Social mobility is about ensuring the opportunities open to a young person are not dependent on the economic and social position they were born into. High levels of social mobility mean that people from all backgrounds are able to access the opportunities suited to their talents and aspirations. It’s crucial for creating a fairer society, fostering social cohesion and boosting economic growth.
It’s difficult for us to provide advice on complex criteria for different organisations. However we suggest that you look at our Social Mobility in the Workplace: An Employers Guide which contains all of our practical advice for monitoring and improving socio-economic diversity in the workplace.
You could also look at our UK Summer School website and the eligibility criteria. This is the criteria we use for all our programmes.
There are many ways to get involved in our work. Take a look at the support us page, which has details on how to get in contact and the various ways you can support us.
The funding we receive goes directly to our own programmes and research, so we can’t support other projects. If you’re looking to trial a programme or project, you might want to get in touch with our sister charity, the Education Endowment Foundation.
All our funding goes on our programmes and research, so we can’t provide funding for individuals. If you are applying to university, you could contact the university you are interested in to see what funding opportunities or scholarships they have available.
We don’t give advice to individuals. We recommend you take a look at the UCAS website, which provides helpful advice on both.
Our programmes help young people from less advantaged backgrounds to access leading universities and careers. In partnership with universities and employers, we run engaging programmes that give students practical advice and leave them feeling inspired and more confident about their future.
Our programmes are completely free to attend. All costs – including travel, accommodation, food and activities – are paid for by the Trust and our partners.
For information on each programme, how to register your interest, and how to make an application please visit our programmes page.
We run a whole range of engaging programmes to help young people make informed descisions about their next steps. These include UK Summer Schools, the US Programme, Pathways to Banking and Finance, Pathways to STEM, Pathways to Medicine, Pathways to Law, Pathways to Law Plus, and Sutton Scholars. Take a look at our programmes page for more details.
Have a look at our programmes page for details on how to apply.
Students on our UK Summer Schools stay in university accommodation to get the full university experience. The accommodation will vary depending on which university you apply to, so double check with them if you want to know more.
As we’re a small team at the Trust, we’re not able to send representatives to speak about our programmes at events. Students can visit our website to find out more about our work, and how to apply to our programmes. Our UK Summer School website has resources teachers can use in assemblies to promote our programmes.
If you’d like to explore a strategic funding partnership or would like to discuss employee volunteering on one or more of our programmes please see our corporate partnerships page.
Volunteering for specific programmes is arranged through our partners. If your company is looking to explore volunteering on one or more of our programmes, please contact us and select the ‘partnerships and employer engagement’ option.
Take a look at our programmes page to see the eligibility requirements for each programme.
You can apply for more than one programme, but if your applications are successful you can only attend one.
No, students are expected to attend all elements of our programmes. Our programmes are heavily oversubscribed and there are many students who would benefit from the opportunity to attend.
Unfortunately if you attended a private school at any time during your education, you’re not eligible to apply. This includes students who receive scholarships or bursaries. If you are unsure of your school type, you can use this website to check. Some universities will show flexibility if you are currently in or have been in care. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Unfortunately our programmes are only open to students currently studying in the UK. If you have previously been to an international school, but are now educated in the UK, you can apply as long as you meet the programme eligibility requirements.
Yes. When asked for your previous and current school on Step 3 of the application form, please select ‘Home Educated’ from the drop-down menu where appropriate.
Our programmes are heavily oversubscribed, and some courses and universities are more oversubscribed than others. We encourage applicants to select the course that best fits their interest.
Timelines differ depending on the programme you applied to. Please visit our programme page for more information.
Some of our programmes involve a short personal statement, including our Pathways programmes and the US Programme.
Contact us either through our applications email address, or using our contact form, and we can update your application. Please include a detailed description of what you would like to change.
Check your spam or junk folders first. If nothing has come through, contact us either through our applications email address, or using our contact form.
Places on our programmes are not given on a first-come-first-served basis. This means there is no advantage to applying early.
We therefore advise that you apply to the programme once you have your appeal results. If you do not receive these before the deadline for applications, please let us know that you have applied without your appealed results so that we can make a note of this on your application.
Digital sessions will be delivered using an online video platform such as Zoom. This can be accessed on a number of devices such as phones, tablets, laptops and PCs. It is advised that this device has a camera and microphone so that you can engage in the online sessions as much as possible.
We work with a combination of external academics and our in-house research team. Our programme of research is developed internally on an annual basis, considering recent and future trends in evidence and policy, according to our organisational priorities. Unfortunately, we do not accept external proposals.
Our programme of research is developed internally, so we do not accept or fund external proposals.
If you are from a publishing company or part of a profit-making venture, please contact us. If you are looking to cite a piece of research for academic or school–work, please do so correctly referencing the Trust.
We are a small team at the Trust, and cannot offer extensive help with external research. If you have questions on our past reports or would like to ask the team a few short questions, please contact us.
All of our past reports can be found on our research page.
We cannot share original report data, as this often includes individual data.
Our policy work spans across many different areas therefore we cannot take up additional individual campaigns.
Unfortunately, we’re not able to provide advice in individual cases however here are a few resources that may be able to help you.
Members of Parliament are there to represent you, to take up your case and give advice. They have the power to liaise with local government and national government departments.
You can use this website to find out who represents you.
Citizens’ Advice is a great resource for information and support. It is free, confidential and independent.
We’re a small team at the Trust, so we can’t offer work experience at our offices. Work experience placements in industry are available to students who are enrolled on one of our Pathways programmes.
Volunteering for specific programmes is arranged through our partners. If your company is looking to offer placements for one of our Pathways programmes, please contact us and direct your query to Gemma Collins. We do not offer volunteering opportunities at the Trust’s offices.
We don’t accept speculative applications. Please keep an eye on our contact page for details of upcoming vacancies and how to apply.
If you are a journalist, you can contact Ruby Nightingale on 020 7802 1660. If you are not a journalist, please use our contact form for any other queries.
We can’t share mailing lists due to data protection regulations.
Unfortunately, as we are a small team at the Trust, we can’t send representatives to speak at schools. Students are welcome to visit our website to find out more about our work, and how to apply to our programmes. Our UK Summer School website has resources teachers can use in assemblies to promote our programmes.
Please contact us with details of your event/campaign/project. We are happy to share details on social media of events etc. that are relevant to the Trust’s work and mission, provided they do not contradict any of our policies.
We don’t accept guest posts, as our content is developed internally.