The Independent Inquiry into White Working Class Educational Outcomes has delivered a stark verdict: white working-class children are being failed by England’s education system.
The year-long inquiry examined evidence from more than 1.25 million white British pupils eligible for free school meals, and looked at testimony from thousands of young people, parents and teachers. It concluded that too many white working-class children face barriers throughout their education, leading to some of the lowest educational outcomes of any ethnic group in England.
One of the key findings was that the move from primary to secondary school is a crucial point where many young people disengage from education.
That makes it worth asking an obvious question: what happens in areas where access to secondary schools depends on passing the 11-plus?
Recent analysis by The Telegraph provides a revealing answer.
Using Department for Education data, the newspaper found that White British pupils now make up less than half of grammar school students in England. Their numbers have fallen from around 108,000 to fewer than 85,000 over the past decade, despite White British children making up around two-thirds of England’s secondary-age population. The study found that white British pupils were under-represented in all but three of the 157 grammar schools that were analysed.
There will no doubt be complex reasons for this demographic change, but one reason may be linked to 11-plus tuition. In the Sutton Trust’s report Crossing Paths, the education charity observed that there were “large differences in private tutoring rates by ethnicity”. It found that “Black African, Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean, Pakistani, and Indian FSM (free school meals) pupils are all four to five times more likely to receive private tutoring than FSM White British pupils”. And it added: “This could reflect parental attitudes to education, as well as greater availability of tutoring in places like London.”
Lee Elliot Major, a professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter University, spoke to The Telegraph about white British pupil’s access to grammar schools and said, “These figures are a powerful reminder that Britain faces a deep, generational crisis in opportunity. We continue to waste the talents of large sections of the population because access to our most sought-after educational opportunities remains too closely tied to family background, geography and the resources available outside school. That is the real national scandal.”
Grammar schools are seen as high-performing schools, while the de facto secondary modern schools surrounding them often struggle and underperform. This fuels the drive for 11-plus tuition.
The Telegraph examined what it described as the growing “tutoring arms race” surrounding grammar school entry. The paper pointed out that families are increasingly paying thousands of pounds for years of coaching, with some children beginning intensive tuition at just six years old.
One tutor told the newspaper that entrance exams now expect children to analyse texts well beyond what is taught in most state primary schools. “Doing well in class is no longer enough. You have to have had years of additional coaching to pass.”
That is a powerful admission. Grammar schools are billed as identifying academic potential, regardless of family background. We all know that’s not the case. Instead, success increasingly depends on how much preparation families can afford.
The problem is made worse by admissions policies that allow grammar schools to recruit from enormous geographical areas. Some selective schools have little or no meaningful catchment and draw applicants from across London and the South East, creating intense competition and further fuelling the market for private tutoring. The result is that local children find themselves shut out of their nearest school.
The Telegraph highlighted the example of Queen Elizabeth’s School in Barnet, where only around 2% of pupils are White British, despite around 72% of the local population being White according to the Census. While many factors influence school demographics, the example illustrates how schools recruiting from vast areas can end up bearing little resemblance to the communities around them.
CF has regularly pointed out that expensive tutoring, complex admissions arrangements and wide catchment areas make grammar school admissions unfair. When even traditionally pro-selection voices like the Daily Telegraph are raising concerns about these issues, it should prompt policymakers to take notice!
Every child deserves a fair chance to attend an excellent local school. A system that requires years of coaching and excludes local children is not delivering that fairness.
