C ara was 34 when she arrived at the entrance to the English department at the University of Bristol, to be interviewed for a foundation year. She had been out of education for more than a decade and had no formal qualifications. The department is located in a large 19th century villa on a road in Clifton, the wealthiest suburb of the city.

It was an unseasonably hot day in March, and I was interviewing in a colleague’s office at the top of the building. It seemed to be collecting all of the heat from elsewhere in the building, and even with the window open, the air felt stagnant.