Disadvantaged White Pupils Show Widest Educational Gaps England

A series of reports from the Institute for Government highlight that disadvantaged white pupils in England suffer from particularly poor educational outcomes compared to other ethnic groups, with the educational attainment gap having widened since the Covid-19 pandemic. These disadvantaged white students are disproportionately concentrated in areas with high poverty, often rural or coastal, where factors such as lower funding, higher teacher vacancies, and poor digital infrastructure exacerbate challenges. The reports emphasize that tackling high absence rates, especially among disadvantaged pupils, is crucial to narrowing these educational inequalities. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson described it as a "national disgrace" that so many white working-class children are being "written off" in the education system and pledged to focus on closing the attainment gap. Meanwhile, in New South Wales, Australia, a separate education fiasco occurred where selective school exams held online at mega-testing centers faced significant technical and logistical failures, leading to chaotic conditions requiring riot police intervention and prompting a government review recommending a return to local public school testing venues. These developments underscore ongoing challenges in managing equitable and effective education systems amid varying socioeconomic pressures.