The Aldridge Foundation
Our purpose is to give all young people an equal chance at life – because we believe no one should be held back by where they come from.
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There is a very real achievement gap between young people from deprived backgrounds and those who are from more privileged backgrounds. The gap is widening. In 2023, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds were, on average, 19.2 months behind their wealthier peers in GCSE English and maths – the largest gap since 2011. These pupils face a higher risk of exclusion and are less likely to remain in education, employment, or training after school.* In fact, disadvantaged young adults are twice as likely to not be in education, employment or training**.
Sir Rod Aldridge set up the Aldridge Foundation to close the achievement gap, increase social mobility and regenerate communities. To help young people who are living in poverty, or come from challenging backgrounds, to realise their ambitions, reach their potential and create better life chances for themselves. We work alongside Aldridge Education to provide inspiring and transformative opportunities for young people at Aldridge schools and academies.
We have been achieving this for nearly 20 years through our work, which aims to inspire, skill and mobilise the young people we support, on their journey through education and onwards into their careers and lives.
How do we do this?
At the Aldridge Foundation we believe that enterprising attributes and an entrepreneurial mindset can help you succeed, even when the odds are stacked against you. Skills and traits that go beyond traditional education and can help young people experiencing deprivation to aim high and push beyond the obstacles and barriers that others don’t have to face. We call these Aldridge Attributes.
These life and employability skills are developed and nurtured through experiences and opportunities that are often inaccessible if you come from a deprived or challenging background.
That’s why for nearly 20 years we have created and funded initiatives to:
- provide young people with invaluable, inspiring and informative experiences to open their eyes to opportunities and raise their aspirations.
- help them to develop enterprise, life and employability skills and an entrepreneurial mindset.
- support them on their journeys to the productive and rewarding lives they choose to live.
Our programmes that we provide to support young people at Aldridge schools and academies include:
Next Steps Bursary
Our Next Steps programme opens young people’s eyes to the wide range of careers available to them and inspires and supports them as they follow their individual paths into further education and the world of work. We understand that even when armed with skills, aspirations and self-belief, there will still be barriers to young people achieving their dreams, that’s why we launched our Next Steps Bursary programme. The programme, consisting of both financial and valuable additional support ,including academic and career mentoring, internships, networking opportunities and pastoral support, will help our awardees overcome challenges as they take their next steps beyond school into further education and towards the careers to which they aspire.
Developing Skills Through Sport
Using competitive sport to help young people to build confidence, develop a positive attitude and acquire transferable life and employability skills that will benefit their academic studies and future career paths, and improve the health and wellbeing of young people. We support a junior and sixth form cricket programme at the Sir Rod Aldridge Cricket Centre (SRACC) based at Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (BACA), which enables young people to combine academic studies with an intensive cricket development programme, and community programmes to encourage more equal access to the sport. Our programmes are delivered in a unique partnership with Sussex Cricket who see BACA as their state school of choice for aspiring cricketers to develop their skills.
These programmes not only develop an interest in cricket but also skills such as teamwork, determination and communication which can be transferred to all areas of life. The programmes also show young people the physical and mental wellbeing benefits of participating in regular exercise.
BACA has been recognised year on year by “The Cricketer” magazine as being in the Top 100 Cricket schools in the country with 94 being from the independent school sector.
Junior Signature Art Prize
The Aldridge Junior Signature Art Prize is an annual art competition created in 2019, in partnership with DegreeArt.com, the original graduate art gallery, and Callsign, the Digital Trust pioneer. It aims to inspire young people and give them the confidence and knowledge to raise their aspirations and explore how their talent could lead to a career in the arts or creative industries.
Young people submit entries across five categories: Fine Art, Graphics, Film, Photography and Textiles & Sculpture and 15 Finalists are selected to have their artwork displayed in a private exhibition at the Bankside Hotel – London’s ‘Art Hotel’ – on the renowned South Bank, a stone’s throw from the Tate Modern.
In 2026 we are proud and honoured to be celebrating our 20th anniversary. Now, more than ever, it is the time to join us! If you would like to find out more about joining us by sponsoring a programme, volunteering, or being a part of our philanthropic club, please visit our site here for more information.
** Impetus 2025