Abstract

Data just published shows that the proportion of young people eligible for free school meals in England who have gone on to university has fallen for the first time since 2006. There are still huge differences between university admission rates of pupils from inner London and those from the south-west of England. Since being the first generation of his family to go to university and the first to come to Cambridge, Simon has been working to respond to the HE widening-participation challenge. After the 2010 decision to increase tuition fees in England Simon made 33 recommendations in his 2011 Access to Education Report, starting with primary schools. From experience chairing governors of south-east London primary and secondary schools, and working with The Open University, Simon considers what can be learnt across England and beyond from two universities he knows well. London South Bank University, where Simon has been Chancellor since 2018, has nearly 40% of students who were eligible for free school meals and is ranked 3rd in the world for reducing inequalities. Georgia State University in Atlanta in the last 20 years has increased the numbers of students completing their degrees from under a third to over three-quarters. What can help Cambridge, Russell Group and all universities in England do better? And how soon?