In today’s episode I sit down with Sophie Pender, the Founder and CEO of the 93% Club. 

Before training as a solicitor at Herbert Smith Freehills, Sophie grew up in a single parent household on a council estate in North London and balanced two jobs in McDonalds and John Lewis alongside her schoolwork. After becoming the first student in her school to achieve straight A*s at A level, Sophie left for the University of Bristol to study English. In her second year, Sophie founded The 93% Club, a society dedicated to improving the experience of state school students at university. Since then, The 93% Club has become a nationwide charity and is the largest network of state educated students in the UK.

Sophie was recently named a finalist in the 'Rising Star' category of the UK Social Mobility Awards and has been profiled in the BBC, ITV, LBC, The Guardian and the Telegraph for her work in this space.

In our conversation we discuss her challenging upbringing, which included her fathers battle with alcoholism and drug addiction, the class-based issues she experienced whilst at university and why she founded the 93% Club.

This is a super inspirational episode with an unequivocal future leader so be sure to listen to this episode in full!

***Please note that the views shared in this podcast by the speakers are personal and do not represent their respective employers.***