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Sewell to Press Starmer as Data Shows White Working-Class Boys Still Trailing in England’s Schools

The commission chair says five years of warnings were ignored, with new analysis showing only about 36% of disadvantaged white pupils pass English and maths.

Overview

  • Lord Sewell is expected to use a Westminster event marking five years since the race disparities report to tell the Prime Minister his government is failing white working‑class boys.
  • CSJ analysis reports that only 35.9–36% of white British pupils on free school meals achieved grade 4 or above in GCSE English and maths, compared with about 65% across all students.
  • Official government data reported in May showed white working‑class pupils were behind their peers in all but 21 of more than 3,400 secondary schools in England.
  • The Centre for Social Justice argues that family structure and class are major drivers of the gap, highlighting lower rates of two‑parent married households among disadvantaged white families.
  • Boys account for 83% of permanent exclusions and face higher NEET risks, and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has called outcomes for white working‑class pupils a national disgrace.