The 93% Club is a student-run charity that aims to provide opportunities and a network for state school–educated university students in the United Kingdom.^[1] It has chapters at 45 universities in the UK and has reached more than 10,000 students.^[2][3]

History

The organisation was founded by Sophie Pender, who graduated from secondary school with three A* grades at A-Level but found her working-class council estate background criticised when she began studying at the University of Bristol in 2016.^[1][2][4] At that time, more than 35% of students at the university came from private schools.^[5]

The 93% in the name refers to the share of British people educated in state schools.^[1] Robert Verkaik described the club as a "reverse Bullingdon Club" in the Guardian, placing the organisation in contrast to the exclusive private club at the University of Oxford.^[2] The charity intends to counteract the traditional "What school did you go to?" question assumed to allow former private school pupils to get good jobs.^[6] It gives advice to students, such as helping them select a hall of residence or explaining that state school undergraduates may have built up resilience and may outperform the privately educated.^[5]

The movement attracted increased attention in 2020, when it grew to over 10,000 students in 36 universities. It obtained charitable status that December.^[6]

Reception

In June 2021, the charity attracted attention for a social media campaign asking users to share that they are "state school and proud".^[2] It also received some hostility, as some of its events were disrupted, and the organisation was criticised as "elitist".^[6] Pender rejected these criticisms, saying privately educated students "don't need to set up a 7% club because they already benefit from privileged networks".^[6] Other commentators have argued the "educational apartheid" of independent (private) schools is preventing social mobility.^[7]

References