Class Divide

About Class Divide

Class Divide is a powerful podcast series that exposes educational inequality in the UK. Through two years of documentary work, it sheds light on education in underprivileged areas such as East Brighton estates of Whitehawk, Manor Farm and Bristol Estate. Shockingly, only 37% of young people in East Brighton achieved basic GCSE grades compared to 69% in the rest of the city in 2019. The series follows the lives of a daughter and three sons from Whitehawk, emphasizing the transformative power of education. Along with families and teachers, education experts such as Professor Diane Reay and writer Fiona Millar will weigh in on the roots of the UK's educational segregation and attainment gap. The series also features guest appearances by renowned figures such as Darren McGarvey. The series is written and presented by Curtis James (https://www.wearefieldwork.com). Curtis grew up in East Brighton and went to school in Whitehawk. Class Divide (https://www.classdivide.co.uk) is a grassroots campaign fighting to draw attention to the deeply injust educational attainment gap for young people from the communities of Whitehawk, Manor Farm and Bristol Estate in Brighton and Hove. The campaign is made up of parents, residents, experts and supporters who have experienced these problems or have expertise in education, and are funded where necessary by donations and independent of any political organisation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Class Divide

Category

education · kids & family · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

15 Feb 2023

Latest episode

24 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

25 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   24 Jul 2026

   Five asks, two years on

   In 2024, in the run up to the general election, Class Divide published a manifesto. Five things the next government had to do so that children from low-income families and communities could thrive in education. Two years on, the country has a new Prime Minister. Andy Burnham has arrived in Number 10 talking about the cost of living and about devolving power out of Westminster, and this week his government capped bus fares at two pounds. So Curtis and Carlie got the manifesto back out and marked their own homework. They go through it ask by ask. Admissions, where Brighton and Hove has done something no other council in the country has done, and where national policy still has not followed. Transport, where Class Divide's own research found parents going without essentials and borrowing money to pay school bus fares. Pupil premium, and where that money really ends up. And getting more people from working-class backgrounds into teaching. Then a sixth ask, one that was not in the 2024 manifesto and probably should have been. Devolution moves decisions closer to places. It does not change who is making them. Links Class Divide Website: https://www.classdivide.co.uk (https://www.classdivide.co.uk) Donate: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/classdivide (https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/classdivide) Newsletter: https://classdivide.us21.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=1c5772fc8b8d98ea48693b0ee&id=c56f60a0c1 (https://classdivide.us21.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=1c5772fc8b8d98ea48693b0ee&id=c56f60a0c1) The 2024 manifesto https://www.classdivide.co.uk/news/introducing-our-new-manifesto (https://www.classdivide.co.uk/news/introducing-our-new-manifesto) Ask one: admissions The Schools Adjudicator determination on Brighton and Hove (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68f8e14425d7d8af156dc2b6/ADA4423__ADA4452_to_ADA4454__ADA4456__ADA4458_Brighton_and_Hove_City_Council_.pdf) Class Divide for the Sutton Trust, "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/) Burgess, Cantillon, Cavallo and Greaves, Modifying school choice for more equitable access in England (https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2025/november/affluent-pupils-are-more-likely-to-gain-a-place-at-a-top-secondary-school.html) Ask two: transport "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) Ask three: school funding and the attainment gap Education Policy Institute Annual Report 2026 (https://epi.org.uk/annual-report-2026/) Ask four: working-class teachers The Independent Inquiry into White Working Class Educational Outcomes (https://educationaloutcomes.org.uk/) Listen back to Series 1 and Series 2 Class Divide podcast page: https://www.classdivide.co.uk/podcast (https://www.classdivide.co.uk/podcast) Follow Class Divide Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/divideclass.bsky.social (https://bsky.app/profile/divideclass.bsky.social) Threads: https://www.threads.net/@divideclass (https://www.threads.net/@divideclass) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divideclass/ (https://www.instagram.com/divideclass/) Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/classdividecampaign/ (https://www.facebook.com/groups/classdividecampaign/) 13891a5f147d56bdfdb6d2baaec6d90cceceb716 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   6 May 2026

   Three Years Since the Podcast Launched

   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 (https://www.classdivide.co.uk) Donate: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/classdivide (https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/classdivide) Newsletter: https://classdivide.us21.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=1c5772fc8b8d98ea48693b0ee&id=c56f60a0c1 (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 (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/ (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/ (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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/ (https://educationequity.kit.com/) The Sutton Trust: https://www.suttontrust.com (https://www.suttontrust.com) Listen back to Series 1 and Series 2 Class Divide podcast page: https://www.classdivide.co.uk/podcast (https://www.classdivide.co.uk/podcast) Follow Class Divide Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/divideclass.bsky.social (https://bsky.app/profile/divideclass.bsky.social) Threads: https://www.threads.net/@divideclass (https://www.threads.net/@divideclass) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divideclass/ (https://www.instagram.com/divideclass/) X: https://twitter.com/divideclass (https://twitter.com/divideclass) Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/classdividecampaign/ (https://www.facebook.com/groups/classdividecampaign/) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   16 Apr 2025

   Out of the Hollows

   When Brighton & Hove City Council met on the 27th February 2025 to vote on school admissions reform, it marked the culmination of a twenty-year fight for change. From the community of Whitehawk — once hidden in the city’s hollows — to the council chamber. In this third and final episode of our three-part second series, we take you inside the decisive vote that could reshape education in Brighton for a generation. We meet the campaigners, parents and educators who’ve spent years pushing for a fairer system. Alongside their stories, we explore how power really works in our education system, from legal threats and leaked letters to the quiet pressures inside council meetings and school governance. As Brighton takes this historic step toward greater social mix in schools, we ask: what kind of city do we want to be — and who gets to decide? After a campaign that has divided our city, this episode ends with a call: now is the time to come together — and build a fairer future, for every child. Donate to support our work (www.classdivide.co.uk/donate) Featured Guests Rose - Parent and Volunteer, Class Divide Emily – Parent and Volunteer, Class Divide Dave – Parent and Class Divide campaigner Essie – Parent, Working-class academic, Volunteer at Equity in Education Alice – Parent, from Preston Park in Brighton Carlie Goldsmith – Co-founder, Class Divide Professor Danny Dorling – Professor of Geography, University of Oxford Professor Sam Friedman – Professor of Sociology, London School of Economics Professor Diane Reay – Professor of Education, University of Cambridge Oliver Percy – Barrister, education law specialist, School Inclusion Project Rachelle Otulakowski – Headteacher, Longhill High School Daniel Yates – Former Leader, Brighton & Hove City Council Further Reading & Reports Who Is Losing Learning? – Report by IPPR and The Difference (https://the-difference.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/FINAL-Who-is-Losing-Learning-Solutions-Report.pdf) Creative Industries Class Report – Policy and Evidence Centre for the Creative Industries (https://pec.ac.uk/) Social Mobility and Class Ceiling Studies – Sam Friedman’s research (https://www.lse.ac.uk/sociology/people/academic-staff/sam-friedman) Music Credits Music in this series was kindly donated by Olivier Alary, Maaja Nuut, Rumm, Neil Hale, Salvatore Mercatante, Polypores, Minor Pieces, Shida Shahabi, Max de Wardener, Simon James, Rutger Hoedemaekers, Toydrum, The Official Body, Benjamin Harrison, Traams, and Clarice Jensen. Thanks to Alex at Fat Cat Records, and Colin at Castles in Space. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

4.9 / 5

75 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 30 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

25

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

85

Contact Class Divide

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.