GCSE pupils from poor Chinese families do three times better than whites
PUPILS of Chinese descent from disadvantaged homes are almost three times as likely as white working class pupils to get five good GCSEs, a study shows.
The analysis suggests a poor child’s chances of achieving at school depends heavily on their ethnicity.
Across all disadvantaged pupils, white British children had the poorest performance at the age of 16 last year – with only 28 per cent getting good grades, according to the Sutton Trust, an education think tank.
In comparison, 74 per cent of similarly hardup Chinese children got good grades – making them the highest-achieving group.
Just over 48 per cent of poorer Asian children achieved this, while among black children it was 41 per cent and among mixed race children it was 38 per cent. The figures were for pupils on free school meals – the Government’s indicator of deprivation – achieving five or more GCSEs at A* to C, including English and maths in 2015.
The report authors said the lack of aspiration in some white working class homes could be to blame because many other cultures place more importance on attainment.
Within the white British working class group, boys achieved the worst, with just 24 per cent gaining the benchmark compared with 32 per cent of girls. Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: ‘It is particularly concerning that white working class boys and girls continue to perform so poorly.
‘Harnessing that same will to learn that we see in many ethnic minority groups in white working class communities should be a part of the solution. We need a more concerted effort with white working class boys, in particular.
‘This should ensure that every pupil, regardless of family income, gender or ethnicity has the chance to succeed.’
It comes amid a government drive to reintroduce grammar schools into the poorest areas
‘Concerted effort with boys’
of the country in an effort to boost social mobility.
A report commissioned by Labour council Knowsley found grammars could transform white working class areas.
The new research brief, Class Differences, highlights how the academic attainment of disadvantaged pupils at 16 varies dramatically between different ethnic groups.
Disadvantaged Chinese pupils perform above the national average for all pupils, while Bangladeshi, Indian, black African and Pakistani pupils from poorer homes all perform well above the national average for disadvantaged pupils.
The attainment gap – the difference in performance at GCSE between disadvantaged and non- disadvantaged pupils – is largest for white British teenagers at 32 percentage points. The gap is smallest for Chinese at 3 percentage points.