To mark Social Mobility Day 2026, we joined sector partners The Social Mobility Alliance at the House of Commons to call for urgent action to drive social mobility.
This year’s theme #StoriesMatter is a reminder of the influencing power of young people’s stories – and the importance of creating spaces where their voices can help shape the decisions that affect their futures.
In the UK today, where you are born and your family income continue to determine the opportunities available to you [i].
Postcode, socio-economic status [ii], parental aspiration [iii], and educational attainment [iv] are all powerful predictors of young people’s future outcomes.
At The Brilliant Club, we believe this is fundamentally unfair. An important part of our work is about disrupting this narrative through building young people’s belief in themselves and confidence in their ability to succeed at university.
Many of these young people may not have considered university as a pathway before. But learning more about university life and academic learning often re-shapes what they believe they can achieve, opening up new possibilities.
University remains a powerful vehicle for driving social mobility; graduates benefit from higher lifetime earnings [v], greater regional mobility [vi], and improved wellbeing [vii].
While more young people from the least advantaged backgrounds go to university than ever before, inequality in access to universities remains stark [viii].
Young people eligible for free school meals are three times less likely to attend university than their more advantaged peers [ix].
One critical barrier to widening participation to university is the attainment gap between the most and least advantaged students [x]. For young people aged 11 –16, the gap is currently the widest it’s been in a decade [xi].
At every level, achieving lower grades closes off options for university and employment. That’s why improving opportunities in education is a core priority of The Social Mobility Alliance, and one of the three asks we took to parliament for Social Mobility Day.
The Social Mobility Alliance’s event in the House of Commons brought together MPs and employers to hear directly from young people about the changes needed to open up opportunities across the UK.
The Brilliant Club’s ambassadors, Mia and Josh, both alumni of The Scholars Programme shared their stories directly with decision-makers. Together, we called for urgent action to address systemic inequalities in education and employment.
Mia and Josh led the conversation to make the case for:
💼 Routes into employment – making internships and apprenticeships work for social mobility, rather than shutting out those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
🎓 Opportunities in education – closing the attainment gap and making work experience more accessible for those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
🤝 Building diverse workforces – making the case for socioeconomic background reporting for large employers and closing class pay gaps.
At The Brilliant Club, we want more young people from less advantaged backgrounds to access the transformative benefits of university, and to see the UK rewrite its social mobility story so that opportunity is no longer determined by background. This is both a moral imperative and critical for long-term economic prosperity.
Stories matter – and we will continue to put young people’s voices front and centre of calls for change.
Reflecting on the event, Susie Whigham, our Chief Executive said:
“At The Brilliant Club, we believe every young person deserves a fair chance to unlock their brilliance – no matter how or where they grew up. While progress has been made, too many young people are still being held back by structural barriers. It was therefore hugely encouraging to see such energy and commitment in the room from MPs, employers, and sector partners – and a shared determination to drive meaningful change.”
[i] The Sutton Trust – Opportunity Index (2025)
[ii] The Sutton Trust – Opportunity Index (2025)
[iii] The Social Mobility Commission – The role of families in the educational outcomes of children and young people (2026)
[iv] The Sutton Trust – Closing the attainment gap (2024)
[v] DfE – How graduate skills power their future success and the UK’s economic growth (2025)
[vi] TASO – The Value of HE (2023)
[vii] The Sutton Trust – The Good Life? (2026)
[viii] DfE – Widening Participation in higher education statistics (2025)
[ix] DfE – Widening Participation in higher education statistics (2025)
[x] The Sutton Trust – Closing the attainment gap (2024)
[xi] Education Policy Institute – Annual Report (2024)