Modern, Progressive, and Advanced. These are some of the words that are used to describe the 21st century. But the unfortunate and hard truth about the era that we live in is that it is also known for the rampant existence of inequality in every nook and corner of the globe.
Here in the UK, an inequality not only exists but also persists in various forms, ranging from the ever-controversial income inequality to the lesser discussed inequality of opportunity between public and private schooled students. The latter of which led to the launching of ‘The 93% Club’ by Jamie Rogers, an Economics student here at Lancaster University. Technically speaking, this society is the Lancaster branch of the original ‘93% Club’ that was founded at the University of Bristol, in 2016 by a student named Sophie Pender who in 2017 was featured in the Tab Future 100, thanks in part to her involvement in the society she founded a year earlier.
As the name suggests, this society aims to represent the interests of public-schooled students who account for 93% of the population but face extreme inequality when it comes to getting opportunities. The data and statistics that this club provides to make its case are both eye-opening and overwhelming. This is because privately schooled students, despite representing just 7% of the population, account for 74% of judges, 34% of FTSE CEOs, 61% of Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians, and 50% of Cabinet members. All these numbers point towards the reality i.e. in the UK, public school students suffer from gross inequality of opportunities.
At the moment, it’s not immediately clear how the executive committee of this club is planning to raise awareness and public knowledge about this issue of national importance, but, we hope that ‘The 93% Club’ is successful in meeting its objectives.
For more information about the society, check out SCAN’s interview with Jamie Rogers, Founder of ‘The 93% Club Lancaster’ by clicking here
