Pure Potential

About Us

Pure Potential is an independent organisation which raises the aspirations of thousands of sixth-formers every year, encouraging them to apply to and helping them to achieve offers from excellent universities and leading graduate recruiters. Our approach is efficient, holistic and realistic.

Pure Potential consists of a small team of staff and advisors all with a background and interest in education and social mobility. Scroll down to meet the PP Team.

Rationale

Research has shown that students from private schools are nearly twice as likely to get a place at the UK's top universities as their state-educated counterparts. Universities are some of the most diverse institutions in the country with professors, lecturers, researchers and students from all types of backgrounds. Pure Potential believes this should be reflected in the applicants. The universities themselves are working on this, but there is still much to be done and we believe that we are the people to do it. Some students and their families still don't realise that their claim to a university place is as strong as anyone else's. We aim to change this mindset and help them fulfil their potential. What frustrates us is that there is sometimes a gap between talent and aspiration, and if you are bright enough to have the choice to attend most institutions, we will support and encourage your endeavors.

Students will achieve more and fulfill their potential. Universities will benefit from a more diverse population of undergraduates, enhancing diversity and benefiting all. Businesses will also benefit from graduates from a wider range of backgrounds. Ultimately, the country will benefit both economically and creatively. We believe that student aspiration and good business go hand in hand and that is why it is right for businesses to provide a little extra investment to help nurture university applicants and thus help the country produce even better graduates.

PP: Sixth

We ran our pilot events in 2005 for over 500 students at three events around the country. The feedback was outstanding, proving that there is a huge demand for our services. We have since run events for between 4,000 and 5,000 students every year.

At our events bright students from state schools across the country attend a university presentation where they learn about the UCAS application, personal statements, student finance and interview skills. They also have the opportunity to attend Career Workshops led by leading graduate employers such as Law, Accountancy, Medicine and Management Consultancy.

APPLY®

In the last six months alone, over 25,000 copies of APPLY® have been bought by state schools and colleges for their brightest sixth formers. With articles on applying to university and information on careers, work experience, gap years and CV writing, students are encouraged to keep the guide long after they leave school. If you would like to buy a copy of our magazine, please email info (a) purepotential.org.

PP: School Leavers

Pure Potential understands that sixth formers are faced with difficult decisions about their future, and this event will offer them an overview of alternative options to university. Last year, in response to the rise in tuition fees and the changes within higher education, we hosted the first ever event specifically for students considering bypassing university and going straight into the world of work after their sixth form studies. The event was a huge success and saw over 250 students meeting leading global firms to find out about their programmes, get advice on making an outstanding application and how to get ahead of their peers. PP: School Leavers will be taking place again in the Spring Half Term.

PP: Law

In March 2009, we ran our initial event for first year law undergraduates. The aim of the event was to break down many of the stereotypical views of the competitive professions such as law and to better-inform state students about the opportunities available within this sector. Over 250 students attended the event which featured information on a career in Law, how to make a successful internship application and a panel interview providing students the opportunity to ask questions to lawyers. The afternoon was spent working on a case study with lawyers from our partner law firms and the networking session at the end allowed students to talk to our various partners. The event was a huge success again the following year and we now run this event annually.

Our Sponsors

Firms can see the very obvious benefits of being involved with Pure Potential students. Responsible firms are committed to positive social change and social inclusion. They are an integral part of the world in which we live and should be involved in constructive and significant projects such as this.

Firms also recognise that they are the greatest beneficiaries of universities, owing to the talented graduates they supply. Pure Potential gives firms the chance to show they care by helping students fulfill their potential before the university stage. The thousands of state-educated students who attend the Pure Potential events are among the brightest of the 500,000 who apply to university every year. Becoming involved with talented students early allows firms to make an early, positive impression before their competitors.

To find out more about Pure Potential, please download a copy of our 5 Year Report.

The Team

Sibyl Zao-Sanders

Managing Director 

Sibyl studied Linguistics at UCL, graduating in 2003 and went on to work in the charity sector. She completed an internship at national charity Crisis, marketing and organising an event for over 2,000 people. After two further years working as the Events and Marketing Manager at Ideas Box, and working one day a week as a volunteer at Marie Curie, Sibyl joined Pure Potential to pursue her passion for helping others. She is using her events, marketing and management experience to help bright students from disadvantaged backgrounds with applying to the best universities and most competitive careers.

Email: sibyl (at) purepotential.org

Binda Bhudia

Events & Marketing Manager 

Having graduated from King’s College London, Binda joined Pure Potential in summer 2009. Prior to working for Pure Potential, Binda gained a great deal of experience working with young people through her charity work with the Diana Award and Time Bank. Binda is sharing her recent experiences of university life with Pure Potential students to encourage them to apply to top universities. Working for an organisation which makes a difference has always been an important factor for her - knowing that Pure Potential is doing just that, encourages her to work hard to inspire like-minded students to go on to appropriately competitive universities and careers.

Email: binda (at) purepotential.org

Marc Zao-Sanders

Founder 

Graduating from Mansfield College Oxford in 2001 with a degree in Maths and Philosophy, Marc (Sibyl's brother) went into strategy consulting at Mars & Co. After two years there he left to help turn around an education business in London. Seeing that there were a large number of students from the state-sector who were not receiving adequate support at home or at school and anticipating a strong interest in providing that support from the private sector, he co-founded Pure Potential in 2005, growing the organisation’s client list to 25 firms and nine partner universities including Imperial, LSE and Harvard.

Email: mzs (at) purepotential.org

Special Advisors

Our advisory board consists of outstanding people from Secondary Education, Higher Education, recruitment, politics and industry. We are delighted to introduce the first members:

Professor Julia King

Vice Chancellor, Aston University

Professor Julia King (CBE, FREng) graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in Natural Sciences. Remaining in Cambridge, she completed a PhD in Materials, and took up a research fellowship. Julia joined Rolls Royce where she held a number of senior executive positions in engineering and manufacturing. In 2002 she became Chief Executive of the Institute of Physics, returning to academia in 2004 as Principal of the Engineering at Imperial College, London. In this time, she received a CBE for her services to  Engineering in the 1999 Queen’s birthday honours and was elected to Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Julia has been Vice-Chancellor of Aston University since 2006 and is a passionate supporter of initiatives to widen participation in university education. 

Professor David Philips

Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, Imperial College, London

David Phillips (OBE) is Emeritus Professor of Chemistry and Senior Science Ambassador at Imperial College, London. He graduated with a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Birmingham and has continued his academic studies ever since having written over 580 publications including over 400 refereed research papers and many textbooks. He is an inspiration to young scientists and is passionate about the availability of educational opportunities irrespective of background, having started Imperial’s Outreach initiatives 20 years ago. He has received many awards over the years and was recognised for his vast contribution to science with an OBE in 1999. He spoke at the 2007 Pure Potential event at Imperial College and became the first member of our Advisory Board later that year.