An engineer from Hull who grew up on a council estate has been chosen as the voice of a BBC Radio 4 fundraising appeal for the charity upReach.
Nuh Cooper left school with just one GCSE but through determination and support has risen to become a Graduate Engineer at FTSE100 company Spirax Group while simultaneously studying for a PhD in Responsible AI Strategy at the University of York.
“Growing up like I did, I never imagined I’d be where I am today,” he said. “Without organisations like upReach, people from backgrounds like mine face countless invisible barriers to success, even after they’ve earned their degrees.”
His remarkable career journey began in challenging circumstances. Raised by a single parent with limited financial resources, he slept on a bed donated by a church.
After leaving school, he began selling boilers on the local estate before securing night shift work on a portable cabin factory production line. Mr Cooper’s life drastically changed course during a chance encounter, when he met a university student from a similar background who gave him the confidence to return to education.
While continuing night shift work, he studied for his GCSEs before completing an access to Higher Education course in Engineering at Leeds City College.
In 2019, he became one of only two people in his year group to progress to university when he was accepted to study Electronic Engineering at the University of York. At university, Mr Cooper faced further socio-economic barriers that are common for working class students.
Research shows that, despite more working-class students going to university, getting a good degree can sometimes still not be enough to secure a top graduate job. A student from a working class background who achieves a first-class degree from a top university is still less likely to secure an elite job than a more privileged student who achieves a 2:2. These inequalities are further exacerbated for those who lived outside of London.
The Social Mobility Commission has highlighted that “someone growing up in London was more likely to have promising prospects – attain higher qualifications, higher earnings and a professional job – than someone from the same socio-economic background (SEB) who grew up in a more rural or remote area”.
Mr Cooper’s own experiences of this were highlighted in Amol Rajan’s BBC Two documentary How To Crack The Class Ceiling, where he discussed experiencing accent bias when applying for graduate roles. He shared how he used YouTube videos to neutralise his Hull accent due to concerns about how he would be perceived professionally.
Everything changed when Mr Cooper connected with upReach, a social mobility charity that supports 3,000 undergraduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds each year.
Through dedicated one-to-one coaching, exclusive work experience opportunities, and professional mentoring, upReach helped him develop the skills and networks needed to compete for top graduate positions.
This resulted in him securing a coveted place on Spirax Group’s Global Leadership Programme as a Graduate Engineer, while also studying for his PhD in Responsible AI Strategy at the University of York.
“Coming from a council estate in Hull to working at a FTSE100 company wasn’t something I could have achieved alone,” he said. “Without upReach, I’d have been fighting an invisible battle against the unspoken rules nobody teaches you when you’re working class.
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“Their support transformed my life, and that’s why I’m so passionate about this BBC Radio 4 appeal. Every donation means another young person from Hull and places like it can get the support they need to fulfil their potential, regardless of where they started in life.”
Radio 4’s charity appeal is a weekly programme that provides an opportunity for charities to highlight their work, and appeal for donations. upReach’s BBC Radio 4 appeal, presented by Mr Cooper, will be broadcast on June 15 and 19. Hull residents can tune in to hear their local success story champion a cause close to his heart.
Listeners can donate to upReach’s appeal by visiting the BBC Radio 4 Appeal website during the week the appeal is running, or by heading directly to upreach.org.uk/donate.