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Lynton Lees

@lyntonlees.bsky.social
722 followers 387 following 105 posts

Senior Policy Manager, Public First. Previously British Academy, PhD history of universities and education in modern Britain, Columbia. Views my own.

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Reposted by Lynton Lees
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
'while more than £800 million is spent on attracting non-traditional students into undergraduate study, “efforts to widen participation in higher education meet a cliff-edge” at postgraduate level, where “access to postgraduate study has historically received far less attention”.'
timeshighereducation.com
STEM PhDs ‘inaccessible’ to disadvantaged students
UK ‘missing out’ on talent as fewer disadvantaged students complete STEM doctorates, major study finds
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Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Less than a fifth of students undertaking STEM PhDs are from low socio-economic backgrounds, a report has found, resulting in disadvantaged students “being lost from the pipeline”, reports Juliette Rowsell #highered #STEM #disadvantage #edusky #PhDs ow.ly/isxB50ZTbQZ
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Athene Donald @athenedonald.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Big study shows how socio economic background impacts on path to STEM PhDs martingale.foundation/about-us/rep...
martingale.foundation
The Path to PhD - Martingale Foundation
report Socioeconomic Background and Barriers to STEM Postgraduate Study October 2026 SUPPORTED BY About the Report Martingale and partners have carried out the largest piece of research ever into the ...
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
No need to apologise (thank you for the v kind words re cold spots) - just wanted to make clear that PF HE team I know care a lot about advocating for the sector to (very) tough crowds and wholly share your frustration about HE's treatment by politicians/media. I wouldn't have joined otherwise!
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I'm a former History PhD and care deeply about universities (including hums arts etc as ex BA staff); so do the rest of our team (including Luca who wrote this). We just want those of us who advocate for HE to understand public attitudes, even (especially?) when they don't agree with our own.
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Hi Sol, I'm a bit gutted to hear you say that (am a big fan of your work, your Sutton Trust Home and Away research was v helpful with the BA cold spots report I wrote www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/policy-and-r...)
thebritishacademy.ac.uk
Cold spots: Mapping inequality in SHAPE provision in UK higher education
This British Academy report reveals that many parts of the UK are becoming subject cold spots – areas with no provision in a subject within a commutable distance. These are often in rural, coastal or ...
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Michael Kane @michaelkane1878.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Very pleased to see Public First's report into voter attitudes on education policy published today. In an age of quite intense division and polarisation in public policy, it's remarkable to see Burnham's proposals to reform education supported by voters of every persuasion and even non-voters.
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The public a) like what Burnham is selling on education and b) really don’t like increasing tuition fees with inflation 😬
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is a smart piece from my colleague Luca Lombardo - a bitter pill for us in HE, but Burnham govt far more in line with wider public opinion than many of us would like to admit. Recommended reading:
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Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The UK faces little prospect of being able to hit its targeted international student recruitment numbers, a leading consultancy has warned. @georgialouluck.bsky.social reports
timeshighereducation.com
‘No clear way’ for UK sector to grow international student intake
Modelling finds just nine countries offer ‘headroom and stability’ to source more overseas recruitments, but this assumes competitor markets don’t shift
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
'Public First argues the UK HE sector has three options: pursue smaller and less stable markets, change the policy environment, including visa rules, to make the UK more competitive... or for the sector and government to accept a period of contraction.' thepienews.com/uk-has-almos...
thepienews.com
UK has "almost nowhere left to grow" international recruitment, modelling finds
UK universities have “almost nowhere left to grow” their international student numbers safely, according to new modelling from think tank Public First.
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
A big one from us at Public First out today - new economic modelling on the future of international student growth in UK higher education. Spoiler alert: it all looks very, very bad international-student-markets.publicfirstapps.com
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Now, now…
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Big day for higher education data nerds - the OfS has published its big dashboard tracking tool ('market monitoring tool'...) tracking supply and demand for degree level subjects across England. STEM subjects in the spotlight, but languages also included: www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-ana...
officeforstudents.org.uk
Higher education market monitoring tool - Office for Students
The higher education market monitoring tool shows insights into supply and demand for higher educational subjects across England at a regional level, with insights into research data across the UK.
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marleymorris.bsky.social @marleymorris.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Today @ippr.org we're calling for a major overhaul of citizenship policy. Our new report argues that new migrants to the UK should be seen as potential citizens. This means the process of obtaining citizenship should be both more accessible and more meaningful. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Applicants for UK citizenship charged more than five times the admin cost
Fee of £1,709 compares with an estimated administrative cost of just £324, according to Home Office data
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Renewal @renewaljournal.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
There are a dozen tickets still remaining for tomorrow's Rita Hinden Memorial Lecture, so do sign up if you haven't yet
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Still a hall of fame failed govt comms story - the day HMT chirpily shared on Twitter that UK taxpayers helped fund slave owner compensation in the 21st century (as a fun Friday fact): www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
UK taxpayers only finished paying off the loan taken out after abolition to compensate slave owners for their loss of 'property' in, er, 2015. I'm all for good news stories, but I'm not sure 'we ended the slave trade we set up then spent two centuries compensating the slave owners' fits the bill
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Some of my favourite stats: 📈 3 x as many NEETs age 16-17 as got a T level this year 📈 More than twice as many AS levels awarded in England this year than T Levels (despite AS levels basically being a non entity since decoupling)…
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
My op-ed on technical education is in this week's edition of FE week! Pretending T levels are a success story is a fool's game (and won't make parity of esteem come any quicker). feweek.co.uk/t-levels-are...
feweek.co.uk
T Levels are not yet a technical education success story
Sluggish T Level growth should ring alarm bells for government’s technical education ambitions
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David Kernohan @dkernohan.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Updated clearing stats for the first weekend after JCQ results day. Record clearing performance from high tariff providers: wonkhe.com/wonk-corner/...
wonkhe.com
A busy UCAS clearing for 2026
All the news from the UCAS clearing data releases
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Jess Lister @jesslister.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
'Tis the season for absolutely shameless university marketing comms
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Peter Mandler @petermandler.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
A reminder that 'technical' education in the modern economy is not going to be about reindustrialization as much as about services and management.
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
The 'record high' in question: ~19,000 entries, up from ~12,000 last year. Yes it's about a 65% increase, but not convinced it's all that much to write home about (and even less to build a whole technical education strategy around...)
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
As the govt pushes forward with plans for technical education routes for even younger pupils, the 'record high' numbers of students taking T levels at post-16 is still just... 1.4% of overall entries? Not exactly conclusive proof of massive employer and learner demand, is it
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Started writing on Andy Burnham’s education proposal thinking “not sure about this”. Realised in writing “no, I am sure: it sucks!”
ft.com
Education is not to blame for England’s Neet crisis
Andy Burnham’s schools overhaul risks throwing babies out with the bathwater, as changes will probably require cuts elsewhere
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Dr Lindsey Fitzharris @drlindseyfitz.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Some academics turn up their noses at movie adaptations or popular history books, but I call them "gateway drugs" into deeper scholarship. How many of us fell in love with history because a movie (or book) sparked our curiosity first? For me, it was Amadeus - it sent me down an 18thC rabbit hole.
A screenshot of a headline that says: A Penn professor thought she'd sell 1000 copies of her 'Odyssey' translation. She sold a million this year alone, thanks to Christopher Nolan.
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Bjørn Ihler @bjornih.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Today it is fifteen years since the worst terrorist attack on Norwegian soil, and fifteen years since I survived the massacre on Utøya. A whole generation has grown up in a less innocent Norway, a Norway where terror is a reality.
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Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Congrats we just made it impossible to come here for a PhD www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/16/m...
bostonglobe.com
Trump administration limits student visas to four years, changing longstanding policy - The Boston Globe
The new rule, which also restricts the international students’ ability to transfer schools or change majors without approval in their first year, will go into effect in mid-September.
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
(Genuinely mesmerising, even if the polka dot bare feet are a tough watch)
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Now you're really onto something
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Daft Punk comeback for Binface’s swearing in, surely
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Nothing delights the British public more than figuring out the identity of the bloke under the big helmet. Provokes fevered national speculation — invokes the halcyon days of the mid 2000s search for the Stig — beautiful stuff
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Me trying to beg my way into the UCAS historic course catalogue
static.klipy.com
Eric Andre's 'Let Me In' Meme
ALT: Eric Andre's 'Let Me In' Meme
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
…and UCAS shouldn’t be making it all much harder. That data is plainly in the public interest (because, you know, it might be good to know what people can/can’t study, what they *are* studying, what skills they might be gaining/missing out on, how far teaching and research actually match up etc…)
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
It shouldn’t be as difficult as it is to track course provision by subjects, provider, region, full time v part time, distance v in person. HESA data is a year out of date and doesn’t tell you what was advertised; Discover Uni tells you some of what was advertised but not all. TL; DR it’s all a mess
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Well worth reading this excellent analysis — tracking not just course closures but churn, regional subject health and implications for local govt/metro mayors. Also hard agree that UCAS gatekeeping up to date course catalogue data is a criminally underrated sector scandal…
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
“None of them seem to understand that an apprentice needs an employer.” - fantastic piece on why the UK’s politicians keep calling for apprenticeships while providing fewer and fewer:
ft.com
Everyone loves apprenticeships. So why can’t Britain create more of them?
With a million young people out of work, we need to revive the tradition of ‘learning on the job’
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Just perfect
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
100% real - apparently they had to extend the run because of overwhelming Whitehall demand!
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
By no means defunct but DSIT's 2023 Christmas jumpers (featuring Five Priority Technologies) to celebrate their inaugural year surely stand out as limited edition departmental merchandise for the ages... www.linkedin.com/posts/christ...
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Christmas Jumper from 2023.
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
The second biggest story of the day (from my colleague Luca Lombardo)… “With only 63,600 EU students in the UK in 2024/25, restoring their home fee status would add up roughly to £500 million per cohort, which is the same sum the government found in 2025 to back underrepresented entrepreneurs.”
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
(Me whenever anyone expresses the faintest bit of polite interest in the fraught domestic politics of getting back into the EU’s nice harmless student exchange programme)
Alexander Lukashenko in BBC interview being rude to Steve Rosenberg: ‘Save your breath, I’ll answer your question’
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Equally big question: if there's even enough UK student demand for Erasmus. UK was always a net importer of Erasmus students - but given ~40% of participants were languages students, and langs degrees enrolments are in long-term decline (pre-Brexit), seems like a very expensive govt gamble.
British Academy graph showing a 56% (-2.5k) decline in undergraduates studying student numbers in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Scandinavian languages and area studies at UK universities since 2011/12 (student numbers by Full Person Equivalent, FPE).
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Good to see this covered! Given govt spent £500m to reassociate (!) this is surely a no-brainer. Max ~30k p/a Erasmus students studied in the UK. Charging unis £925 per inbound student (when they don't even pay fees!) doesn't exactly scream 'please sign up to Erasmus again'...
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Wonkhe @wonkhe.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
NEW on Wonkhe: New analysis from the British Academy shows us huge areas of the country where key areas of humanities, arts, and social sciences are not taught. Ruairi Cullen has the details buff.ly/oHLZ4xW
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Lynton Lees @lyntonlees.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
The strong regional focus in the Edu Select Committee HE inquiry report out today is important and welcome; very proud the BA team’s research ended up having a big influence. If you want to chat HE research (especially how to fix things) I’m a dweeb who lives for this stuff - drop me a line!
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Renewal @renewaljournal.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
NEW ISSUE: In this special extra edition of Renewal, @louisehaighmp.bsky.social, @yuanfenyang.bsky.social, and other members of the Tribune Group of Labour MPs set out paths to repairing Britain's broken economic settlement. renewal.org.uk/journal/volu...
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John Blake @johndavidblake.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
“Like a badly-wired plug, the English HE system operated, but the longer it did so, the more likely it would spark. The current financial state of the sector suggests that, somewhere, the fire has already begun.” My first essay for The Post-18 Project is published today.
post18.co.uk
Blood, debt, toil, and arrears: why thirty years of policy struggle has left us without the higher education system we deserve
New thinking, ideas & policy solutions for post-18 education in the UK
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