Queen Mary’s leadership in social mobility recognised by leading charity
Today (8 January 2026), Queen Mary University of London and its President and Principal, Professor Colin Bailey CBE, were announced as being included in the 2026 Social Mobility List, compiled by the charity Making the Leap.
Professor Bailey is one of just 14 people named in the Social Mobility List as a ‘Mover and Shaker’, a title he shares alongside singer Adele, journalist Amol Rajan, media personality Gary Neville, and singer Alesha Dixon.
Professor Bailey, who received an Outstanding Contribution to Social Mobility Award from Making the Leap in 2024, features on this list not only because of his own personal experiences – he left school at 16 to work as an apprentice draftsman before attending university years later as a mature student, the first in his family to do so, after which he successfully completed his PhD – but because of the work he has done to make Queen Mary “an absolute citadel for social mobility” since becoming President and Principal in 2017.
His inclusion in the ‘Movers and Shakers’ list is also recognition of the work Professor Bailey does to promote and shape policies around widening participation, including as an advisor to the Department of Education and a trustee of UCAS.
Queen Mary was also included in the Social Mobility ‘University’ List, which “celebrates universities making an outstanding commitment to social mobility issues”. With a 240-year history of opening the doors of opportunity to anyone with the potential to succeed, Queen Mary is unique among its Russell Group peers: we have more than 170 nationalities represented on campus; 91 per cent of domestic undergraduate students come from state schools, 77 per cent are BAME and 46 per cent are first in their families to enter higher education.
The Social Mobility list notes that, “in 2024/25, Queen Mary University of London strengthened its historic mission to advance social mobility through high-quality education, civic partnership and targeted institutional reform”.
Making The Leap also notes that, “guided by its Civic University Agreement, the University has developed an inclusive, data informed Outreach Curriculum that supports diverse student pathways. Programmes such as Access to Queen Mary and Queen Mary Futures exemplify this commitment by providing structured and insight-driven progression routes into higher education”.
Queen Mary was the first Russell Group university to offer degree apprenticeships, for which it was rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2024 (one of only eight UK universities to receive the highest rating), and it remains the only London-based Russell Group university to sponsor an Institute of Technology. The University also “continues to enhance access to professional careers through its deepened partnership with PwC, (through the Flying Start programme), expanded bursary support and the evolution of its pioneering Law in Practice degree, which is supported by an award-winning legal advice centre”.
Professor Colin Bailey CBE, President and Principle of Queen Mary said: “Making the Leap is a wonderful charity that works with less advantaged young people to help them achieve their full potential. Given Queen Mary University’s 240-year history of providing education to the people of East London and our ongoing mission to open the doors of opportunity to anyone with the potential to succeed, we and Making the Leap share a common goal.
“The Social Mobility List they have compiled recognises individuals and organisations who are making a significant impact towards advancing social mobility across the UK, and I am incredibly proud that that Queen Mary features in the 2026 list and is being recognised for the work we do to give more young people access to higher education
“I am also very humbled and grateful to be included in this list as social mobility is a matter close to my heart and something I am deeply passionate about and will continue to champion.”