached globally through expert articles co-created with insight network across 26 countries; 25,000+ people took part in 2,000+ Big Education Conversations across England since 2021
Key Metric 2
£1 million Big Education Challenge prize fund launched in 2022, backing 15 finalists and 6 award winners; 40 cross-sector experts publishing via global insight network; 35 countries holding Big Education Conversations
Key Metric 3
Early-stage backing of Frontline (2013) — now England's largest social work charity, training 2,400 social workers reaching 150,000+ families; Voice 21 (2014) — now working with 203,000 students in 852 schools; oracy embedded in cross-party education priorities
2024

Annual Report 2023/24

100,000+ children now reached through programmes — nearly doubling in one year the reach achieved in the previous five years combined; 16 new schools supported through School Transformation programme (6,303 pupils)
Key Metric 1
76 chefs from 126 schools graduated from School Chef Educator programme reaching 36,414 children daily; total income grew 46% to £1,654,185; most successful fundraising year to date raising £1,548,528
Key Metric 2
88%+ of school leaders reported pupils consuming more fruit and vegetables; 82%+ reported improvement in pupil behaviour; 65%+ reported improvement in pupil concentration; 100% of chefs satisfied or very satisfied with their job
Key Metric 3
Won BBC Food and Farming Derek Cooper Outstanding Achievement Award 2023; Survation polling found a third of parents can no longer afford school meals; gave evidence to House of Lords Food, Diet and Obesity Committee and Youth Select Committee