BBC Radio 4 Record Social Mobility Documentary at Heath Park

This past Friday, Heath Park played host to BBC Radio 4, as we made our contribution to a documentary being made about the challenges facing students from state schools, and the successes that we have in overcoming these barriers.

The programme, on the topic of social mobility in the UK, is the brainchild of Sathnam Sanghera, a writer and journalist from Wolverhampton who returned to his roots to record at a school where many of his relatives have received their education. Sathnam, author of bestseller The Boy with the Top Knot (subsequently made into a BBC mini-series) is investigating how to get more state school students into top universities and high-wage professions, so it was a natural fit for him to record at school which very much shares these ambitions.

In the wonderful venue of our new post-16 block, Sathnam addressed students on his life journey, the challenges that he faced in achieving his own success and his advice for how to break into a top career. Students asked him thought-provoking questions about their own aspirations, and received some pearls of wisdom to take away in their sixth-form journeys.

Sathnam also interviewed a range of students from across Year 13, as well as teaching staff, with the interviews to form part of the final show, which will go out on BBC Radio 4 on Monday 25th February. Here’s to a future of great aspiration for our students, with Heath Park at the forefront of social mobility and ambitious outcomes for all of our students.

Photo credit: Mia Williams (Year 12)