An historic Oxford college has announced it is ‘ready to step-up to tackle inequality’ according to the Vice Chancellor of the University who took on the historic institution last summer.

Ruskin College was founded in 1899, but after it faced financial challenges, it joined the University of West London in August 2021.

The comments from Professor Peter John CBE, Vice-Chancellor of the University of West London and Principal of Ruskin College, followed the launch of a new research programme at the college that saw influential speakers discuss ‘Can Levelling Up Really Make a Difference to Inequality?’

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Professor John said: “This was a fascinating event with many viewpoints and insights from some of the country’s best minds. Ruskin College, with its long history of free-thinking and empowerment of people who wouldn’t ordinarily set foot on a university campus, was the perfect venue.”

Phillip Collins, from the New Statesman, said: “The idea that in eight years we’ll be able to fix things that have been embedded for years is probably a fond hope.”

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Professor Jonathan Michie, President of the Kellogg College, Oxford University, highlighted that inequality in Britain is worse than in many other comparative countries.

The event was convened by University of West London’s Centre for Inequality and Levelling Up who will be producing a report bringing together the perspectives of all the speakers which will be published in the summer.

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This story was written by Rebecca Whittaker, she joined the team in 2019 as a multimedia reporter.

Rebecca covers education and news in Abingdon and Wantage.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Rebecca.Whittaker@newquest.co.uk or calling 07824524333

Follow her on Twitter @RebecWhitt

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