An inquiry led by senior education figures has called for top-performing schools to admit more white working-class pupils in an effort to tackle decades of educational underachievement affecting this group. The report, published on Monday, highlights significant gaps in achievements and development between white working-class children and their middle-class peers, urging coordinated action to address the issue.
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, announced the findings and underscored the need for structural reforms. She criticized the long-standing approach of focusing resources on a small number of high-achieving pupils from poorer backgrounds, describing it as insufficient and harmful to entire communities. “The presence of opportunity for the few can never justify the absence of opportunity for the many,” Phillipson said, emphasizing that social mobility has failed many white working-class young people.
The inquiry, chaired jointly by former education secretary Baroness Morris of Yardley and Sir Hamid Patel, chief executive of Star Academies, was supported by a panel including government education recovery tsar Sir Kevan Collins and former education secretary Baroness Morgan of Cotes. It drew on extensive research, including national data analysis, written evidence, focus groups with white working-class communities, and roundtable discussions with educators.
Key findings reveal that only 50% of white working-class five-year-olds meet expected developmental standards, compared with 75% of their middle-class counterparts. By the age of 16, just one-third of white working-class students achieve passing grades in both English and math GCSEs. The report also identified weaker educational outcomes for white working-class pupils than for any other major ethnic group in England.
Among the recommendations, the report advocates increasing the number of white working-class teachers and expanding teacher apprenticeships as a way to better support disadvantaged pupils. It calls for free transport for under-21s, measures to reduce excessive screen time, and more high-performing schools to admit and support a fairer proportion of white working-class children. The inquiry highlights disparities in access to grammar schools, noting that only around 3% of students there receive free school meals, compared to about 26% nationally.
The report urges government guidance to encourage selective schools to prioritize disadvantaged pupils and hold them accountable for demonstrating inclusive practices. Early intervention was also emphasized, with support to improve literacy rates among white working-class children in primary school seen as critical to preventing disengagement in secondary education.
The inquiry drew attention to a multigenerational mistrust of education within these communities, fueled by repeated poor experiences and the belief that academic success is out of reach. Nick Harrison, chief executive of the social mobility charity Sutton Trust, said the findings underscore the high cost of neglecting entire communities, singling out white working-class girls as particularly affected.
The report signals a call for a more equitable educational system aimed at closing persistent gaps and providing broader opportunities for white working-class pupils nationwide.