Staff profile

Elle joined Durham University in 2025 following completion of her PhD at Newcastle University, where she investigated young women's resilience and wellbeing in an all-female college in New Delhi, India. Her doctoral research employed mixed methods data collection, combining large-scale survey data with participatory arts-based approaches to understand the complex factors influencing young women's psychological wellbeing. Her research interests centre on social mobility, educational inequalities, and improving young people's life chances, with particular focus on climate education and student wellbeing.

During her doctoral studies, Elle developed and delivered the Kids Action Thru Science (KATS) programme, an innovative climate education project empowering young people to become citizen scientists. As part of the Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub, KATS has been delivered in over 30 schools across different socio-economic backgrounds in the North East, education institutions in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and informal community settlements in New Delhi. Her work received significant recognition, including Newcastle University's Worker of the Year Award 2023 and Runner Up for Outstanding Contribution to Sustainability and the Environment at the Pride of Newcastle University Awards. 

She has substantial experience in policy engagement and active citizenship. She served as Regional Hub Manager for the North East of England for the Climate Ambassadors programme, a DfE-funded initiative supporting education settings to address climate change. She completed a Policy Internship for the Permanent Mission of Barbados to the WTO and UN in 2024, supporting trade negotiations and helping to develop the Bridgetown Initiative version 4.0.

Elle is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate on the 'From the Centre to the Periphery' project with Professor Nadia Siddiqui. This ESRC-funded collaborative project with Bath and Bristol Universities is the first quasi-experimental evaluation of the DfE's Opportunity Areas programme—a £108 million initiative to close regional gaps in education and skills. She is leading qualitative data collection in schools to examine impact mechanisms. She has co-authored an IPR Policy Brief and led delivery of two reports examining Opportunity Areas' educational outcomes and independent board members' reflections.

Her research combines rigorous academic inquiry with practical implementation, focusing on programmes that meaningfully improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged young people. She is particularly interested in the intersection of environmental education, mental health, educational equity, and regional development. Her work reflects commitment to translating research into practice and creating equitable educational experiences that prepare students for successful lives, regardless of background.

• Social mobility
• Regional divides in education
• Young people's aspirations, hopes, and optimism
• Higher and further education
• Evaluation of educational programmes
• Education in developing countries
• Climate and sustainability education

• 2023 - 2024: Worker of the Year (Newcastle University):
• 2023 - 2024: Outstanding Contribution to Sustainability and the Environment (Pride of Newcastle University):

Conference Paper

• Evaluating the Opportunity Areas Programme: Partnering with Stakeholders to Inform the Design of Future Place-based Education and Labour Market Initiatives
  
  Young, E., Davies, J., Siddiqui, N., Donnelly, M., Brown, C., & Cunningham, C. (2025, September 10). Evaluating the Opportunity Areas Programme: Partnering with Stakeholders to Inform the Design of Future Place-based Education and Labour Market Initiatives [Conference paper]. Presented at European Educational Research Association, Belgrade, Serbia.

Report

• Evaluating the Impact of the Opportunity Areas Programme on Educational Outcomes
  
  Siddiqui, N., Gazmuri, C., Young, E., Donnelly, M., Cunningham, C., Davies, J., Dickson, M., Brown, C., Harris, R., & Pearce, N. (2025). Evaluating the Impact of the Opportunity Areas Programme on Educational Outcomes. Evidence Centre for Education, Durham University.
• Partnership Board Members’ reflections on the Opportunity Areas Programme
  
  Young, E., Siddiqui, N., Donnelly, M., Brown, C., Dickson, M., Pearce, N., Harris, R., Davies, J., & Cunningham, C. (2025). Partnership Board Members’ reflections on the Opportunity Areas Programme. Evidence Centre for Education, Durham University.
• Green shoots of hope? Increased optimism about future study and work in England's Opportunity Areas
  
  Davies, J., Dickson, M., Donnelly, M., Brown, C., Siddiqui, N., Pearce, N., Harris, R., Young, E., & Cunningham, C. (2025). Green shoots of hope? Increased optimism about future study and work in England’s Opportunity Areas. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17277274