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The proportion of young people eligible for free school meals in England who have gone on to university has fallen for the first time since 2006. There are still huge differences between university admission rates of pupils from inner London and those from SW England. Since being the first generation of his family to go to university and the first at Cambridge, The Rt Hon Simon Hughes has been working to respond to the HE widening-participation challenge.

After the 2010 decision to increase tuition fees in England Simon made 33 recommendations in his 2011 Access to Education Report, starting with primary schools. From experience chairing governors of south-east London primary and secondary schools, and working with The Open University, Simon considers what can be learnt across England and beyond from two universities he knows well. London South Bank University, where Simon has been Chancellor since 2018, has nearly 40% of students who were eligible for free school meals and is ranked 3rd in the world for reducing inequalities. Georgia State University in Atlanta in the last 20 years has increased the numbers of students completing their degrees from under a third to over three-quarters.

What can help Cambridge, Russell Group and all universities in England do better? And how soon?

The Professor John Hinnells Memorial Lecture: Education for all? Lessons from the South Bank to Georgia State
Tue 4 Mar 5.30pm-6:30pm The Auditorium, Robinson College Book Tickets

Rt Hon Sir Simon Hughes


The Rt Hon Simon Hughes has been Chancellor of London South Bank University since 2018.  A Cambridge graduate, he read Law at Selwyn, before studying at the College of Europe in Bruges. Following internships at the European Commission and the Council of Europe, he trained as a barrister and was called to the bar by the Inner Temple and practised as a barrister from 1977 until after his election as an MP.  Elected to parliament at by-election in 1983, Simon served as an MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark until 2015. From 2013-2015 he was Minister of State for Justice and Civil Liberties. He is a past President of the Liberal Democrats and was Deputy Leader from 2010-2014. In addition to his role as Chancellor of LSBU, Simon’s other past work in education has included serving as HMG Advocate for Access to Education (2010-11) and as Head of Public Affairs for The Open University (2016-7).