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This blog post was inspired by the ½¿É«µ¼º½ Brian Simon Research Project that undertook historical educational research and explored the impact of higher education (HE) on ‘disadvantaged’ students. The archives are curated and cared for by Gil, with co-author Ann a regular volunteer on archival projects.

Reflecting on the findings from the Far away from the ivory tower research project highlighted Plymouth Marjon’s sustained and innovative approach to social mobility. Milburn (2012, introduction, our emphasis) defines social mobility as making sure that all people, irrespective of background, circumstance, or class, have ‘an equal opportunity to get on in life. That entails breaking the transmission of disadvantage from one generation to the next.’ Blandford (2020) and Gruitjers et al. (2024) argue that social mobility is more than ‘meritocracy’ – it is dependent upon propitious circumstances, including an effective and appropriate education, as shown by the stories we include in this blog post.

Marjon University began in the 1840s when education for the children of families unable to pay fees was not formally regulated for quality or quantity. The archives hold records which reveal our founders’ radical ideas to provide disadvantaged children with appropriate and accessible education.^[1] Both Derwent Coleridge (first principal of St Marks College, Chelsea) and James Kay-Shuttleworth (founder of St John’s College, Battersea) professed an ambition to break the cycle of poverty for such children – some of the first students included orphans from a local workhouse – to enable what Blandford would much later describe as ‘real chances and choices … for everyone to succeed in life, in education, health, employment and housing’ (Blandford, 2020, p. 81).

Dubbed ‘the great experiment’ by its first students (Battersea yearbook 1841, unpublished) education was delivered by teachers trained to be empathetic to the issues faced by disadvantaged children, and, crucially, with some lived experience themselves. Their aim was for an education ‘respectful of individuals … non-judgmental, [providing] opportunities for everyone to be included, and to belong’ (Blandford, 2020, p. 81). Contemporary records reveal that it was not universally popular: government ministers questioned the costs and feared pauper education would mean social unrest. James Kay-Shuttleworth wrote in his autobiography: ‘To teach a pauper child to write was regarded [by critics of this radical new approach] … as not simply preposterous but dangerous, [akin to] putting torches in the hands of the rickburners’ (Bloomfield, 1964, p. 28 unpublished).

Existing studies using generational research to track social mobility have utilised large-scale data (Longley et al., 2021), or contemporary subjects (Hoskins & Barker, 2021). Using a more subjective approach, we examined more than 40 individual cases^[2] from the Victorian student registers to look for generational change. To respect the privacy rights of living relatives and ensure compliance with GDPR regulations, we restricted research to one generation earlier and one later to track their social mobility, and do not share their names.^[3]

‘University archives hold rich possibilities for exploring the role of education in social mobility, particularly for first-in-family students in higher education, and the very relatable stories that lie behind it.’

Students came from all over the UK to train in the new method, some even came from overseas (Syria, Bermuda, Malta, Lagos). Their stories are fascinating, but the records are fragmented, and we do not always know how or why they came to England. What we do know is they have backgrounds of injustice, unemployment, work injury, illness and disability. One student had such poor eyesight he didn’t receive any form of education until aged 10, when he entered the Quaker school near his home – his mother having petitioned vociferously for his inclusion. He determined to make change for future generations, and wrote with great pride about his mother becoming a Suffragette – her marches and campaigning – and remained in teaching his whole life.

Another student came from a family of considerable instability, moving frequently to various cities to live with siblings, half-siblings and one or other parents during his childhood. His acceptance into college education – the first in his family – led him to teaching, finally becoming principal of a commercial college. His children followed him into teaching as a career, while his siblings and their children stayed in manual labour.

While this is undoubtedly a small and limited study, it exemplifies how university archives hold rich possibilities for exploring the role of education in social mobility, particularly for first-in-family students in higher education, and the very relatable stories that lie behind it. In the words of Sara Sheridan (2016, p. 45): ‘Nothing is long ago in an archive … It doesn’t matter if it’s a hundred years or only a few weeks.’

[1] See

[2] Referred to as ‘our student’.

[3]

References

Blandford, S. (2020). Social mobility: A working class view. In B. Hudson, M. Leask, & S. Younie (Eds.). Education system design: Foundations, policy options and consequences. Routledge.

Bloomfield, B. (Ed.). (1964). The autobiography of James Kay Shuttleworth (unpublished).

Gruijters, R. J., Raabe, I. J., & Hübner, N. (2023). Socio-emotional skills and the socioeconomic achievement gap. Sociology of Education, 97(2), 120–147.

Milburn, A. (2012). University challenge: How higher education can advance social mobility. Crown.

Sheridan, S. (2016). British bulldog. Constable.