White British pupils make up more than three quarters of low achievers in English schools. They are also more likely than any other ethnic group to do persistently badly at school.
And, according to a study published today by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, nearly half of all pupils who leave school without any or with few qualifications are white British males.
Researchers from the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford also found that low-achieving white schoolboys outnumbered girls by three to two.

The research, led by Robert Cassen, of the LSE, aimed to identify the reasons why tens of thousands of students in England leave school at 16 each year with no or few qualifications. Last year about 28,000 pupils achieved no GCSE passes and almost a quarter or 146,000 scored no passes above D grade.
“School is not cool,” said Professor Cassen. “We heard of boys saying they wouldn’t put their hands up in class in case they got it in the neck from their mates or others who’d hide their books under their T-shirts going home from primary school, because reading was a girly thing to do.”

Poor reading and writing scores at primary school were strongly associated with doing badly later on, he said, and if the pupils started failing to achieve in primary school, they were more likely to be among the lowest achievers at the end of secondary.

Most low achievers come from disadvantaged backgrounds, often in cities, the Tackling Low Educational Achievement report found. They are more likely to attend worse-performing secondary schools which can hamper their progress.

The report suggests a series of measures which include: improving early-years provision to help the most disadvantaged; more intensive reading help for those behind at primary school; reforming the secondary school system of league tables and selection which contribute to low achievement; reaching more fully children in care and with special educational needs; and funding schools more adequately in relation to disadvantage.