The newly elected Labour government - led by Keir Starmer - has put breaking down barriers to opportunity at the heart of the Kings Speech, which set out the government’s policy platform for the coming year.

Delivering opportunities which drive societal change was top of the agenda during a visit by Breaking Down Barriers Commission Chair, Nick Forbes CBE, to its new partner, Capital City College Group (CCCG), where he saw first-hand the impact that further education institutions can have in delivering opportunity and driving societal change.

Higher education is a gateway to opportunity. It certainly opened doors for me that I would never have been able to walk through without it. It’s the same for millions of other people whose lives have been transformed by going to university, and it’s why thousands of pupils will be working so hard this summer to get the A Level results they need so that they can also reap the rewards our world class higher education system has to offer.

Universities are powerhouses of opportunity, extending their impact far beyond their core mission as educators. That’s the clear message from a report launched today by the Purpose Coalition in collaboration with its university partners.

Newcastle College is a further and higher education college with 12,000 students which offers hundreds of vocational courses, degrees and apprenticeships to learners across the North East, whilst Newcastle Sixth Form College delivers A Levels to 1,200 students.

A collaboration with London’s largest further education provider, Capital City College Group, and leading countrywide college group, NCG, will explore ways in which they can make a difference for their students, staff and the communities they serve while leveraging their sector leads.

The University offers inclusive education and research to over 12,000 students across its Surrey and central London campuses.

The report, developed in partnership with the Purpose Coalition, details the activities that the University is already undertaking which promote social mobility and features a series of recommendations that will help to broaden its impact in the future.

Developing new solutions, and sharing best practice, will be key to managing the energy transition successfully. It is increasingly looking like that transition will be shaped by a Labour government.

Solent University, Southampton kicked off its Strategy 2035 development process with a guest lecture delivered by Rt Hon Justine Greening this week.

Higher education is key to opening up opportunity, especially for those from less advantaged backgrounds, yet new evidence reveals that it is those young people particularly who are losing out on the chance to go to university.

The University of Salford is teaming up with the Purpose Coalition to participate in the Raising Standards, Creating Opportunities campaign and to further develop its work on social impact.

The Purpose Coalition is proud to announce the shortlist of winners for the Purpose Coalition Awards 2023, Breaking Down Barriers, partnered with Sodexo.

This country has always had an academically-driven education system and our political debate continues to centre around that. But in recent years, an increasing focus on skills, apprenticeships and technical education demonstrates a broader truth that applied learning matters, and it matters across the whole of education.

Recognising the significance of its Levelling Up Impact Report, launched earlier this year, the University is a finalist in the Corporate Reporting Awards 2023.

At a recent industry event on social mobility, a guest who had recently completed a degree apprenticeship with a major telecommunications company admitted that it was only once he started his course that he understood there was no catch.

Newcastle and Northumbria Universities have joined forces to address the social and economic disparities that are prevalent in the North East of England. Their Vice-Chancellors, Professor Chris Day CBE and Professor Andy Long FREng, discuss the Collaborative Newcastle Universities Agreement (CNUA), and why they believe the role of universities as place-based drivers of social mobility and inclusive and sustainable economic growth in their cities and regions is more important than ever before.

The Purpose Coalition is proud to announce the launch of The Purpose Coalition Awards 2023 - Breaking Down Barriers, partnered with Sodexo.

As an anchor institution, Cardiff Metropolitan University has a long tradition of making a positive impact on its students and the communities it serves, far beyond its own campuses.

The best place-based organisations forge strategic partnerships that drive economic growth in their local areas. Universities are playing an increasingly important part of that coalition of the willing, collaborating with other local bodies to deliver opportunity.