White pupils achieve poorest SATs marks in Leicester

Submitted by: Steadfast news correspondent, 25th Nov 09

By 'White working class' they mean predominantly English

White pupils achieve poorest SATs marks in Leicester
Leicester Mercury article
Monday, November 23, 2009

Children who have English as a second language are now getting better results in Leicester than youngsters who speak it as their mother tongue.

According to last summer’s Sats results, taken by 11-year-olds, 67% of youngsters whose first language is English achieved the Government benchmark in English and maths, compared with 69% who primarily speak a foreign language.

The figure underlines a divide in school performance in the city and contradicts the pattern nationally.

The figures also show that white children are the city’s lowest performers.
Among white pupils, 63% of children achieved the expected level in English and maths, compared with 74% with an Asian background and 65% of black children.

Across the country, black children recorded the worst marks, although when boys’ and girls’ results are separated, white boys achieved the lowest marks of all.
Margaret Libreri, Leicester City Council’s director of learning services, said the problem was being tackled.

She said: “In Leicester, we know white children who have English as their home language are not doing as well as other groups.

“While Leicester pupils continue to show an overall improvement in performance, there remains work to be done to ensure that all of our children achieve their full potential.”

The city council is working with schools, helping parents develop the speaking skills of very young children and running one-to-one tuition and study support sessions with Leicester City and Leicester Tigers for older ones.

Abdishakur Tarah manages a network of out-of-school lessons, primarily for Somali and Asian children in St Matthew’s and Highfields. He believes these “complementary schools” would work with the city’s white children.
However, he said people in those communities needed to work together.
He said: “There is absolutely no reason why white, working- class children can’t achieve.

“But community leaders have to come together to support these youngsters and improve standards across the whole city.
“We give out prizes to children in front of the whole community. They walk out into the neighbourhood and people are saying ‘well done’.”

Across the country, 73% of children with an English mother tongue achieved the national benchmark compared with 65% of children who speak it as an additional language.

However, Dr Will Curtis, principal lecturer in education at Leicester’s De Montfort University, said it was a “red herring” to concentrate on the relatively small differences in performances in ethnic groups.

He said it was less to do with race and more with poverty.

He said: “All it does is divert attention if we just concentrate on why white, working class boys are failing, because if we look at the evidence they are just one of a number of groups who are doing seriously badly in our schools compared with the rest of western Europe. The issue is one of deprivation.”


This following comment was made by a Friend of the Steadfast Trust who is a qualified teacher living in Leicester. It provides an insight into the problems presented to predominately English pupils and sensible ways of resolving them...

I read with interest the report in the Leicester Mercury detailing how White working class boys are underperforming at schools – going against the national trend, making it an issue specific to Leicester.

It’s fair to say when the Leicester Mercury states “White working class” they really mean predominantly English – and therefore these pupils will not have access to the extra resources provided for other groups. For example, during my time training as a teacher in Leicester, there was a concern that African-Caribbean boys were underachieving and we were encouraged to develop innovative ways to engage them in learning. These pupils – as with all ethnic minority pupils – could often access external support and community learning initiatives, which had a strong cultural element. Specialised support should be given where it is needed – and now that it is needed by the English it will be interesting to see how it is delivered.

The Council’s Director of Learning Services is seeking to redress this, presumably providing additional resources. Lessons could be learned from the inclusion of culture and heritage in community learning.

There are several reasons why pupils disengage from learning but a feeling of disenfranchisement is certainly a key issue. If these children cannot relate to what they are being taught they will naturally “switch off.” I would suggest that if their English culture and heritage was celebrated and taught on an equal level with other identities these English boys would feel more included and be more willing to engage in education.

During my time as a teacher I met several colleagues who felt that promoting any sense of English identity was dangerous and divisive. Not so! If anything, it would promote a better sense of tolerance and inclusion. It would encourage pupils to celebrate their own differences whilst respecting each other’s. Much better than lumping all pupils together as an amorphous mass of civic British-ness, which denies them their own unique identities.

Firstly, the English pupils would be able to learn more about their own culture, heritage and traditions; building self esteem and a sense of identity. I believe many would re-connect with learning if it was presented as relevant to them.

Secondly, it would broaden non-English pupils understanding of their adopted society. This would be especially relevant to Leicester schools where the English are a minority.

Leicester’s schools are particularly diverse and multi-cultural places. With the amount of funding targeted to the specific needs of the communities therein it does seem odd that the “White working class” are falling behind in what is tipped to be England’s first ethnic majority city.

Friend of the Steadfast Trust
Chris, Leicester