Reasons to be cheerful

More bad news on the social mobility front came from the Sutton Trust today, with our latest research showing the chasm between bright children from well off homes and their poorer peers.

I have blogged before about how the government might give incentives to state schools to focus on this often-neglected group of young people.

On top of a litany of other examples of wasted talent – from the Sutton Trust and others – the extent of inequality and immobility could cast a shadow over the sunniest of dispositions.

But in the last week or so I have found a number of reasons to be optimistic – and they extend beyond Andy Murray’s Wimbledon win and the prospect of holidays.

For a start, we’re entering the summer school season, the time at which many of our programmes – long in the planning – come to fruition, thanks to the hard work of the university staff, teachers, student mentors and others who make it all happen.

Towards the end of last week, for example, together with our chairman, Sir Peter Lampl, we addressed the 150 young people we’ll be taking to MIT and Yale as part of our US programme in partnership with Fulbright. The audience was fizzing with excitement about the possibilities the programme will open up – with good reason bearing in mind the great success of our first year trailblazers.

Then at the weekend we were in the impressive surroundings of the Law Society for the graduation of the fifth group of Pathways to Law students. The Honourable Mr Justice Eder did a fantastic job of providing a fitting and inspirational finale to the students’ two years on the scheme – and the pride on the faces of parents and friends was clear for all to see.

Just yesterday I spent a wonderful day at Tonbridge School for the first residential week of our new Universities Access Programme, which will support bright students from non-selective Kent academies over four years.  The students, staff, speakers and learning mentors were excellent. It’s a project with a bright future, I’m sure.

Then this weekend and on into next week we’ll be at the Pathways to Law conference for the sixth group of 400 students, and attending summer school dinners at Cambridge and other host universities.  In fact, well over 2,000 low/middle income youngsters will be on our programmes over the next few weeks.

While traversing the country via the British rail system has its frustrations, meeting the young people who are taking part is just the tonic needed at the end of a long year. Their enthusiasm, engagement and determination to make the most of the chances we are offering is both humbling and heart-warming.

Of course, impact is about more than just feeling good. Which is why our programmes are also subject to independent evaluation, ensuring the positive vibes are translated into concrete outcomes.

These visits underline to me the power of charitable organisations to change things for the better and provide life-transforming opportunities.

So, another reason to look on the bright side, is that, unusually, we have two new, sizeable endowed grant-makers working to make things better in education.

I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved, in very different ways, in both these new kids on the block. The first is the Education Endowment Foundation, which is now in its second year, and I had the privilege of helping to set it up with £125m of government funding.  Under the great team there, the EEF is going from strength to strength and has the potential to be a game-changer in terms of boosting the attainment of the poorest children in the most challenging schools.

The second is the Legal Education Foundation, a new charity endowed with £200m from the sale of the College of Law, now the University of Law.  I was at its launch on Wednesday night, where the charity showcased its first grants.  We are delighted to be the recipient of one of those grants, which will allow the Pathways to Law initiative to be extended to 1200 more students over 4 years.

The Legal Education Foundation wants organisations to come forward who undertake work related to the advancement of legal education and the study of law. More details of its priorities are at www.thelegaleducationfoundation.org. With the challenges the legal sector faces, it is hard to think of a better time for this new foundation to start its important work.

So, even if the glorious weather turns, I’ll still be raising a glass to optimism and opportunity – and thanking all those who are working to make a difference this summer.