Jack Deasley (UCL) - 2025-26 Students
jack.deasley.25@ucl.ac.uk

Democracy, Credentialism, and Visions of Success in Regional British Secondary Schools, 1965-2005

The project aims to shed light on how visions of success evolved for young people in Britain in the second half of the twentieth century, by exploring their attitudes and lived experiences in secondary schools. It emphasises under-explored regions of Britain, namely Lincolnshire, and places this in the context of broader themes of neoliberalism, a post-industrial service economy, democracy, community, and meritocracy. It also intends to assess any implications for this experience for places that are, in the present day, considered to be ‘left behind’.

Principal supervisor: Dr Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite