A shared purpose

Opportunity. Potential. A fair chance.

For many young people, the route to higher education or training is relatively straightforward, with all the rewards it can offer.

But for some, often from a lower income or otherwise disadvantaged background, the options can feel limited or out of reach.

Aiming to tackle the barriers to success and improve social mobility for young people across the region is Community Foundation North East, which provides funding to grassroots organisations across the geographies it covers, practical support, mentoring and other stepping stones to success.

It has traditionally been supported by philanthropists based in the North East, looking to give back to their region.

But, with its new North East Roots Fund, the foundation is reaching out to expats who left the area for study or employment opportunities, and have made their mark elsewhere.

While North East Roots aims to secure new funders to support its ongoing charitable giving, it is also an opportunity to build a network of successful and influential people who can give time and expertise to boost the region’s potential.

A new link with Nick Harrison, chief executive of The Sutton Trust, a national social mobility charity, brings together two organisations with potential for shared learning and action in the North East.

Chester-le-Street-born Nick is, in many ways, an example of social mobility in action.

Growing up, his dad was a lecturer at what was then Sunderland Polytechnic, and his mum a teacher-turned-homemaker.

Academically successful, he became the first pupil of Hermitage Comprehensive, now Hermitage Academy, to be admitted to Oxbridge.

After completing a degree in physics at Cambridge, he went on to complete a PhD in light-emitting polymers now used in OLED TV screens. Deciding to leave academia behind, he found his way into business consultancy with global management firm Oliver Wyman.

Nick says: “I didn’t really know what business consultancy was until I applied for the job and got it. “But it turned out to be something I was good at – I applied scientific methods to business. “I did well in the role, and progressed up the ranks to global partner, with clients in the US, Europe and Asia.”

After 21 years, he chose to move on, with a brief foray into the world of fashion as an executive – a time he describes as his ‘midlife crisis job’.

Despite opportunities in the world of business and government, he made the decision to join The Sutton Trust, appointed chief executive two years ago.

A national charity focusing on social mobility and social economic opportunity for lowincome families, the charity supports 10,000 bright but disadvantaged young people each year with a range of university and career access programmes.

The charity also carries out research, policy and advocacy work, from birth to the workplace, working to understand the barriers to opportunity that exist for young people from low-income families, and the solutions to tackling them.

Although based in South London, he has strong family links in the North East, with his dad and sister, plus a number of school friends, still based in and around Chester-le-Street.

He also made a professional return to the region earlier this year, as a panellist in debates hosted by Newcastle University examining how access to education and employment can be improved in the North East.

Nick says: “I have such passion for the North East but, it has to be said, the region faces lots of challenges – it has entrenched child poverty and lower academic attainment than some areas, leading to lower access rates to university.

“I look at the region and think, ‘how can I play my part to enable the talent we have in the region to be as successful as possible?’ “The North East was once the epicentre of the global economy – can we get back to that place?

“We do see growth and opportunity in the North East, certainly in pockets.

“Newcastle is a modern and vibrant city, as is Sunderland. “But, equally, you see some places just outside those cities that are pretty challenged with dying high streets.”

Nick highlights the shared DNA behind the Community Foundation and The Sutton Trust – a passion for empowering and enabling people to be as successful as they can be. The Sutton Trust hosts young people from the wider North East region in its programmes, including annual summer schools in universities across the UK, to allow those from disadvantaged backgrounds to experience academic life.

Nick acknowledges his own luck and privilege at being able to attend a leading university and move into a successful commercial career, although he points out it was necessary to leave the North East to do so.

He says: “When I was leaving sixth form, I didn’t think too much about my career or being the first to go to Oxbridge – I just followed what I thought was interesting. “Arguably, I couldn’t have done what I have done in my career, particularly the business consultancy, if I’d stayed in the North East – the job opportunities were in London.

“To an extent, that’s still the case for those sort of roles – if you’re running a global business consultancy, you’re realistically doing it in the heart of London.

“The North East has some fantastic businesses and universities, and for me, it’s about giving young people a choice. “They need the right insight and backing to make up their own mind about whether they stay in the region, move away for opportunities elsewhere, or go off and experience life outside of the region and then come back again.

“I also think it’s just as important to look at how we can persuade people from elsewhere in the country to move to the region, to bring in talent and experience.

“The North East has some fantastic young people. “And with the right support, they can do amazing things.”

Community Foundation
www.communityfoundation.org.uk
[email protected]
@CFTyneWearNland

www.suttontrust.com
LinkedIn: The Sutton Trust