28 Nov 08

Jacari volunteer tutors work with 300 local children between the ages of 4 and 16 years old.

Jacari, a charity run up by students from Oxford University, has reached the final of the Higher Education Volunteering Awards 2008.

Nominated in the Outstanding Project category, Jacari has 250 student volunteers who act as tutors to local children whose first language is not English.

Representatives from the group are attending an award ceremony at Manchester United Football Club next week.

Jacari links students from Oxford and Oxford Brookes universities with local children who need help with reading, writing and speaking English, and any other school subjects.

Volunteers give up an hour a week during term time to teach pupils from local primary and secondary schools.

Mona Sakr, the Jacari Coordinator, has been a volunteer tutor for a few years: ‘The pupil I taught during my first two years at Oxford came on in leaps and bounds academically. But best of all was that at the beginning she really didn't like English lessons, and by the end, she was a budding literary critic.’

Ros Whiteley, a Jacari student volunteer, said she has also seen a massive improvement in her pupil’s confidence and English skills: ‘At first she didn’t want to attempt to read for fear of not being able to, but two years on she will happily read a book on her own or to me, and asks her mum to take her to the library to get more books!’

Jacari was originally set up in the 1950s as the Joint Action Committee Against Racial Intolerance and has evolved over the past fifty years into a home teaching scheme, providing one-to-one tuition.

Mona says volunteers tailor their lessons to the needs of the children. She said: ‘Sometimes my pupils need help with their homework, while other lessons are based entirely on something I've planned… We'll also do some basic maths and science. Whatever looks fun really.’

Jacari also organises social events for pupils and volunteers, including sports days and trips to the cinema, museums and the theatre.

Ros says it has brought out her creative side as she needs to think of new ways to explain English and keep her pupil motivated: ‘We read books together and see how much my pupil has understood about the book, learn about grammar and spelling, practice times tables with the help of sweets and wooden dolls, and play educational games.’

Students from all disciplines, both undergraduates and postgraduates, are volunteer tutors with Jacari and any student or staff member who can commit for a whole academic year is welcome to apply to become a tutor.

Mona said it can often be challenging and has helped her develop useful skills: ‘It's disheartening when you realise that you pitched a lesson too high, and actually, your pupil won't be able to do what you've asked them. As a result of these experiences, I've learnt to be flexible and to think on my feet about how to adapt lesson materials. You also develop wonderful people skills, and of course, fitting volunteering into the student experience requires good time management.’

The aim of the Higher Education Volunteering Awards is to encourage greater involvement from universities in voluntary and community activities and, over the six years the awards have been running, over 6,500 volunteers have been nominated.