Outreach at 50

50 years of schools outreach at Imperial

Imperial College London launched its first ever outreach programme in 1975 - a novel and ground-breaking tutoring initiative for local schools called the Pimlico Connection. It is believed to be the very first of its kind in the UK and we are proud that it continues to support pupils to this day. The initiative sparked Imperial’s longstanding commitment to helping young people realise their aspirations regardless of background. In addition, the Pimlico Connection also marks the first in a wide-ranging suite of outreach activity that has impacted thousands of young people over the past 50 years.

Since 1975, Imperial has continued to launch innovative outreach initiatives in collaboration with charities, schools, academics and students. Thanks to the generosity and dedication of the Imperial community and its partners, the university has become a pioneer in schools outreach. It has led the way by establishing specialist facilities on its campuses – the Wohl Reach Out Lab in 2010 and the Dangoor Reach Out Makerspace in 2017 - and by developing online and interactive programmes to engage young people of all ages in our local community and much further afield.

Outreach at 50

The  Outreach at 50  series honours this incredible milestone by celebrating our longstanding commitment to outreach, highlighting our innovative approaches and most importantly, by sharing remarkable stories of the people within our outreach community. Over the course of this academic year, we will speak to those who have been impacted by our programmes and those who have made them possible. As well as looking back, we look ahead at our ambitious plans for outreach and engagement in the future. 

The Pimlico Connection

Here, we explore the initiative that started it all - the Pimlico Connection – with interviews from Professor Sinclair Goodlad, the academic who launched the programme, and Dr Jenny Cook who runs the scheme today. We also speak to alumni who volunteered as mentors during their student days and a mentee from 2001 who was inspired to join Imperial by his Pimlico Connection mentor.

Share your stories

As part of this campaign, we want to hear from those who have been involved with schools outreach at the university so we can share as many stories as possible. If you have been involved in any schools outreach at Imperial, please do complete the form to share this with us.

By completing this form, you agree that we may contact you at a later date using the email address provided. Please note that we will not use any of the information you provide without contacting you beforehand. The Outreach team's full GDPR statement can be viewed on the Outreach data privacy notice section of this website.

Special thanks to all those past, present and future who help make Outreach at Imperial what it is.