Joe Seddon

Joseph Henry Seddon BEM (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.

Joe Seddon
Seddon in London, 2020
Born
Joseph Henry Seddon

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

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] In 2022, he was named by Forbes in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.[26]

Seddon was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to social mobility.[27]

Advocacy and media

Seddon's work as an entrepreneur has been covered by BBC News,[12] The Times,[28] The Daily Telegraph,[29] and Corriere della Sera.[30] He is a contributor to BBC News, BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 5 Live, where he discusses education, social mobility and careers.[31] He has also been a guest speaker at the Cambridge Union, where he has delivered lectures on social entrepreneurship.[32]

In October 2020, Seddon was appointed as a Trustee of the British Youth Council.[33] Seddon is also a Governor of Lister Community School.[34]

Personal life

Seddon lives in London and is a Hull City supporter.[35]

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. 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. "Joe Seddon". Forbes. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  27. "No. 64082". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2023. p. B35.
  28. Bennett, Rosemary. "Young mentor secures 60 Oxbridge offers for deprived pupils". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  29. 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.
  30. https://www.pressreader.com/italy/corriere-della-sera/20200223/page/28. Retrieved 29 February 2020 – via PressReader. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  31. "Joe Seddon from Access Oxbridge on BBC Look North". YouTube. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  32. "Easter Term 2019 | Cambridge Union". Issuu. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  33. "British Youth Council | Our board". British Youth Council. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  34. "Our Governing Body | Lister Community School". lister.newham.sch.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  35. The North/South Divide - Climbing The Rungs, retrieved 15 July 2021
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