Underachievement is endemic among white working-class pupils. While the government recognises the problem, and improvements have been made in recent years, attainment remains stubbornly low.
In 2007, 31.5 per cent of white pupils eligible for free school meals gained five GCSEs at grades A*-C, compared to 63.4 per cent of their wealthier counterparts.
In 2009, this rose to 43.7 per cent of low-income white pupils, but the gap between the classes is still wide; in the same period 72.7 per cent of more affluent white pupils achieved five good GCSEs.
Dunraven secondary school, in the largely deprived borough of Lambeth, South London, is one example of a school that is bucking the trend. Here, 86 per cent of white pupils achieve five GCSEs A*-C.
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