Main content

Sir Peter Lampl

Kirsty Young talks to Sir Peter Lampl, philanthropist, entrepreneur and founder of the Sutton Trust.

Sir Peter Lampl is a philanthropist who has given over £50 million and worked for 20 years to combat educational inequality. In 1997 he founded the Sutton Trust with the aim of improving social mobility. The Trust has funded over 200 research studies, and it initiates and supports a wide range of programmes, covering everything from early years education to access to the professions.

The son of a Viennese émigré, Peter Lampl grew up in modest circumstances in Yorkshire until the age of 11, when his family relocated to Surrey. He attended grammar schools, Oxford University and the London Business School. He worked as a management consultant and businessman in the USA and Europe, and in 1983 he set up the Sutton Company, an international private equity firm.

His first move into philanthropy came in the wake of the Dunblane school shootings in 1996, when he funded the campaign which led to a complete ban on the private ownership of handguns in the UK.

His interest in social mobility was sparked by his realisation that in recent years "a kid like me had little chance of making it to Oxbridge", noting that his school was now "all fee-paying" and his Oxford college "used to have lots of ordinary Welsh kids, but they're not coming through any more."

He received an OBE in 2000 for services to Access to Higher Education, and was knighted in June 2003.

Presenter: Kirsty Young
Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Available now

39 minutes

Last on

Fri 18 May 2018 09:00
Â鶹ÊÓƵAV Radio 4

More episodes

Previous

Abi Morgan

Next

Dr Sue Black

See all episodes from Desert Island Discs

Clip

Music Played

  • The Beatles

    She Loves You

    • The Beatles' Second Album.
    • EMI Record Limited.
    • 11.

  • Julie Andrews & Irwin Kostal

    Prelude and The Sound of Music

    • The Sound of Music - An Original Soundtrack Recording.
    • RCA.
    • 1.

  • The Rolling Stones

    Jumpin' Jack Flash

    • Through The Past Darkly (Big Hits Vol 2).
    • Decca.
    • 4.

  • Frank Sinatra

    Theme From New York, New York

    • Trilogy: Past, Present And Future.
    • Reprise.
    • 15.

  • The Beach Boys

    California Girls

    • Today! / Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!).
    • EMI.
    • 19.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Scène finale

    Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Seiji Ozawa.
    • Tchaikovsky – Der Schwanensee.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 22.

  • CASTAWAY’S FAVOURITE

    • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

      Die Zauberflöte - Papagena! Papageno! (Papageno, Papagena)

      Performer: Bryn Terfel. Performer: Christine Rice. Orchestra: Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Sir Charles Mackerras.
      • Bryn Terfel - Tutto Mozart!.
      • Deutsche Grammophon.
      • 16.

  • Simon & Garfunkel

    Cecilia

    • Bridge Over Troubled Water.
    • Sony.
    • 3.

  • BOOK CHOICE

    The Complete Works of Robert Frost

  • LUXURY ITEM

    Two cases of champagne

Credits

Presenter Kirsty Young
Interviewed Guest Peter Lampl
Producer Sarah Taylor

Broadcasts

  • Sun 13 May 2018 11:15
    Â鶹ÊÓƵAV Radio 4
  • Fri 18 May 2018 09:00
    Â鶹ÊÓƵAV Radio 4

Featured in...

The Desert Island Discs podcast

The Desert Island Discs podcast

Subscribe or download individual episodes.

Listen to over 2,000 programmes

Click above to browse castaways, from 1942 to today.

Articles

Read the surprising things we've learned about some stand-out castaways.

Podcast