Three years ago this spring, Episode 1 of the Class Divide podcast launched. The campaign itself is older than that, closer to seven years in, but the podcast was the moment a long-running community effort suddenly reached the rest of the city and beyond. Curtis and Carlie reunite to mark the anniversary, look back at what has shifted since the first episode came out, and talk honestly about what comes next.

They look back at the wins and what they cost, the bruising consultation period, and the people who made the impossible happen. They look forward to a city-wide inquiry, the chance to take Brighton's admissions work national, and unfinished business on school transport.

Three years on from Episode 1, there is plenty to celebrate, and plenty still to do.

Links

Class Divide

• Website: https://www.classdivide.co.uk
• Donate: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/classdivide
• Newsletter: https://classdivide.us21.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=1c5772fc8b8d98ea48693b0ee&id=c56f60a0c1

The Schools Adjudicator decision

• Official determination on gov.uk: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68f8e14425d7d8af156dc2b6/ADA4423__ADA4452_to_ADA4454__ADA4456__ADA4458_Brighton_and_Hove_City_Council_.pdf

Class Divide piece for the Sutton Trust on the Brighton blueprint

• "Inclusion through admissions: How a community brought about change in Brighton and Hove": https://www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion/all-news-opinion/inclusion-through-admissions-how-a-community-brought-about-change-in-brighton-and-hove/

The two reports that prompted the call for an inquiry

• Sutton Trust Opportunity Index: https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/the-opportunity-index/
• Impetus, Youth Jobs Gap: Exploring Compound Disadvantage: https://www.impetus.org.uk/policy/youth-jobs-gap

The open letter and the inquiry

• Open letter to council leader Bella Sankey: https://www.classdivide.co.uk/s/Letter-to-Bella-Sankey.pdf
• Class Divide's response to the launch of the Inequality Review: https://www.classdivide.co.uk/news/we-welcome-the-inequality-review-but-it-needs-to-be-fair-from-the-start

Burgess and Greaves on national admissions reform

• University of Bristol summary of Modifying school choice for more equitable access in England (Burgess, Cantillon, Cavallo, Greaves): https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2025/november/affluent-pupils-are-more-likely-to-gain-a-place-at-a-top-secondary-school.html

Class Divide's recent transport report

• "One in three Brighton and Hove parents go without essentials or borrow money to pay school bus fares": https://www.classdivide.co.uk/news/one-in-three-brighton-and-hove-parents-go-without-essentials-or-borrow-money-to-pay-school-bus-fares-new-report-finds

The Schools White Paper, Mission North East and Mission Coastal

• Government announcement: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/schools-white-paper-to-rewire-education-transforming-life-chances

Allies mentioned in the episode

• Equity in Education (Bevendean and Moulsecoomb): https://educationequity.kit.com/
• The Sutton Trust: https://www.suttontrust.com

Listen back to Series 1 and Series 2

• Class Divide podcast page: https://www.classdivide.co.uk/podcast

Follow Class Divide

• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/divideclass.bsky.social
• Threads: https://www.threads.net/@divideclass
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divideclass/
• X: https://twitter.com/divideclass
• Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/classdividecampaign/

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