Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Announces New Accelerate 25 Partnership with the Sutton Trust
Founded in 1997 by Sir Peter Lampl, the Sutton Trust works to tackle social mobility issues by improving access to high-quality education and employment opportunities, focusing on high academic performing students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
As part of the team’s Accelerate 25 initiative, a five-year programme announced in 2020 marking the formalisation of our vision to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation, this new partnership with the Sutton Trust will enable us to focus together on three key strategic areas: Pathways to Engineering, Careers Events and Educational Summer Schools.
To date, over 50,000 young people from state schools across the UK have participated in a Sutton Trust programme ranging from apprenticeship summer schools to courses designed to provide pathways to careers such as engineering, medicine and law. With over 8,000 young people interacting with the Sutton Trust each year, 92% of students from the last ten years have progressed to higher education, with 7% attending Oxbridge and a further 62% going on to other leading universities.
As part of their mission to improve social mobility for young people, the Sutton Trust have also published over 250 reports with agenda-setting research identifying the root causes of low social mobility and promoting effective solutions through education and employment, many of which have gone on to influence national policy.
Through the new partnership, we are looking forward to hosting Sutton Trust students at our headquarters in Brackley, facilitating representation by our team members at panel debates, university insight sessions and Engineering days; and participating in residential summer schools to support Sutton Trust students with practical workshops, providing the opportunity to interact with and learn from Mercedes employees, and offer guidance on application processes.
Paul Mills, Chief People Officer at Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd:
“I am delighted to welcome the Sutton Trust as the newest partner for our Accelerate 25 programme. Working together, we hope to enable talented young people to take the next step in progressing their educational ambitions and careers, hopefully encouraging many of these students into the STEM fields through their experiences and interactions with our team. There is a significant amount of work to do to bridge the education gap for those from disadvantaged groups, and I very much hope the work we do with the Sutton Trust will pave a way for more young people to access a high-quality education.”
Claire Maton, Head of Employability Programmes at the Sutton Trust:
“We are excited to be partnering with Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix to support the ambitious young people on our programmes. Our partnership will enable talented students from lower socio-economic backgrounds to explore what it is like study and work in science and engineering, as well as build the skills and confidence they need to take their next steps. This will include unique insights into the operations of the Mercedes-AMG team andthe expertise that make them so successful. The chance to open up the world of Formula One racing through one of the leading names in the industry is an incredible opportunity for the Sutton Trust and the students we support, and we very much look forward to working together.”