The Question

Social Mobility Foundation needed to know how and where they can support young people to achieve their full potential, and where can their programmes make the greatest difference?​

The Approach

A regular, ongoing dialogue with young people aged 14-24 years was needed to better understand the challenges faced by different demographics, and their thoughts and opinions on the key things happening in their lives.

Research involved annual tracker surveys with 1,500 young people (aged 14-24) from lower socio-economic backgrounds and 1,500 young people from higher socio-economic backgrounds, to compare experiences, access to opportunities, and attitudes towards education and their futures. Questionnaires were developed and tailored to cover most relevant topics each year. ​

We used mixed recruitment methods for a robust, representative sample. Analysis was split by ethnicity, higher and lower income households, region, gender and age.​

The Outcome

Over the last four years, our research findings have been used to advocate for young people through campaigning for equal opportunities. Our findings have been published and reported in multiple press release and articles, including Sky News.​

2025 report