Disadvantaged children in London are making better progress at school than their counterparts in other areas of the country, a report on racial inequality found today.
Pupils in the capital make the most progress and achieve the best results in primary and secondary schools in the country, the report found.
The figures have been released as part of the Government’s audit into race disparity in education, health, employment and the criminal justice system.
With more than half of pupils in London from ethnic minorities, the findings reveal positive outcomes for diverse communities not seen in other parts of the country.
On a visit to Dunraven School in Lambeth, Theresa May said: “What I hope this audit will bring is a change in attitude so that everyone is treated equally, no matter what their background, and this is never a barrier to getting on in life.”
However the audit also revealed that traveller children of Irish heritage and Gypsy and Roma pupils had the highest rate of permanent exclusions, while black Caribbean pupils were permanently excluded at three times the rate of white British pupils. Chinese and Asian pupils tend to perform better than white and black pupils, particularly those eligible for free school meals, the study revealed.
At Key Stage 2, 71 per cent of Chinese pupils met the expected standard for reading, writing and maths, compared with 54 per cent of white British pupils and 13 per cent of white Gypsy and Roma pupils.
The Government’s Ethnicity Facts and Figures statistics are now online.It is the first time a government has compiled so much information on race for the public.
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid denied suggestions that the publication of the data was driving a “grievance culture” among minority communities. He said it meant that where there were disparities, they could be identified and action taken to address them.
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Mrs May was set to tell a meeting in Downing Street with charities and think-tanks today that society must “explain or change” discrimination.
