To mark Social Mobility Day 2025, Sophie Houghton, our Head of Programme Delivery & Operations, highlights the impact of regional inequality and reflects on the benefits of social mobility to both individuals and society.
At IntoUniversity, our centre teams work every day to break down the barriers that can hold young people back. Our mission is simple: to support those who are experiencing the most disadvantage, so that potential—not circumstances —determines opportunity.
This Social Mobility Day, the theme of #ShiftMindsets reminds us social mobility is good for business – and for society as a whole. When all young people have the chance to succeed, regardless of their background, we unlock talent, fuel innovation, and can build a more equitable future.
Across the UK, a young person’s chances in life remain too often tied to where they’re born. Socioeconomic barriers limit access to high-quality education, role models and essential networks. These gaps are often more severe in regions with lower levels of investment and fewer resources, leaving young people without the knowledge and tools they need to thrive.
Recent data from the Sutton Trust underscores these disparities. For instance, children on free school meals in East Ham, London, are 30 percentage points more likely to pass English and Maths GCSEs than their peers in Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West, which ranks lowest in the opportunity index. They are also three times more likely to earn a degree. This stark contrast highlights the significant regional disparities and complexities in educational outcomes and future prospects. It is also important to note that whilst the Opportunity Index highlights regional disparities, we know from our work in our centre in East Ham that despite increased opportunity in the area there remain significant barriers for young people facing disadvantage.
When opportunity is out of reach, young people can lose confidence and aspiration to achieve their goals but inequality doesn’t just harm individuals. As a society, we forfeit the innovation, leadership, and creativity of the many bright minds who never had the opportunities to achieve. Economically, it leads to lost productivity, persistent skills shortages, and wasted potential. A report by Oxera and the Sutton Trust estimated that improving social mobility could boost the UK economy by up to £140 billion each year.
But there’s also a moral cost. When we fail to support young people facing disadvantage, we deny them the right to shape their own future and we compromise a fair, dynamic society .
At IntoUniversity, we provide local, long-term support in communities where young people face the greatest barriers to educational equality. Our programmes offer academic support, mentoring, and pathways to higher education and meaningful and fulfilling employment. Crucially, our centres are embedded in the heart of the communities they serve, supporting young people on their doorstep.
It’s clear that place-based support must be a national priority if we want to level the playing field. 58% of IntoUniversity students go on to university, compared to just 29% of students from similar backgrounds nationally. Each of the young people behind those stats have their own personal stories of success and reaching their potential supported by their families, friends, schools and local IntoUniversity centre. From my own experience working in centre, there are countless stories of young people who have gone on to do incredible things, from the young person who struggled to get a good pass in their English GCSE who came to the centre everyday of the school holidays and is now studying to be a midwife, to another of my students who visited a university outside of their hometown on an IntoUniversity residential trip and has just graduated from that very university telling me that residential trip was the reason they decided to go there. The personal joy of hearing these success stories is immeasurable and the reason I have worked at IntoUniversity for nearly a decade.
Ultimately, when talent goes unrealised, society as a whole suffers. But when we invest in young people, we create a stronger, more inclusive future for everyone. This Social Mobility Day, let’s reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that all young people can reach their full potential. Because when they succeed, we all do.
