London Met among top universities for closing the awarding gap News

New figures show the university has eliminated employment gaps between ethnic groups and halved degree classification disparities.

Date: 20 November 2025

London Metropolitan University is one of the top-performing universities in the country for closing the awarding gap between student groups.

The latest data from the Office for Students (OFS) shows that London Met has eradicated the gap between Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students and White students when it comes to entering highly skilled employment – a key measure of graduate success.

According to the OFS definition, highly skilled employment refers to roles such as managers, professionals and associate professionals, as well as graduates progressing to postgraduate-level study.

It is widely used across the sector to assess how well universities prepare students for degree-level careers.

The university is also ranked top 3 among post-92 universities for reducing the awarding gap between BAME and White students in the degree classifications they receive, such as a 2:1 or First. This gap has halved over a 4-year period and is below the sector average.

London Met's Black-White awarding gap, historically one of the most persistent gaps in the sector, now stands at 10.3 percentage points, half the sector average and half of London Met's gap in the previous year. The gap for students from the most deprived areas is 4.9 percentage points, among the best nationally and leading compared to Russell Group universities.

Marva de la Coudray, Director of London Met's Centre for Teaching Enhancement and Director for the Centre for Equity and Inclusion, said:

"Students who come to London Met come from very diverse backgrounds, and there's sometimes a perception that those backgrounds mean fewer opportunities to get really good jobs. The fact that graduates are not only achieving excellent degrees but also entering highly skilled employment is a hugely positive sign of success."

Marva attributes the progress to London Met's Education for Social Justice Framework (ESJF), which shapes a more inclusive, empowering and equitable learning environment, ensuring that curriculum design, teaching practices, and institutional systems actively support the potential, aspirations and success of every student.

"The ESJF is the vehicle through which we ensure belonging and representation in the curriculum, and curriculum design," she said. "Over the last five years, the institution's staff have embarked on a journey of reflective action and development, thinking deeply about how students experience learning and how the curriculum, teaching practices and wider systems can made more equitable and inclusive."

London Met has set a clear ambition: to become the first institution to completely eradicate the Black-White degree awarding gap over the next 2-3 years.