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Improving equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups to access, succeed in and progress from higher education is a key focus for us at Sussex. The University’s new Access and Participation Plan will take effect from summer 2025 and one of the main themes is how we are tackling socio-economic inequalities of opportunity.

Find out more about the impact of the class divide on students’ education at a lunchtime workshop on Thursday 6 February from 12 midday to 2pm in the Student Centre.

During the session, facilitated by Class Divide, you will find out more about how social and cultural capital affects students’ career prospects, and some practical steps we can take to better support students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Find out more and book your place. 

Why is this important for us at Sussex?

We aim to tackle socioeconomic inequalities of opportunity for students, not just in our University but also in our region. We strive to be a university not only of Sussex, but also for Sussex.

The South-East has the second lowest rate of progression to higher education for pupils who are eligible for free school meals in England. As part of our community, and working with partners across the region, we aim to address this. In collaboration with other universities in Sussex, we have created an innovative model for supporting attainment raising in schools and access to higher education through partnership.

Within the University, we are working to enable students facing socioeconomic inequalities to join us – and supporting them to thrive in their studies and beyond. Our Access and Participation plan has a whole student journey approach to making this happen. This includes important work with specific underrepresented groups including students from Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showmen and Boater (GTRSB) backgrounds, in line with our GTRSB pledge, and students with experience of care.

About our thematic lunchtime workshop series

The monthly workshops, hosted by the Student Engagement and Enhancement team, are a way for colleagues across the University to learn about themes in our new Access and Participation Plan. Many staff will be actively involved in delivering initiatives as part of the plan over the coming years – and work at every level of the University can have an impact on the student experience.

Find out more about the sessions available and sign up to learn more and explore how you can play your part in these essential areas of work.

This work supports the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 4 (quality education) and SDG 10 (reduced inequalities). You can read more about our work on the SDGs.