Lewis Hamilton meets UK Prime Minister over key issue

Lewis Hamilton has visited 10 Downing Street to discuss education reform with senior politicians, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The British driver was part of a roundtable meeting with the Labour leader and the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson.

Mission 44, part of Hamilton's portfolio of projects, champions educational advancement around the world, specifically by helping young people access careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Meanwhile, the UK Government is looking to better support schools and the talks centred on working in collaboration to raise standards for all students.

Whilst it is a matter the Ferrari driver has opened up on in the past, the 40-year-old touched upon the challenges he faced in education in remarks after the meeting.

"I struggled in school and never felt like my voice was heard, that’s why I know first-hand that ensuring every student feels they belong in school is vital," Hamilton shared.

"I’m grateful that off the back of this meeting, the government has committed to working with Mission 44 to enact change focused on making the education system more inclusive.

"I’m so proud of how far Mission 44 has come in such a short space of time and the opportunity we have to transform the lives of vulnerable students across the country."

Three pledges

Following the roundtable, the UK Government has made three broad pledges; create a national best practice framework, amplify the voices of young people, and support teachers of all backgrounds into the classroom.

The roundtable came a week after Hamilton and Mission 44 played a leading role in issuing a joint statement with 25 organisations from the youth and educational sector, following new research on England's schools with a number of key findings:

• Nearly 1 in 5 (17%) young people report feeling unsafe or unwelcome at school or college. This is particularly true for more vulnerable students; including those with Special Educational Needs (SEN) (28%), disabled students (30%) and students from lower socio-economic backgrounds (21%) – who are more likely to feel this way than those from more affluent backgrounds (15%)
• 1 in 5 (22%) young people say their experience at school or college has negatively affected their mental health and wellbeing, rising to 26% among girls and an alarming 36% among SEN pupils and 38% of disabled students
• 2 in 5 (41%) feel that when they raise concerns about their wellbeing, they are ignored by their institutions – rising to 63% for those with SEN and 45% for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds
• 1 in 3 (30%) are uncomfortable speaking to school or college staff about how happy or not they feel
• More than a third (34%) of parents believe their child’s learning needs are not being met, with over a quarter (28%) noting their child has felt excluded from school activities

Keir Starmer, in his remarks welcoming Hamilton and others to 10 Downing Street, said: "I want to thank Lewis - this was his idea, this is his legacy. He’s inspired generations and is now using that influence on this project and is designed to make a real difference in the lives of young people across the country. 

"I think we need to acknowledge we’re in a really challenging time for young people. A lot of children left school at the beginning of the COVID pandemic and haven’t gone back to school.

"The achievement gap between the richest and poorest is back to levels we haven’t seen since 2011. That’s shocking. Because I like to think we’re a country that always moves forwards. Always taking a step in the right direction. So when things start going backwards we know we have a real problem."