White working class children

[NotAnotherScarf]

The bbc has a report about a review of the academic system failing white working class children. The bulk of the population.

It's brilliant that this has been looked at but the recommendations are appalling.

Basically its saying that wcc's are only fit for manual jobs. That schools should push towards offering for vocational courses.

That's where my education went 40 years ago. One child from my year group of 242 went to university at 18. We had at most 6 kids from non white backgrounds. Many went subsequently. I have always maintained the school saw us as shop assistants, factory hands and dockers.

The other recommendations will help children of all races...free travel under 22. Promoting reading etc.

One of the reasons why kids from other backgrounds are doing better has been the push to get them into university...ie black boys being actively recruited and bursarys being given solely to them. Places sponsored etc etc.

Whilst I welcome the move to vocational training. And for many people thats a brilliant move, ts disappointing that the report thinks that that's the main option for wcc's. Basically its says "we don't think your good enough for anything else " .

BBC News - White working-class children 'failed by schools system' - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq51j10q601o

Exactly. People hate talking about the white working classes

I also work with working class kids and everything I said it true.

You are not necessarily in poverty if you share a room, or baby sit, or work on a Saturday, or cannot afford a tutor.

You are however not well off, and you are disadvantaged when it comes to studying.

I'm not sure what your point is?

A homework club is a great idea and hopefully helps some children.

Also I cant talk for the 4pc Black demographic

But re Asians - consistently stay in unhappy marriages maintaining a divorce rate of 1 or 2pc - to be able to afford uni education for the kids. Second remarriage and more kids, too expensive. Two households, too expensive.

Are we an unhappy people as a result, a 100pc yes
Do we get our kids into uni though, yes.

It's nuts and if I could have been born white, 100pc would choose that

😂😂😂

Nope. Nobosy was shutting anyone up and Im far from ridiculous, thank you. You obviously didn't read what she wrote to me. I do love Mumsnet, you have a different opinion to a particular poster and suddenly you become public enemy number 1. My opinion is just as valid as anyone else's, sorry!

😂

Sorry this was the post of Inkongitha's that was the more hilarious of the two I read on Page 9

@Tauranga only on MN is not having a tutor looked upon as deprived. It really is not. Sharing a room has been standard for generations. My family did and many like us. My point is that labels are wrong. What matters more than anything is parental attitude to study and often their ambition for dc. So many poorer immigrants in London, for example, do all the things you say but value education at the same time and have high expectations. Thats why they are here. The white population in some cases cannot be bothered and doesn’t care about having a better life. It’s difficult to drag these kids into thinking differently.

Shame on me for addressing a problem that effects the largest constituent of our population.

Did I say that white people had to be prioritised over others. Did I say that Indian people shouldn't go to university.

This is exactly what the problem is. If you say white children are being left behind your racist. I have said there's also an issue with black boys not doing well once they get to university...so doesn't that suggest ive actually thought about the issue...but no to you I'm just a racist white privileged person...thats it. The fact that india was once a colony of Britain is actually immaterial. Large parts of it were part of the Mongol empire but your not bleating about that. strangely.

You've already apologised for misreading the OP yet you're still derailing the thread.

Mongol ? LOL, did you mean to say Mughal?

I am not derailing the thread.

The emphasis that 'white working class kids' having the word white in it, getting pushed aside IMPLIES that someone else is getting preference be that Non white or Non- working class. Your post goes on to talk about Black/POC grants rather than the privilege held by the rich, which shows what bothers you more.

I share concerns too, mine are different - the fact that Black population is 4pc but figure in 20pc of crimes, concerns me for example.

What I have been trying to draw your attention to is -

1. You are not being discriminated against if the People getting the places in Medicine, Law, Engineering are getting there by skipping the Pub/Bar, staying in unhappy marriages (sad and pathetic I know but fact) to get kids to uni, don't take holidays to afford tutorials. Neither lifestyle is wrong or right. In fact we should all be moving to the western culture, is my own view and focus on happy humans before money.
2. It really is only 4pc of the population re blacks and 9pc are Asian. But this is disproportionately centric around the London area so perhaps it feels overwhelming where you live. There are still plenty of all white neighborhoods . In Scotland , 'native' whites are something like 95pc.

You seem very defensive here. This really isn't about you.

81.7% of the British population is white. 33% of new mums were born overseas. Just getting some facts in here.

Relevance?

Also, you said this on a previous post:

"Thats why they are here. The white population in some cases cannot be bothered and doesn’t care about having a better life. It’s difficult to drag these kids into thinking differently."

Do you think that's an acceptable statement to make? Would you be happy if we made stereotypes about non white parents and children?

As someone currently working in education, this has a lot more to do with cultural attitudes than systemic failings.

On the whole children (/descendants) of immigrant parents generally have high expectations and high levels of support from their parents to do well in school, go to university and work hard in a well paid career. This can be due to the struggle to give their children a better life here or because of different attitudes towards education and success in their country of origin.

It is the biggest difference I see with young people and their academic performance, lack of parental input, which is more common in white families in my experience. Obviously there will be exceptions, a lot of them, but this is what I’ve seen.

People used to hate talking about us.
Now all of a sudden they can't seem to shut up about us. We've had a rebrand from the right. We've gone from being a bunch of parasitic scroungers and cheap labour, useful only to line their pockets with our work and our rent money, to the salt of the earth with our 'justifiable concerns'.
However, this will last only as long as we can be weaponised against groups they despise more and vote the way they want us to.
Should we go off message, like the people of Makerfield, we swiftly get relegated to being gullible fools who want other people to pay for our lazy lifestyles.
I've waited over 50 years for any interest in the WC to come from any direction but left. We could have had a conversation about class inequality at any point.
But we were continually told, no, no, we are all equal, it is a meritocracy! We have just worked harder than you, and been more responsible. When we close down your industries and remove your livelihood, get on your bikes. Retrain. Drive a taxi. You are very fortunate to have us wealthier harder working people carrying you, so keep grafting, and stop complaining.
Forgive me if I'm somewhat sceptical about the sudden change of heart.

OK so that's the theory. What do you do about it in practice? I'm still not seeing how these sweeping generalisations are helping to move things forward for white working class children. If we put aside the expectations on immigrant families, it would be useful to see measures taken to improve the prospects of WWC getting to university. I know there are variables, such as parental interaction that are at play. However, if we keep highlighting the differences between immigrant and non immigrant application of hard study, all WWC are feeling more like failures. They are being set up to fail and that's not good enough.

Just as well Adam's grandfather, in this report, didn't think the same. Instead of believing white kids are being weaponised, he got off his arse and made smart cards for his grandson to study. The grandson who is now going on to study A Level. It's all about the attitude I suppose.

How do you know what Adams grandfather thinks about the views in my post? Adams grandfather supported Adams education, as did I with my children. That's got literally nothing to do with my comments on the sudden interest in the WC from the right, has it?
However you have rather handily demonstrated my point.
Any conversation about the WC invariably leads to someone like you talking about arses. Getting off them. Working them off etc.
Thus confirming my point, that the right aren't interested in the reasons white WC are underachieving, because you think you know already, don't you? It's our own fault. Apart from when it's the fault of immigrants of course.

But many of those mums will be white.
The mother of Nigel Farage's children for example. If he has more children with his current partner they also won't be born in Britain. So Nigel Farage is doing more to drive these statistics up than anyone else.

Some of them will be women who were born overseas because (eg) their white British parents were serving overseas in the army. Or their parents were doing other jobs overseas. You only have to look at all the threads from people living and raising families in Dubai to know this is a thing. Other people who make less fuss might be working in Europe, the far East, Africa, America.

Many of them will be married to White British men.

Normally the skin colour wouldn't be here or there. But given the subject of this thread it is relevant.

Quoting the 33%statistic on a thread about white working class boys troubles is an odd thing to do because its either completely irrelevant to the discussion (where someone's mother was born has no bearing on whether they are white). Or is trying to imply that the 33% (born to a mother who wasn't born in Britain) are non-white British in which case it's a deliberate attempt to mislead.

In summary:

• 41,472 people arrived by small boat in 2025.
• 46,497 people were detected arriving by all irregular routes.
• The largest nationality groups were Eritrean, Afghan, Iranian, Sudanese, and Somali.

Deport people coming on small boats rather than give asylum? Or do I sound harsh?

That is a shocking number of small boat asylum seekers every year , I would have guessed 500?

Always comes back to immigration doesn't it. It's not just the right who make constant references. So Adam can't be judged as an individual white boy who's worked his socks off. You're the one doing the weaoonising.

33pc of mothers from overseas also includes white mothers from Canada, Australia, NZ, western EU, Eastern EU. South American whites?

London has them in numbers.

OP, it will all come out in the wash in a decade or so at the most (Granted that might not be quick enough for many of us).

Gen Z's appear to be the same where ever they were born and raised. Some of my son's second and third cousins do not understand a word of his scottish english nor can he speak any Indian language. But they all knew , 6/7, Ohio, and whatever else is Gen Z global language. They follow the same tiktokers and influencers and laugh at the same jokes and have the same Gen Z entitlement

Asian kids in Britain - will stop letting their immigrant parents push them into law, STEM, and medicine. And do what they want, or nothing at all if that is what they fancy. Philosophy if they fancy it without being pushed into 'steady income' careers. Its just a matter of time. And interestingly enough, the immigrants are the last to change, East Asia itself already has westernised itself completely.

Perhaps not completely in food and clothes, but in mindset yes