To think the schools should've accepted this?

[bingbangbing]

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/snubbed-donor-offers-his-bursaries-for-poor-white-boys-to-state-schools-5h7hzbbn9

In a way, I can see why they refused. It would take one boy of colour applying and they would be in trouble.

However, there is very definitely a problem with the attainment of white working class boys on low incomes.

I get the impression that he was almost trying to recreate the old assisted places scheme on a small scale.

Ideally, state schools would all be really good and private schools totally unnecessary. Sadly that isn't the case.

I have a son and I'm worried for his future in the local schools.

@UtuNorantiPralatongsThirdEye

Apparently not- they stay at the bottom of the heap.

I do think that this is part of a wider issue- links to Brexit and the recent election results.

There is a chunk of the population going up yours to the rest of society- with good reason.

I think most ‘poor white blue’ won’t be the ones outranking their peers generally, that would be the middle class white boys.

There must be a way to support all people from disadvantaged backgrounds, whether you’re a boy or a girl, white or black or any other race/skin colour etc.

Yes there is.

Fund state education properly but that is not going to happen.

@ShawshanksRedemption

Well said.

• It's not skin colour or racism, that's holding them back, but family (lack of) expectations.

Therefore I think the money could be spent addressing that, and challenging why some white British parents feel uncomfortable supporting their child to do well academically.*

I was thinking the same thing.

@phoenixrosehere

That was essentially what sure start was trying to do.

I'm uncomfortable with this 'blame the parents' approach though.

Shouldn't the schools adapt to compensate for this? That is what they are there for.

It smacks of victim blaming.

So now, if schools aren't going to accept the money, no children are going to benefit. How does that help?

A bit like the new railway services which were delayed because the coaches weren't compliant with the disability discrimination act - so no-one got to benefit at all as they simply didn't run so that the disabled weren't discriminated against.

I'm uncomfortable with this 'blame the parents' approach though.

Asking why some families think education isn’t important is not blaming the parents, it is asking a question. Parents are/should be the most involved when it comes to education or at least talking about it with their children. If some parents aren’t having this conversation, shouldn’t we be looking into why? And if they are and said group is still underperforming, shouldn’t we continue to ask questions until we get to the root of it.

If such programs such as Sure Start were taken out, they should be reinstated if they were helping. Why were they taken out?

Shouldn't the schools adapt to compensate for this? That is what they are there for.

You can’t compensate for it. Parenting is the single most important factor after intelligence (I believe) when it comes to predicting a child’s educational success.

I think there is some racism involved as to why working class white boys are significantly behind everyone else.

London state schools are the best funded and best performing and have the highest % of ethnic minority students. The northern UK state schools are the worst funded and worst performing, and have the lowest % of ethnic minority students. (This is true even after adjusting for cost of living differences between the areas).

So, a minority student is more likely to go to a good, top performing state school than their white peers. The better the school, the better the exam results so greater chance to go to university. Funding levels directly affect how well a school and therefore its students perform.

It is victim blaming to say white boys are disengaged from education or white parents do not have high expectations. Those who fought against the higher funding of London schools said the same things about struggling minority students...only to be proved wrong.

Look at your state schools U.K., they’re not being funded equitably and it is disporportionately affecting the north and rural areas (which are predominately white). To fix this, there needs to be equitable state school funding.

The difference when taking into account cost of living is very small, in London average funding per pupil is £5872 and in the North East its 5029, south west 5181, when you take into account the difference in staff salaries that becomes very small (operating costs are also higher in London). Once you account for higher numbers on average in London for PP students (most London boroughs have more than double any other region) its even lower.

It would be interesting to know if the schools would have accepted this if it was targeted at black or other minority ethnic kids.

I don't have an issue with the idea of targeting a scholarship at white, low income boys. I think the reality would be that most of the scholarships (like most of the current private school bursary funding) would be taken by the 'aspirational poor'. The kind of families that don't have a lot of spare money but value education. The children from those families will likely do fine, even at a bog standard comp.

If I was this guy, I would just find the kids I wanted to support myself and pay their school fees directly. Then he can choose whoever he wants.

The schools said they wouldn't accept any donations linked to ethnicity or religion.

They could have accepted it and then raised an equivalent amount of money to invest in colours of skin other than white.

but whilst that is happening, discriminating on ethnicity and religion, wouldn't that challenge their charitable status ?

Asking, I don't know.

This is a really good read IMHO.

Why are boys falling behind at school?

"Many children — especially white working-class boys — dread school. It’s where their parents failed, and where they have been failing since the age of five. “Students will put themselves down,” says Dunbar. “It’s too easy for children to say, ‘I can’t do this.’”"

There's also some suggestions on how to address the issue. As someone who works in a primary school, I agree with the article as it reflects my experiences with the kids I teach.

www.ft.com/content/3b2509f2-fda2-11e8-aebf-99e208d3e521

If you're a white male, apparently you don't need any help. You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth and will do well because prejudice and bullying doesn't happen to white males. It only happens to girls, black people and sometimes Asian people too apparently.

No wonder the biggest killer of white men under 40 is suicide. It's almost shameful these days to be a white male that is straight and wears mens clothes! Maybe this is why so many men want to be women!

oooh we are getting into Jordan Jordan Peterson territory here.

Yes suicide kills more men, but women are 4 times more likely to try.

The schools don't allow any conditions on ethnicity or religion, everyone is equal.

As I understand it, Stormzy is a private individual funding 2 scholarships each year. As an individual he is not subject to the equalities act which would prohibit (for example) a school doing a similar sort of targeted scholarship. So the schools had to turn down the funding as they would be in breach of the law. Whereas the individual himself could fund the scholarships targeted as the groups he wishes to help. Perhaps that is how he will now structure the gift.

PlanDeRaccordement

I agree that all areas should be funded equally, but the fact that london schools are better funded is not based in racism, that is favouring the capital.

Additionally, although there are fewer children outside the capital who are not white, they are still in existence, in large numbers in some areas, and they would also be affected by a lack of funding.

Winchester doesn't need a race-specific bursary: the bursaries are available to children according to their parents' ability to pay.

The benefactor himself is testimony to the fact that poor white boys are not discriminated against, nor are any other poor boys who meet the academic criteria and need assistance to attend.

I suspect that the biggest reason they’ve refused is fear of the backlash if they had a scholarship for white males (traditionally the most privileged group in British society).

I am also sceptical that even if it had been offered it would’ve reached the real target. Far more likely to end up benefiting naice middle class white boys who’s parents and prep school tutored them for it and wanted them to go to this type of school but don’t have a spare £40K a year

Most public schools have scholarships and bursaries to support poor white boys, and have had for many years.

Schools on the whole do not give scholarships to underachieving children, whatever their gender or ethnicity. While poor white boys are underachieving as a cohort it does not mean that this money would be given to underachieving children ,and to think it would be is naive.

There are scholarships which exclude white children though

At the two schools in question?

DC is an old and really rather rich school, and has a high number of bursaries, AFAIK open to all. I expect Winchester is much the same.

Schools on the whole do not give scholarships to underachieving children

Well they wouldn't - scholarships are merit wards

My immediate thoughts when I heard about it this morning were "fair enough to refuse" - I've worked with chairties in the past where we've had to turn down proposed donations, and it can be hard.

Driving home this afternoon I heard a discussion on R4, comparing it to the Stormzy Oxford scholarships for black students, and changed my mind.
Personally, I don't agree with private education, but if this money enables more from a disadvantaged background to participate, then it should be accepted.
The schools concerned probably have their own bursary schemes anyway, so places funded by this money would simply free up more of the schools' own bursary fund for others.

Quick Google shows DC spends over £3m per year on bursaries, on both full and partial awards to around 175 boys at any one time.

They'd probably welcome more money into the bursary pot. But not conditions which mean bursaries are awarded on grounds other than family income.