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Joe Seddon

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Joe Seddon
Seddon in London, 2020
Born
Joseph Seddon

(1997-06-04) 4 June 1997 (age 27)
Leeds, United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
EducationUniversity of Oxford
OccupationCEO
Known forSocial entrepreneurship

Joe Seddon (born 4 June 1997) is a British technology entrepreneur and social commentator. He is the founder of Zero Gravity, a technology company that supports low-income students into universities and careers.

Early life

Seddon was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire in June 1997. He was raised in Morley, West Yorkshire in a single-parent family by his mother, Catherine, who works as a speech therapist in the National Health Service.[1]

Seddon was educated at Westerton Primary, a local state school in Morley, West Yorkshire. He then studied at Heckmondwike Grammar School, a state school in Kirklees, West Yorkshire.[2] In his later years at school, Seddon was involved in competitive debating, where he won a number of regional and national awards and was invited to join England's National Debating Team.[3]

After leaving school, Seddon read Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at Mansfield College, University of Oxford, graduating with first class honours.[4] During university, he was an occasional contributor to The Daily Telegraph, where he wrote articles about reforming Britain's higher education system.[5]

Career

Zero Gravity

Upon graduating from the University of Oxford, Seddon founded Access Oxbridge, a mobile app that connected school students from low-income backgrounds with mentors currently studying at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.[6][7] Prior to the app’s launch, British universities had come under criticism for the number of students admitted from private schools.[8] In 2016, the University of Oxford gave 59% of offers to UK students from state schools, whilst 93% of all UK students are educated in state schools.[9] Oxford University spends £14 million per year on programs to recruit applicants from low-income backgrounds, costing £108,000 per student admitted.[10]

Seddon’s app aimed to increase access to Oxford and Cambridge by matching low-income students with undergraduate mentors who coached students through weekly hour-long video calls.[11] Seddon built the app from his hometown bedroom and initially funded the initiative from the remnants of his university maintenance grant.[12] In its first year, 110 low-income students mentored on the app achieved offers to study at Oxford and Cambridge.[13][14] In October 2019, Seddon was awarded the Prime Minister's Points of Light award for social impact in education.[15]

Media coverage of Seddon’s work attracted the attention of a number of social impact investors who, in March 2020, provided Seddon with £425,000 of venture capital investment to expand his work.[16] Seddon re-designed his app and relaunched it as Zero Gravity in May 2020.[17] Zero Gravity aims to increase social mobility by developing technology to identify low-income students and provide them with personalised support to win places at UK universities, including Oxbridge and the Russell Group.[18][19][20][21]

In 2020, over 1000 students mentored by Zero Gravity achieved offers to study at Russell Group universities.[22] Zero Gravity has supported 261 low-income students to study at Oxford and Cambridge since its launch.[23] In June 2021, Seddon received the Diana Award in memory of Princess Diana for social impact in the education sector.[24]

In December 2021, Seddon confirmed that he had raised a seed round of investment in Zero Gravity totalling £3.5m.[25]

Advocacy and media

Seddon's work as an entrepreneur has been covered by BBC News,[12] The Times,[26] The Telegraph,[27] and Corriere della Serra.[28] He is a contributor to BBC News, BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 5 Live, where he discusses education, social mobility and careers.[29] He has also been a guest speaker at the Cambridge Union, where he has delivered lectures on social entrepreneurship.[30]

In October 2020, Seddon was appointed as a Trustee of the British Youth Council.[31] Seddon is also a Governor of Lister Community School.[32]

Personal life

Seddon lives in London and is a Hull City supporter.[33]

References

  1. ^ Gill, Gurvinder (11 February 2020). "I spent my last £200 getting people into Oxbridge". BBC News. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Celebration for pass masters at two schools". The Press. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Debating Matters - People - Joe Seddon". archive.debatingmatters.com. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  4. ^ "Oxford grad offers free tutoring to poor kids". Metro Newspaper UK. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  5. ^ Seddon, Joe (18 July 2017). "In defence of tuition fees: a student's perspective". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  6. ^ Mintz, Luke (17 June 2019). "Can mentor schemes really turn the tables for disadvantaged students applying to Oxbridge?". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Student-led outreach initiative Access Oxbridge launches 'groundbreaking' new app". Varsity Online. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Oxford and Cambridge condemned over failure to improve state school access". The Guardian. 12 December 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Oxford University to have 'most state school students for decades'". BBC News. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Oxford 'spends £108,000' to recruit each extra low-income student". The Guardian. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  11. ^ "This app helps students with Oxford and Cambridge University admissions". Study International. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  12. ^ a b Gill, Gurvinder (11 February 2020). "I spent my last £200 getting people into Oxbridge". BBC News. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  13. ^ Bennett, Rosemary (2 February 2019). "Oxford graduate Joe Seddon offers key to interview ordeal". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  14. ^ Penna, Dominic (12 February 2020). "Want to go to Oxbridge? 5 insider tips for state school students from a 'super mentor'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Access Oxbridge founder receives Prime Minister's Points of Light award". Varsity Online. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  16. ^ "ALUMNI STORIES: 'I WANTED TO SHOW HOW TECHNOLOGY COULD DISRUPT THE HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR AND LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD FOR STUDENTS'". www.alumni.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  17. ^ Bennett, Rosemary. "App gives poor pupils a mentor to guide them into top universities". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  18. ^ Cerullo, Sophia (30 May 2020). "Oxford graduate launches digital mentoring for students from disadvantaged backgrounds". Cherwell. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Mentoring start-up 'Zero Gravity' launched today by founder of Access Oxbridge". The Oxford Student. 24 May 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  20. ^ "'Not everybody has a dedicated office space and a Macbook Air': Oxford grad creates app to help improve access to university". University of Cambridge. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  21. ^ "Grad signs up 1,000 students to mentor disadvantaged kids applying to uni". UK. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  22. ^ Griffiths, Sian. "Fairground worker Milly teaches herself Classics on rollercoaster ride to Oxford". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  23. ^ "Zero Gravity helps 151 low-income students receive Oxbridge offers". Varsity Online. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  24. ^ "ALUMNI STORIES: 'I WANTED TO SHOW HOW TECHNOLOGY COULD DISRUPT THE HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR AND LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD FOR STUDENTS'". www.alumni.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  25. ^ "Zero Gravity (Educational Software) Company Profile: Valuation & Investors | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  26. ^ Bennett, Rosemary. "Young mentor secures 60 Oxbridge offers for deprived pupils". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  27. ^ Penna, Dominic (12 February 2020). "Want to go to Oxbridge? 5 insider tips for state school students from a 'super mentor'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  28. ^ "PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines". www.pressreader.com. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  29. ^ "Joe Seddon from Access Oxbridge on BBC Look North". Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  30. ^ "Easter Term 2019 | Cambridge Union". Issuu. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  31. ^ "British Youth Council | Our board". British Youth Council. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  32. ^ "Our Governing Body | Lister Community School". lister.newham.sch.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  33. ^ The North/South Divide - Climbing The Rungs, retrieved 15 July 2021
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