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The UK has a social mobility problem which has worsened in recent years. Those from better-off backgrounds are almost 80 per cent more likely to end up in professional job than their working class peers. Bringing former students back into schools as speakers and careers support can provide students with access to employer encounters and relatable role models, broadening students' horizons, raising their aspirations and helping them to fulfil their potential. Based on 2019 polling conducted by TeachTapp and YouGov, this report describes the ways teachers and schools engage their alumni. One poll gathered data on the ways in which schools across the UK are currently engaging their former students; the other asked young people a series of questions about their perceptions of their future and job prospects. Some key findings from these polls showed that: (1) 53 per cent of state school teachers do not engage their former students, compared to the 16 per cent of independent school teachers; (2) London schools engage former students more than any other part of the UK; and (3) 71 per cent of young people said it would have helpful if they could meet students that went to their school and talk to them about what they did after education and in their jobs.

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