Black & Mixed Race Children’s School Experiences

The Experiences and Achievements of Black & Mixed Race Pupils.

Ethnicity Facts and Figures: Education Attainment 8 – GOV.UK April 2021

Ethnicity the Facts: GCSE English and Maths Results – GOV.UK April 2021

Ethnicity the Facts: Students achieving 3 A grades or better – GOV.UK April 2021

Exclusion rates reported for Mixed Race White and Black Caribbean PupilsThe Guardian 24/03/2021
Several local authorities had high rates of exclusion – more than four times higher than white pupils.
Wokingham, Berkshire, had an exclusion rate of 12.8%, – about five times higher than for white pupils.

The School Experiences of Mixed-Race White and Black Caribbean Children in England. Lewis, K. and Demie, F. (2019)
This research aims to explore the school experiences of mixed white/ black Caribbean children in English schools. The overarching findings of this research confirm that although the mixed-race population as a whole is achieving above the national average, the mixed white/ black Caribbean group is consistently the lowest performing mixed-race group in the country. Views of pupils, their parents and teachers in two London secondary schools suggest various reasons why mixed white/ black Caribbean pupils might continue to be the lowest performing mixed group in the country. These included experiences of marginalization and invisibility in school life, the low expectations that teachers held about them, the lack of knowledge about how to support them at school and how all these issues were exacerbated by the friendship groups they mixed in. This research paper discusses these critical factors in detail and their implications for policy and further research. Download Report

Facing the Facts: Ethnicity and Disadvantage in BritainCSJ The Centre for Social Justice November 2020
“One of the findings which strikes us as particularly concerning is that while many ethnic minority groups, such as African and Indian communities, are doing better than the national average – and the White British population – in key areas such as GSCE attainment, other groups are getting left behind. This is the case for Caribbeans, who have some of the poorest outcomes and, unlike virtually any other ethnic group, have a higher proportion of single parent than married parent households.” Download Report

Black Caribbean Achievement in Schools in EnglandResearch Brief Lambeth 2018
Two new ground-breaking research reports which are now published, highlight the reasons for under achievement and the strategies used to raise achievement. The research was carried out by Dr Feyisa Demie, Head of Research and Advisor FOR School Self-evaluation at Lambeth LA and Christabel McLean, former Headteacher and Education Consultant.
1. The Underachievement of Black Caribbean Pupils in Schools In England
The first research report aims to examine in details the empirical evidence for educational underachievement and to identify the factors responsible in English schools. Download Report.
2. The Achievement of Black Caribbean Pupils: Good Practice
The second research report aims to examine the success factors behind outstanding achievement and improvement of schools that serve disadvantaged inner city areas. Download report.

How Black Working-Class Youth are Criminalised and Excluded in the English School System. IRR 2020
This report sets out to explore the race and class aspects of school exclusions, providing a historical overview of the legislation, policy and practices that have forced so many young people, stigmatised as ‘disruptive’ out of the mainstream state educational sector. Black Caribbean young boys are significantly over-represented in this sector. Download report.

Exclusions of Pupils from School in England: Extent, causes and consequences. Research Project Brief
The aims of this research was to explore the ethnicity of ethnic minority and SEN pupils in school exclusions in England and to investigate the reasons for overrepresentation in exclusion statistics. Download repor