Driving Change
Hi everyone! I hope you’re having a lovely week. For today’s blog, I wanted to discuss the charitable foundation, Mission 44. Recently, my boyfriend and I have been watching Formula 1: Drive to Survive on Netflix. I was sceptical at first, since I'm not an avid F1 watcher; however, I am most certainly invested! As a summary for those of you who haven’t watched the show, it follows the ins and outs of each Grand Prix, the preparation, the outcome and everything in between. Often, each episode follows a different team and its two drivers. It is action-packed, fast-paced and perfect for me as someone who loves the inside scoop! Some of you may be wondering about the link between F1 and Mission 44, so let’s get started.
Lewis Hamilton is one of the most successful drivers to date, with 7 World Championship wins and many more podiums under his belt. He is also the founder of Mission 44, the number 44 coming from the license plate during his first kart race. I have to pass on my thanks to my good friend Eleanor, who sent me an Instagram post about Hamilton’s work with Mission 44, which inspired this blog. I will keep sending you texts about my favourite drivers as a thank you!! Mission 44 is a charitable foundation which is ‘on a mission to empower young people to overcome social injustice’ (Instagram bio). Hamilton was inspired to create this foundation from his first-hand experiences of an education system that he felt worked against him. The main priorities of the foundation are inclusive education, STEM employment, and empowerment for youth. I think that what the team at Mission 44 are doing is very inspiring, which is why I wanted to share with you some of the recent work that they have done.
On the 4th March 2025, Mission 44 discussed on their website about their collaboration with the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK) to create Ignite programmes in Edinburgh and Birmingham. These programmes were set up to ‘inspire students from underrepresented backgrounds into the UK’s future STEM and motorsport careers’ (website). It has been a great success so far, suggesting that this collaboration could grow further and make an impact across the country. ‘More than 200 talented students have been reached in both hubs, with 40% of those students being girls, and 50% coming from an ethnic minority background’ (website). Reading about this put a smile on my face. It can be difficult when you are younger to picture yourself doing your dream job. You spend 5 years at High School doing subjects that aren’t interesting to you or that you aren’t the best at, which can crush your confidence. The subjects available are also limited. Although they are increasing, there just isn’t the infrastructure in place to teach everything. Therefore, a programme like this can inspire and encourage all young people to think bigger and achieve their wildest dreams.
On the 27th March 2025, an article was published on the website about Mission 44 and Sky’s Preventing Exclusions Fund. They state that they have ‘been working with Coram to provide under-resourced young people and their families with the support they need to challenge unfair school exclusions’ (website). They explain that this is a ‘lifeline for families’ and that it offers free legal representation and advice for those fighting school exclusions. Mission 44 funds Coram’s work in this area. Encouragingly, early this year, there was a High Court judgement following a judicial review brought by Coram Children’s Legal Centre, which has paved the way for families in permanent school exclusions cases to access legal aid. This means that children who are challenging an exclusion before an Independent Review Panel on the grounds of race or disability discrimination will have legal representation. Sabrina Simpson, who has been key in this process, highlights how significant school exclusions are to children’s mental health and the impact it has on their families. The thing that I particularly like about this news is its connection to Lewis Hamilton as the founder of Mission 44. Simpson explains that one of the most powerful moments she has had in this process was ‘telling a child who felt like their dreams were over due to a school exclusion, that Lewis Hamilton was temporarily excluded from school, before being reinstated in his classroom – then seeing the spark of hope return to their eyes’ (website). This personal connection to the project just shows how important it is to Hamilton, and it gives hope to those children who are being unfairly discriminated against. It is a brilliant example of a celebrity using their platform for the good of others, and who hasn’t lost touch with where they have come from and the journey that they have had to reach their success. Hamilton speaks in ‘The Hamilton Commission’ about his journey from being excluded in school to becoming a 7-time World Champion. It is a compelling report to read. He explains, ‘I, like so many other Black students, lost my confidence in school and struggled to see a future where I could be successful. But like any other child, I was born with potential. It was the system that failed me and almost destroyed my sense of confidence and any dream of living to my full potential. Looking back, it’s all so clear to me. Why would I believe in myself, if my school never believed in me?’ He describes his immense gratitude to his father for being the person who believed in him, crediting his success to him. I find this deeply inspiring, and I really wanted to share this as I think it sums up Mission 44 and how important it is for Hamilton to be supporting children who, like him, don’t receive that support from the education system.
I am going to end this blog by talking about the most recent news that Mission 44 have posted, and the inspiration for this blog. On the 4th June 2025, ‘the UK Prime Minister sat down with Lewis Hamilton and the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, to talk about how they will work together to support schools to set high expectations for all children and put in place the support to meet them’ (website). The roundtable event comes a week after Lewis Hamilton and Mission 44 led a call for change in a joint statement signed by over 25 organisations in the youth and education sectors. Following this roundtable, the Government and Kier Stamer have pledged to:
Create a national best practice framework to support schools in increasing pupil engagement
To amplify the voices of young people by capturing and publishing more data on young people’s experiences, and that the Department for Education will publish annual data on, amongst other things, pupils’ sense of belonging, enjoyment and safety
To work with Mission 44 and partners across education to get teachers from all backgrounds into the classroom, including those from ethnic minorities, ensuring that teachers are fully representative of the communities and the country in which children grow up.
This is so positive to hear, and Hamilton expressed his gratitude towards the government’s commitment to working with Mission 44 to make the education system more inclusive. He ends his announcement post by stating, ‘We can create a fairer, more compassionate world, together’ (Instagram). It is encouraging to hear that progress is being made and that future generations of children will be in an education system that supports them, encourages their dreams and allows them to be represented positively.
I am excited to see what Mission 44 achieves next and how their foundation changes the face of the education system. At the end of this blog will be multiple links to things on their website that I have discussed, if you would like to explore them in more detail. Thank you so much for reading. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. See you next time.
