White working-class children are being failed by British state, damning inquiry confirms

White working-class children are being failed by the British state, a damning inquiry has confirmed.

The Independent Inquiry into White Working Class Educational Outcomes has ruled that an overhaul of the education system is required to mend a broken system.

Such demands include a hike in the number of apprenticeships available for youngsters, free local public transport for under-21s and backed a new ban on smartphones in schools.

The probe, which began last summer, revealed the state "is not serving the interests of white working-class children".

The investigation examined why white working-class youngsters fell into the lowest-performing large demographic across England.

Inquiry co-chair Baroness Estelle Morris shifted the blame from the children, as well as teaching staff, insisting that responsibility "cannot sit with schools alone".

Meanwhile, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson lamented that the youths had been "robbed of opportunity", adding: "The communities in this report are my communities.

"I know what they've given this country and what this country has failed to give back."

The inquiry was commissioned by the multi-academy trust Star Academies, backed by the Department for Education.

The data shows that the 1.25 million students in England, who are white British and are receiving free school meals, reveal the "white working-class disadvantage gap".

Statistics from as recent as 2025, some 36 per cent of this group achieved a Grade 4, the pass mark, or more in English and Maths.

Meanwhile, 72 per cent of children who do not receive free school meals achieve the same, around double the number of white working-class students.

The inquiry also discovered that white working-class groups, when compared to educators, had conflicting views on the very point of education.

Along with Sir Hamid Patel, Baroness Morris added that the findings "cannot be explained away by low aspiration or lack of effort".

The pair said that, to combat the issues, a "sustained national effort over many years" would be required.

They said: "The challenge set out in this report is significant. But so too is the opportunity.

"Every child in this country deserves to feel that education is for them, that their future matters, and that success is achievable regardless of where they come from."

As well as thousands of pupils, their parents and hundreds of school teachers were included in the analysis.

Responding to the findings, Reform's education spokeswoman, Suella Braverman, said: "The system is failing white working class children.

"The death of technical and vocational education has killed the hopes and dreams of millions of young people in this country.

"We need to stop treating children as if they are all the same as they progress through school. They have different talents that should be respected and recognised equally.

"The system needs radical reform. Only Reform UK will deliver it."

Nick Harrison, CEO of the Sutton Trust, a charity which seeks to boost social mobility and address disadvantage, echoed a similar concern, saying the inquiry "lays bare the cost of leaving whole communities behind".

"White working-class children continue to have some of the lowest educational outcomes of any ethnic group in England, while those growing up in post-industrial and coastal communities also face significantly lower earnings as adults," he warned.

Mr Harrison explained that disadvantaged young people from Black Caribbean backgrounds were just as unlikely to become top earners.

"Ultimately, this isn't about ethnicity in isolation," he added. "It's about the interaction between disadvantage and place, entrenched poverty, communities that have been left behind, and too few routes to good jobs and better lives."