Cameron in call for a new generation of Tiger Mums

DAVID Cameron yesterday called on schools to adopt the ethos of so-called Tiger Mums and instil the virtue of hard work into their pupils.

The Prime Minister demanded an end to the ‘all must have prizes’ culture, which he said was holding back disadvantaged children.

He made the comments in a major speech in which he pledged an ‘all-out assault on poverty’ with a sweeping package of social reforms including measures to improve mental health services and flatten ‘sink estates’.

Tiger Mothers originated in China, where strict and demanding mothers push their children to high levels of achievement.

Mr Cameron said children from poorer backgrounds cannot succeed unless their parents and teachers have high expectations of them.

‘Character – persistence – is core to success,’ he told an audience in London.

‘No matter how clever you are, if you do not believe in continued hard work and concentration, and if you do not believe that you can return from failure, you will not fulfil your potential.

‘It is what the Tiger Mothers’ battle hymn is all about: work, try hard, believe you can succeed, get up and try again. It is, if you like, the precise opposite of an “all must have prizes” culture that permeated our schools under the last government.’

‘Children thrive on high expectations: it is how they grow in school and beyond. For too long this has been the preserve of the most elite schools. I want to spread this to everyone.’