Closing off university access is the essence of levelling down

“Talent is spread evenly, opportunity is not.”

This is a phrase we often hear nowadays. It was first used in my foreword to the Department for Education’s social mobility strategy in 2017. It was a statement of strategy, not just of fact, and a successful plan on social mobility needs to address both issues, not just one.

In the UK we have an attainment gap between more privileged and more disadvantaged young people that must be closed. We must ensure that we open up opportunity more fairly, so that a wider talent pool can reach it. And education is at the heart of that undertaking. We won’t become the levelled-up country that the government says it wants, complete with a high-skill, high-wage economy, without a strong education strategy.

Read more:

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/closing-university-access-essence-levelling-down

Rt Hon Justine Greening

Founder, Social Mobility Pledge

Former Secretary of State for Education, Minister for Women and Equalities, Secretary of State for International Development, Secretary of State for Transport, Economic Secretary to the Treasury