ATL COMMENT ON THE ACHIEVEMENT OF BLACK PUPILS

27 November 2007

Nansi Ellis, acting head of education policy at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said:

“It is encouraging that Black African and Caribbean pupils are doing better at school and narrowing the gap at GCSE.  It shows the determination of pupils, parents and teachers not to be defeated by a system which is fundamentally stacked against them. 

“However, the exam results are a smokescreen for deeper social divisions in society.  There needs to be more focus on why around one in two black and ethnic minority pupils are still failing to do well, and why black pupils are three times more likely to be excluded from school than their white peers.

“And the Government needs to do more to tackle the inequality which goes much deeper than education.  Unfortunately, good exam grades do not necessarily lead to better job prospects and success for black and ethnic minority pupils.  Only one per cent of senior managers in the UK’s top 100 companies come from ethnic minorities, and the salaries of black and ethnic minority girls remain much lower than those of their peers of whatever ethnic group.”