A new co-ordinator has been appointed to support volunteer tutors who are working as part of a new project that helps young people in Mansfield, Ashfield and Shirebrook.

Samantha Parr has taken up a new role at The Access Project, which has recently launched in the East Midlands from a base at Vision West Nottinghamshire College in Mansfield.

The project sees volunteer tutors, who are predominantly graduates and from the business community, offering face-to-face or online tutoring to selected youngsters at Vision West Nottinghamshire College, Ashfield School and Shirebrook Academy.

Samantha has previously been an advertising manager in a group of newspapers, and, most recently, an employment advisor at Ingeus, working in the welfare to work sector giving advice and practical skills to unemployed people from 18-65 years old.

She said: “This new role will utilise my organisational skills and experience in helping people to achieve what they are capable of achieving.

“It will be my job to recruit volunteer tutors for the project, and to make sure they are given the right support and resources they need in order to fulfill the very rewarding task of helping young people.”

Already successful in the Birmingham area, The Access Project works with high-potential students from disadvantaged backgrounds, providing in-school support and personalised tuition to help learners gain access to the top universities.

Sophia Ireland, who heads up the project in the East Midlands, said: “Samantha is well known in the business community of the Mansfield area and her organisation skills will prove to be an asset to the project.”

To find out more about how to get involved in The Access Project as a volunteer mentor, email Samantha at [email protected]