Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Gibb and David T C Davies

Monday 11th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[David T. C. Davies (Monmouth) (Con)]

16. What his latest assessment is of levels of educational under-achievement among white working-class boys.

[The Minister of State, Department for Education (Mr Nick Gibb)]

White boys in receipt of free school meals are among the lowest attaining groups of students. In 2009, just 19.4% of white boys eligible for free school meals achieved five or more good GCSEs including English and maths, compared to 50.7% of all pupils.

[David T. C. Davies]

I am grateful to the Minister, who obviously recognises the problem, which was first raised by the National Union of Teachers in a report about two years ago. Can he assure us that, unlike the previous Government, he will not, for reasons of political correctness, try to brush it under the carpet, and that he will do something about it?

[Mr Gibb]

It is a concern when any particular group is significantly underperforming compared with the national average. One big priority for the Government is to close the attainment gap between those from the wealthiest and the poorest backgrounds. We are focusing on that in a range of education policies from academies to free schools, and also in our focus on improving behaviour in schools and reviewing the curriculum.