For decades, the disparity in attainment and progression of young men who are eligible for Free School Meals has been a significant feature of our national educational conversation. Yet, over that time, there has been very little strategic action taken to address it.

In this event Alex Blower from Boys’ Impact, introduced the complex interplay of challenges facing young working-class men as they negotiate their identities in compulsory education. It will deepen understanding of the role of masculinity and inequality in the likelihood of young men engaging in the classroom, alongside introducing innovative approaches to meeting the challenge as educators. With practice examples from University of Sussex and University of East Anglia, along with the opportunity to develop meaningful strategies this was be a very productive session.

Pre-reading for this event: Taking Boys Seriously Principles

See the Working with Boys and Young Men Programme here

Speaker biographies

Dr Alex Blower founded Boys’ Impact in 2023. Alex is a Research Fellow at Arts University Bournemouth, where his primary focus is creating the conditions for equitable access to Higher Education. Having faced his own challenges related to mental ill health and school exclusion as a young man, tackling inequality of educational opportunity is of great importance to Alex both personally and professionally. Alongside his work for the University, he writes regularly for national and international publications, contributing to the national conversation on how to make progression to Higher Education more equitable for groups who may experience structural inequality. Since completing his doctoral research which focused on inequality and access to university for white working-class boys in the West Midlands in 2020, he has been a regular speaker at national conferences, delivering talks, workshops and training with practitioners across the education sector.

Sam Dunnett, is a dedicated leader in the field of widening participation, driven by a belief in the transformative power of education and a desire to create a more equitable society. In her current role as Head of Widening Participation at the University of Sussex, Sam oversees a comprehensive portfolio of programmes designed to support students from diverse backgrounds. These initiatives include outreach activities from Primary schools to Further Education colleges, alongside programmes to support care experienced young people and support learners from traveller communities. Sam is a passionate advocate for social justice and regional collaboration and regularly works alongside community organisations, schools, and policy makers to create pathways to Higher Education for all students. Sam is an active member of FACE (the forum for Access and continuing Education) and sits on the FACE management board. https://face.ac.uk.

Darren McMorran works at the University of East Anglia (UEA) as an Outreach Officer and is Chair of the East Anglia Boys’ Impact Hub. He runs UEA Outreach’s Uni Boys project for Year 7 boys which aims to improve participants success and attainment in school. He attended teacher training at Carnegie College, Leeds, and graduated with a BEd (Hons) in Physical Education and Geography. Darren has 25 years’ teaching experience. His early teaching jobs took him to Glasgow, Birmingham, and Kenya. He then taught for over 15 years in the North Suffolk area where he worked in Middle and Special Educational Needs schools.

Jon Rainford is a Lecturer in Childhood and Youth at The Open University, UK. He is also a NERUPI Researcher. He has over 15 years experience of working with marginalized groups in education and completed a doctorate at Staffordshire University in 2019 which focused on widening participation policy and practice. As a researcher and evaluator, he has interests in the value of creative and digital methods. He has recently co-edited The Business of Widening Participation: Policy, Practice and Culture with Colin McCaig and Ruth Squire (https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/doi/10.1108/9781800430495).

Chris Mason has worked in the Widening Participation team at University of Sussex for over ten years. As a student from a partner school who benefited enormously from outreach activities, he is passionate about ensuring young people from all backgrounds have the chance to consider Higher Education. Chris qualified to be a Primary School teacher during the pandemic, alongside working at Sussex, and has bought this experience to the University’s Primary Explorer’s Programme. His wider remit includes Sixth Form partnership management, overseeing Sussex Inspires for post-16 learners and delivering the Boys Project with Peacehaven Community School in 2025