Education is often considered a particularly polarised area of policy -- with much unnecessary chopping and changing as governments and ministers come and go, wanting to make their mark. Yet, while there has been a lot of surface area turbulence the broad trends in policy have been remarkably stable for 35 years. The English school system has…

This article explores the extent to which three different school or college characteristics are related to school or college-level progression rates to higher education. Using data from publicly available datasets concerning state schools and colleges in England, linear regression analyses were performed to investigate the extent to which…

Ensuring that the education system works for pupils from all backgrounds is key to the Department of Education's aims. This document collates and contextualises available evidence on outcomes by ethnicity across the post-16 education system in England. Doing so allows for a rounded view of the data in proper context, and overall trends to emerge.…

This study evaluates the implementation of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Career-Programme (CP) in secondary schools in Kent, United Kingdom. Launched by the IB and Kent County Council in 2012, the initiative offered students from disadvantaged areas the opportunity to participate in a programme to prepare them for future careers and/or…

Young people growing up in England from a poorer background are less likely to progress into higher education compared to their better off counterparts. This is especially true with respect to more selective universities. This study used government administrative data to gauge the effectiveness of the 'Realising Opportunities' programme, which…

Most secondary education in England is comprehensive. However, a small minority of grammar schools have retained attainment-based selection. Since students in these schools achieve high grades, some commentators and policy makers believe that England's grammar schools are more effective than its comprehensive schools, and suggest their expansion.…

Inequality in students' degree outcomes has been a concern for the higher education sector and the UK government for more than a decade. Since its inception in 2018, the Office for Students in England has prioritised the need for evidence of causality through requiring institutions to evaluate the effectiveness of their initiatives as set out in…

In this article, we examine conceptualisations of luck evoked by a select group of elite students studying in Oxbridge, when accounting for their academic success. The emphasis on luck in their narratives is categorised into three themes. The students linked their luckiness to deservedness, used luck as a way to express humbleness, and attributed…

With respect to supporting student well-being and success, the current research developed a peer support scheme, built on the principles of Social Identity Theory (SIT). This was targeted towards first year undergraduate psychology students, in which measures of collective identity, sense of belonging, group efficacy, happiness and resilience were…

Life course theory posits that social, structural, and cultural contexts shape individuals' life outcomes. Using this theory, we investigated whether inequalities in education and employment outcomes for young people with marginalised identities are shaped by the university environment they attended. Based on UK national statistics, universities…

This paper explores the factors that influence attendance to taught sessions in higher education. Absenteeism is approached as a complex phenomenon that is problematic when considering how students, lecturers and universities relate to it. Our study is conducted as a case study based on a large post-92 university in England, focusing on the…

As nations continue to use OECD data to ensure preparedness for global competitiveness, questions concerning how inequality is constructed and maintained in different nations are critical. Drawing on Bourdieu and Savage, I argue that social capital continues to perpetuate social inequality both prior to and during university attendance despite…

The challenges to education brought about by the pandemic provide an opportunity to take a fresh look at how universities in England can best deliver on access and participation and accelerate education recovery. With John Blake due to start as the new Director for Fair Access and Participation at the Office for Students (OfS) in early 2022, we…

The COVID Social Mobility & Opportunities (COSMO) study is a new national cohort study generating high-quality evidence about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected socio-economic inequalities in life chances, both in terms of short- and long-term effects on education, wellbeing, and career outcomes. A representative sample of young people in…