Dr Wendy Sloane is an Assoc Professor in Journalism and the Deputy Dean of the School of Computing and Digital Media at London Metropolitan University
London’s Higher Education Institutions sit at the sharp edge of Britain’s widening participation debate. No other region in England sends a higher proportion of young people into higher education – placing London in a unique position to challenge the premise that academic attainment alone determines future success. Yet this belief still runs deep across the sector.
When Trinity Hall College, Cambridge said it would prioritise recruits from elite schools as they were better prepared for its intellectual demands, it laid bare how persistent that thinking remains. After a predictable outcry, the College apologised, insisting it does not “confuse opportunity with ability”, and offering a defence that more than 20 percent of its domestic undergraduates come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
While widening access to higher education is widely recognised as essential, achieving genuine equality both in entry and within the system remains far more complex. Persistent assumptions about the ‘value’ of disadvantaged students to the HE system, coupled with an uneven playing field, continue to undermine progress toward true equity.
London, however, holds real potential. In 2023, almost two-thirds of under-20s in the capital progressed to higher education – 15 percentage points higher than the next best performing region – with over half eligible for free school meals. That scale offers a unique capacity to change young lives and contribute to the success of the economy. But while inequalities in the capital are narrower than in parts of the North or Midlands, race and class continue to shape educational outcomes in London and across the UK, long before students reach university, and often beyond it.
At London Metropolitan University, we do things differently. More than half of students are from ethnically minoritised backgrounds, with 94% of on-campus students falling into one or more underrepresentation categories. Students demonstrate their potential daily, regardless of their starting point. We celebrate first-class degrees – but also those who arrive with modest A-levels or BTECs and graduate having outperformed expectations, a commitment recognised by The Guardian University Guide 2026, which ranked London Met joint first in the UK for student value-added.
Tackling inequality requires structural change across the student lifecycle. Our institution-wide approach to enhance learning and improve students’ lives includes collaborative teaching spaces that promote inclusive pedagogies, a transformed VLE with accessible, scaffolded templates, and inclusive teaching practices that ensure all students, including LGBTQIA+ and other minoritised groups, see themselves reflected in the curriculum.
Reducing barriers and unconscious bias is also essential. Our Education for Social Justice Framework combines inclusive pedagogy with a curriculum reflecting students’ lived experience, contributing to our being named runner-up for University of the Year for Social Inclusion in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025/26.
Yet a degree alone cannot guarantee success. Connections also matter: graduate recruitment depends on networks, industry contacts, and work placements – opportunities wealthier peers take for granted. Too often, unpaid internships price these students out. Initiatives such as Industry Advisory Boards, charity and enterprise clinics and The London Met Journalism Diversity Network, which I founded to get my student internships as organisations such as Marie Claire and the BBC, help level that playing field.
The results are telling. Latest OfS data shows London Met has closed the gap in skilled employment outcomes between white and ethnically minoritised graduates – a clear measure of long-term success.
Former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, now teaching a journalism module at London Met, helped establish a Foundation Year for students from low socio-economic backgrounds during his tenure as Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Though they entered with lower scores, they ultimately performed just as well as their peers, challenging narrow assumptions about merit.
Obstacles faced by underrepresented students extend beyond formal education: structural disadvantage shapes life trajectories long before the point of application, and well beyond it. For London’s diverse student population, widening access alone is insufficient; equity must be embedded throughout the entire student lifecycle.
At London Met we confront bias, redesign systems to reflect students’ needs, and ensure access to the professional networks that drive success. Real progress will be measured not simply by who enters higher education, but by whose futures it genuinely transforms.
London Higher’s AccessHE conference, Growth for all, will bring together practitioners and leaders to explore how London’s higher education sector can deliver opportunity for Londoners that transforms lives.
