Gloucester has been ranked 282nd out of 324 local authorities in England for social mobility, a study by the Social Mobility Foundation has discovered.
The local authority ranks the lowest in Gloucestershire, below Stroud, Tewkesbury, Cheltenham and the Cotswolds.
The ranking is based on life opportunities available to people born into disadvantaged backgrounds in all 324 local authorities in England.
Researchers from the BBC appear to debunk the ‘North/South divide’ theory, instead suggesting that there are ‘hotspots’ and ‘coldspots’ scattered across the country.
Despite being one of the wealthiest local authorities in England, the Cotswolds ranked surprisingly low, while many impoverished London boroughs such as Hackney and Tower Hamlets scoring relatively high in comparison to the rest of the country.
Westminster topped the ranking while the East Midlands authority of Newark and Sherwood finishing firmly at the foot of the table.
The study was carried out with the aim of identifying which areas of the country need to do more to help people from disadvantaged backgrounds gain the opportunities and experience they need to break out of the poverty cycle.
