Queen Mary’s commitment to social mobility recognised

A new report from the Social Mobility Commission ranks Queen Mary University of London as the highest-performing Russell Group University in the country for social mobility, outperforming all other Russell Group universities by a significant amount.

Published on:

12 August 2026

Image of Queens Building, Mile End

The report looks at whether disadvantaged students are missing out on getting into top research-intensive universities, even when they secure the required grades. It does this by comparing the students who met the universities’ entry requirements with the socio-economic background of their student intake.

The report finds that Queen Mary is ‘successfully recruiting students from disadvantaged backgrounds’ who meet the University’s academic entry requirements and does so on a larger scale than its peers. It has achieved this by working with over 200 Schools/Colleges and hundreds of companies to create social mobility pathways, allowing us to find students with potential to succeed, irrespective of their background, and ensuring they go on to top jobs all over the world.

Speaking on the report, Professor Colin Bailey, CBE, President and Principal of Queen Mary, said: “Social mobility has been a cornerstone of Queen Mary’s vision and mission throughout our 240-year history, and we are proud to be a University where opportunity, as well as excellence in education, research and innovation, is at the heart of what we do.

“That’s why I am delighted to see our commitment to widening access to higher education, while continuing to maintain high academic standards expected of a Russell Group University, recognised in this way”.

Read the full report here, the news story here and the Queen Mary data here.

Read more:

Global main menu

Study at Queen Mary

Experience Queen Mary

Subjects

Research and Innovation

Research by faculties and centres

Collaborations and partnerships