Last Thursday saw the release of a landmark report exploring social mobility within the South West of England, conducted by researchers at the University of Exeter. The report, headed by Anne-Marie Sim and Lee Elliot Major, found that the South West has ‘the worst educational outcomes for disadvantaged young people in the country, and low social mobility compared with other areas.’
Some of the key research findings included:
School attainment gaps between poorer pupils and the rest are the largest of all English regions at the end of both primary and secondary school
Just 40% of disadvantaged pupils attained a standard pass in GCSE English and Maths in 2019 compared with almost 60% in Inner London
17% of disadvantaged students within the South West went on to university in 2018/19 – the lowest rate of all English regions – compared with 45% in London
The report explored some of the reasoning behind the poor social mobility within the area, citing low earnings and poor pay, lower than average school funding, and the recruitment and retention challenges faced by schools located in rural areas.
Professor Lee Elliott Major emphasised the importance of social mobility, stating that: "Improving social mobility is about ensuring that all people fulfil their potential and lead full lives in the communities they come from."
CoachBright was honoured to contribute towards this report, which suggested a university-led tutoring scheme targeted specifically towards disadvantaged pupils. Alongside other interventions such as flexible post-16 learning, a free 16-19 travel pass, and school-centred community hubs to provide support to under 21 year olds, coaching schemes such as CoachBright could play a vital role in improving social mobility across the region.
Robin Chu, our CEO at CoachBright, stated that: ‘The fact is that social mobility within the South West is so poor is simply not good enough. We all have a responsibility to play in changing this and ensuring that those from disadvantaged backgrounds receive the support to lead the lives that they wish. At CoachBright, we are really excited to play our part in this by joining school pupils with our wonderful university student volunteers in order to boost their confidence, attainment, and prospects after school.’
Following the report, we were thrilled that BBC Spotlight joined us at West Exe school, based in Devon, to see one of our sessions in action and catch up with some of the brilliant young people that we work alongside.
Watch our BBC Spotlight feature here, as well as a link to a copy of the Social Mobility in the South West report here.