High-performing schools in England ‘should be encouraged to admit more white working-class pupils’ | Schools

High-performing primary and secondary schools in England should be encouraged to accept more disadvantaged students from white working-class backgrounds to reverse the ongoing underachievement crisis, an independent study has said.

Independent research into white working-class educational outcomes concluded that the current education system “is not set up to serve white working-class children and their families.”

Once-in-a-generation changes are needed to tackle why such children are the largest underperforming demographic group in England’s school system, it said.

The landmark research, included in a set of recommendations, called for a “clearer definition of the white working class” in the educational context to provide greater clarity on how the issue is understood and addressed.

He said the government should extend access to 30 hours of free childcare to disadvantaged families who are not currently eligible under existing working parent criteria.

It also called for more school-based support for families and a new approach to school-family relations to make education a joint effort through extracurricular activities for all children.

As for expanding access, the report said high-performing schools should prioritize disadvantaged students under existing admissions rules, contact families in white working-class communities earlier and assist them in the admissions process.

Welcoming the report, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “The communities in this report are my communities. I know what they have given to this country and what this country has failed to give back.”

“Working-class white children have never lacked talent. But they have faded away as opportunities have been usurped from generation to generation.”

Disadvantaged young people from Black Caribbean backgrounds do not have the same prospects of earning a top income, the Sutton Trust education charity has warned against pitting one disadvantaged group against another.

“Ultimately, this is not about ethnicity alone,” said Nick Harrison, the company’s chief executive. “This is about the interaction between disadvantage and place, entrenched poverty, communities left behind and few pathways to good jobs and better lives.”

The investigation, commissioned by a school academy trust and supported by the Department for Education (DfE), said the much-documented poorer performance of white working-class students “cannot be solved by schools alone”.

Based on statistics on white pupils on free school meals, a standard measure of poverty, it found that in 2025, 36% of this group in England achieved English and maths GCSE grades 4 or higher, compared to an average of 72% of all pupils not on free school meals.

The report, co-chaired by former Labor Party education secretary Estelle Morris and Hamid Patel, chief executive of Star Academies, which conducted the investigation, said the problems identified “cannot be explained by low ambition or lack of effort”.

Phillipson praised the report as “a truly important study.” It was based on interviews with thousands of teenagers and their parents, as well as hundreds of teachers.

“This report makes clear the extent of the problem and I know better than most that change will not come overnight, but for the first time in a long time white working class children have a government that will fight for them.”

The issue was also a key issue in the DfE’s schools white paper in February, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, adding that a key issue was school attendance.

He added: “The report is clear and the evidence is clear that children are not ready to go to school to learn, they are not reaching the levels they need to achieve.

“They’re already behind, they’re falling behind, and they’re not catching up the way they should during their time in school, which is why I’ve expanded early education so dramatically.”

Phillipson said the solutions extend not just to schools, but “beyond the school gate, because so much of what a child can achieve in their life depends on the support their family has.”

In a previous interview with Times Radio, he said: “Class is a huge driver of outcomes, let alone our politics, but throughout society. If by class we mean the family you are born into that determines what you achieve in life, that is as powerful a driver as anything.”

“We know that children born into less affluent families are more likely to arrive at school further behind than their more affluent peers. We know that they do not make progress in closing this gap at school, and we know that they are more likely to be excluded from education, employment or training at the end of school.

“So your background, your social background, your family background, and where you were born are all big determinants of what you achieve in your life.”

Other recommendations in the report include a greater focus on reading for white working-class children in primary schools and expanding apprenticeships.

It also recommended free local public transport for young people up to the age of 21 to access education, training and work, more support at an early age, improved mental health support and restrictions on smartphone use in schools.