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Erica H-W

@ericaholtwhite.bsky.social

1.3K followers 390 following 23 posts

Research team @Suttontrust.bsky.social and COSMO

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Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · 25d

Elitist Britain 2025 is out! It has been a huge effort across our team to gather data for 1000s of individuals across politcs, sport, the media and more. It was great to write some thoughts to accompany today's launch: www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion... #SocialMobility #Elites #Politics #Media

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Aug 21

Although there doesn't seem to be much of a change comparing this year's #GCSEs results to last year, this status quo means that those outside of London are still far less likely to be getting the top less grades. Take a look at our analysis 👇

The Sutton Trust @suttontrust.bsky.social · Aug 21

Today is #GCSEResultsDay!

Here’s what we know about the results as of yet ⤵️ 🧵

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Aug 14

📜Today’s data reflects findings from our Opportunity Index earlier this year
@suttontrust , which found that London is miles ahead of other regions in providing the best opportunities for the poorest young people. You can find this research here: www.suttontrust.com/our-research...

The Opportunity Index - The Sutton Trust

An unprecedented insight into the geography of opportunity and social mobility in England.

www.suttontrust.com

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Aug 14

🎓Gaining a university degree remains the surest route to social mobility. But today’s figures show the gap between the most and least deprived areas remains wide + worse than before the pandemic. More must be done to ensure all students, regardless of background, can go to uni.

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Aug 14

There also appears to be something interesting going on when we look at uni entry rates by tariff, with a higher proportion now heading to medium-tariff institutions. This is the second yearly increase in a row. #ALevels #ResultsDay25

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Aug 14

🏘️There has also been little change to the access gap by deprivation (IMD). It rose slightly to 22.5% this year, compared to 22.3% in 2024 and 20.7% pre-pandemic in 2019.

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Aug 14

🗺️The overall rise in top grades this year masks growing regional inequalities, with the North East and West Midlands seeing a fall in the proportion of top grades achieved this year. Since 2019, London has seen the largest increase in top grades by far.

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Aug 14

Happy #ResultsDay ! Students receiving their results today have endured significant disruption to their education since Year 8. Hopefully they are proud of their grades in light of this.
Let’s have a closer look at the data for A Levels and university entry…
#ALevelResults #Level3Results

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Jul 21

👏to HEPI for releasing this bold research (the fact that periods are still a taboo in 2025 is crazy but just the first few pages from this report confirms it). Don't think I've seen research like this before, not just in HE context but generally. Time for other sectors to follow suit!!

Higher Education Policy Institute @hepi-news.bsky.social · Jul 21

New Post: New HEPI report reveals the hidden impact of menstrual cycles on students’ education www.hepi.ac.uk/2025/07/21/n...

Reposted by Erica H-W

The Sutton Trust @suttontrust.bsky.social · Jul 16

🚨 State schools are quickly falling behind as a new AI digital divide is opening up in the education system.

Our new report finds that private schools are way ahead on setting AI policies, dedicating staff to oversee its use, and providing training and resources ⤵️🧵

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · May 15

Depending on where you are in the country, if you are an FSM pupil, you could be 6X less likely to become a top earner; 10X less likely to get a degree; or nearly 7X less likely to pass Eng/Maths GCSE than your FSM peers.

These stats are so shocking! There's plenty more hard hitting stats below 👇

The Sutton Trust @suttontrust.bsky.social · May 15

🚨 NEW: Opportunities for the poorest young people in London far outstrip the rest of England, we have found.

Our new Opportunity Index reveals how the area young people grow up in shapes their life chances, with huge differences between constituencies across the country 🧵⬇️

Reposted by Erica H-W

The Sutton Trust @suttontrust.bsky.social · Mar 20

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the first COVID lockdown.

Drawing on findings from the COSMO Study, @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social discusses the impact of this experience on the education and development of young people in @schoolsweek.bsky.social ⬇️

schoolsweek.co.uk/five-years-o...

Five years on: Learning the lessons of the Covid closures

The evidence is clear that the impacts of lockdowns are still with us. Here's what will start to put things right

schoolsweek.co.uk

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Feb 6

Whether its chatting to a friend, family member, colleague or someone on the end of the phone at one of the numbers below....speaking to someone about how you are feeling is a significant first step if you are in need of support. #TimeToTalk

Mind @mind.org.uk · Feb 6

Just leaving this here 💙 Today is #TimeToTalk Day, take action and share this post to remind others that it's okay to reach out for help 💭

A pink graphic providing helpline contact details for Time to Talk Day. The text at the top reads: ‘If you need to chat this Time To Talk Day.’ Below, it lists different support services with their contact numbers:
• Mind: 0300 102 1234 (Open 9am-6pm weekdays)
• Samaritans: 116 123 (Always open)
• Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM): 0800 58 58 58 (Open 5pm - midnight)
• C.A.L.L. (for people in Wales): 0800 132 737 (Always open)
• The Mix (for under 25s): Text THEMIX to 85258 (Always open)

At the bottom, a call-to-action reads: ‘Share and save this post.’

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Feb 3

⭐A new wave of stories from our COSMO study student panel has started...keep track via the link below, kicking off with Richa's story about the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education and daily life! cosmostudy.uk/about/the-co...

Read more about the experiences of the Sutton Trust COSMO Youth Panel, a group of students from across the country who were in year 10 at the start of the...

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Jan 23

At @suttontrust.bsky.social , to make access to internships fairer, we want to see unpaid internships over 4wks outright banned. Irrespective of legal changes, employers should take seriously their responsibility to pay interns. All roles should also be openly advertised. 📣

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Jan 23

Taking an unpaid role is just not an option for many young people. Imagine working full time, unpaid, but having to fund even the minimum living costs...without savings or help from family, this is near impossible! Indeed, 2 in 5 say their unpaid role was funded by family...

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Jan 23

We can see that internships are becoming more common, and we have long seen at @suttontrust.bsky.social in our research that they are a great way to start your career. But yet many disadvantaged young people are shut out as they don't have connections that can share opportunities...

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Jan 23

It was super interesting to be involved with this research. Having been an intern myself, it was truly shocking to see the disparities in access between working-class grads and their more affluent peers. Just as shocking to see many interns aren't getting paid fairly...

The Sutton Trust @suttontrust.bsky.social · Jan 23

🚨 NEW: The gap in access to internships between working-class and middle-class graduates has almost doubled since 2018.

Our new research reveals a growing gap in access to increasingly important internship routes, with many opportunities under and unpaid 🧵⬇️

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Jan 9

A Class Act also found that almost a third of elite figures in TV, Music and Film went to private school, compared to c.7% of the population on average. For more findings, take a look here: suttontrust.com/our-research... 👚🎨🎭🎵📽️

A Class Act - The Sutton Trust

Exploring access to creative degrees and elitism in the creative industries.

suttontrust.com

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Jan 9

Interesting article in The Standard today, www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/ku... highlighting our research that found that young adults from working-class backgrounds are four times less likely to succeed in the creative space than their middle-class peers.

www.standard.co.uk

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Nov 26

As part of the COVID inquiry's #EveryStoryMatters campaign, one of the @suttontrust.bsky.social 's COSMO study youth panel has shared their story of isolation, education disruption and bereavement. The pandemic affected us all, in such varied ways. Read Yasmin's story: cosmostudy.uk/latest/every...

Every Story Matters: A Year 10’s Journey Through the Pandemic

Sutton Trust COSMO Youth Panel member, Yasmin, looks back on her pandemic experience.

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Nov 22

An excellent opportunity to work with us on a landmark piece focussing on international HE policy. Please keep re-sharing to those who might be interested :)

The Sutton Trust @suttontrust.bsky.social · Nov 21

🚨 Calling all researchers 🚨

We're commissioning an exciting new research project on the role of higher education in social mobility internationally, with a focus on policy learnings for the UK and the US.

Express your interest by 9th December ⤵️

www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion...

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Nov 19

Come along and listen to some great speakers following our creative industries report!

The Sutton Trust @suttontrust.bsky.social · Nov 19

🚨 Free webinar on inequalities in creative industries 🚨

Our upcoming webinar will focus on class inequalities in access to careers in the creative industries, as well as in access to creative degrees.

Join our expert panelists on 4th December ⤵️

www.suttontrust.com/a-class-act-...

Reposted by Erica H-W

The Sutton Trust @suttontrust.bsky.social · Nov 19

It is extremely worrying to see levels of child poverty rise to 36%.

Poverty has a huge affect on children's development, and high levels of poverty create significant challenges for the education system.

The Government must taken urgent action.

www.theguardian.com/society/2024...

More than one in three children in poverty as UK deprivation hits record high

Exclusive: Study finds almost quarter of UK population living in poverty, reaching the highest level this century

www.theguardian.com

Erica H-W @ericaholtwhite.bsky.social · Nov 13

Take a look at the piece: www.suttontrust.com/our-research...

A Class Act - The Sutton Trust

Exploring access to creative degrees and elitism in the creative industries.

www.suttontrust.com