Cranford Review 2019

The Social Mobility Foundation is a charity which provides opportunities and
networks of support for young people from low-income backgrounds. Depending
on what programme you choose, they promise to help students until they get a job
after graduation. They provide students with mentors in the first year and throughout this
programme they also give young people an opportunity to do internships with the top
companies in the UK. The Social Mobility Foundation has organised meeting spots in central London for
big companies such as “White and Case” as it educates students to learn what different companies look for
and what you should wear to look professional and smart. This helps to make students feel comfortable in
business environments and make the best impression where they will be working in the future.
We are delighted to have secured twelve places on the SMF programmes, with the Sutton Trust and with
the Social Mobility Foundation. Here is a list of the students’ names and programmes they are on and a
selection of students’ accounts outlining their personal experience.
Mahavir Ladva
(Supervised Study Centre Manager / School Improvement Team)
I am participating in the Aspiring
Professionals Programme (APP), in
which I am given support and guidance
(via a personal mentor). Their goal is to help young
people, who do not currently have the means or the
networks to do so, to access professions in the sector they
are interested in. Internships, Open Day university visits
and many meetings in which they help refine your skills
in your potential profession are a few of the numerous
activities they offer you, free of charge.
I am currently enrolled in the Engineering & Physics
sector. So far, they have offered me visits to many different
University Open Days, and have given me the opportunity
to attend Engineering and Physics futures days at which I
will able to meet employers from the sector to get an idea
of the careers on offer. They have assigned me a personal
mentor who is in physics/engineering and has a plethora
of advice they can give me to further help me develop as a
person and get further involved in my chosen profession.
The mentors can also help you out with your transition
into university by offering you help with your personal
statements and clear up any confusion you have with the
whole process.
Perhaps one of the best support they provide you with is
offering you internships in your chosen sector. This means
you get work experience in your chosen sector with top
companies which can be extremely difficult to obtain in
many professions e.g. engineering and physics.
Overall, the experience is nothing short of amazing and
helped me immensely to get a grasp on the profession
in which I am interested. Also, I’ve received help with
my application to universities as well as developed vital
professional skills.
Saugat Dharel (year 12)
The Social Mobility Programme for Year 12
Saugat Dharel
(Physics / Social
Mobility Foundation)
I am currently on the Social Mobility
Foundation programme and I find myself
lucky to have this opportunity as it has
not only helped me to build up my soft and hard skills but
also given me an insight into accountancy and banking &
finance sector. When I was applying for this programme
I was sure that I wouldn’t get accepted because many
people were applying and the interview questions were
quite tricky and required critical thinking. I found out that
the interview questions were used to see what the students
thought and what mentor would be more suitable for them
in the future. They also help you to have a good mentee and
mentor relationship. Your mentor works in the sector which
the student wants to work in and they can offer you the
best information and resources that they have. I am really
excited to meet my mentor as my mentor can help me with my
personal statement and make it more relevant to my career
sector. This programme has given me the opportunity to
open up and understand the working lifestyle better as well
as how you can make more networking connections that will
help you after university.
We have attended a few sessions outside of school because
this programme makes sure that we don’t miss any school
days. We had a welcoming session, where we learnt about
the programme and what we would do in the future. This
allowed us to get together and make networking connections.
The next session was an accountancy future day at KPMG,
where we met different people from the accountancy sector
but also people who worked in KPMG. We met an ex-student
who worked with SMF and took an apprenticeship route
and we met another ex-student who went to university and
graduated who works there now. It helped us understand the
different routes we can take to get into accountancy but it
also made us familiar with real life experiences. They don’t
only offer you information and future days about your sector
but also about other career sectors that they cover. In the
upcoming weeks, most of us will be placed at a company
and do internships. This will give us an insight into work
life and how it differs from school.
Sajneet Bagga (year 12)
Sanjeet Bagga
(Accounting / Social
Mobility Foundation)
12