Is the British Education System Still Failing Our Students?

July 2022. Our GCSE and A Level students have left their schools and are eagerly awaiting their results in August. Hoping that the education and results they receive is enough to take them forwards in life. But what does a ‘good’ education look like for a student of colour? How far have we come since the Coard report in 1971?

In 1971 Bernard Coard, a Grenadian academic and teacher living in the UK, wrote and published the pamphlet, ‘How the West Indian Child is Made Educationally Subnormal in the British School System’ which detailed why black students were failing:  

     ‘low expectations on [the student’s] part about his likely performance in a    

     white-controlled system of education.’ (Institute of Race Relations). 

It has been 51 years since Bernard Coard, so what has changed? Research shows that it is not unusual for a pupil to leave secondary school having never studied a book by a Black author. 

In 2018/19 only 19% of students who took English Literature A Level were of Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic origin (GOV.UK available on request). In the wake of George Floyd and the global Black Lives Matter protests, many are considering what changes have taken place within society, and more specifically within our schools. 

‘Diversity’ is the practice or quality of including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc. Schools are more aware than ever that diversity and representation matters. Without it we fuel problems of inequality - a dangerous precedent. 

Racism became more of an acceptable response during the Brexit campaign of 2016 and was shockingly embraced by many White British. Nigel Farage’s famous ‘Breaking Point’ propaganda poster for the Leave Campaign divided the public and emboldened racists. The white British public had a false sense of entitlement to the UK, arguably because of misinformation taught at schools about Britain and Empire. The Black Lives Matter protests demanded changes. These changes often begin in schools.

Currently there are only 33% of children of compulsory school age are of BAME origin yet 7% of children’s books feature a BAME protagonist. Representation matters. The primary aim of a school is to educate and empower so students can achieve. Representation in texts is a key part of this. Currently 

• Only around 11% of those in the publishing industry identify as BAME
• In 2018 nearly 92% of teachers were White
• 92.7% of headteachers were White British
• 75.8% of teachers were women, and there were more female than male teachers in every ethnic group
• In 2017/18 only 11% of undergraduate students were Asian and only 6% were Black (https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/)
• English A Level uptake has fallen 20% since 2017 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45171371)
• In 2017/18 only 11% of undergraduate students were Asian and only 6% were Black(https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/)

Exclusion rates for students from a Black background are far higher (5x more likely in some areas) but there are changes at grassroot level to help combat this.

Currently in schools there is a resurgence of the commitment to diversity or anti racist education. Schools are committing to The Race Charter. Schools, Students and the Teachers network (SSAT) and Fig Tree International, work in partnership to develop the Race and Conscious Equality (RACE) Charter Mark. The Charter Mark is for those institutions that wish to demonstrate their commitment to action and improvement in relation to race equality in all aspects of their work, as educators, employers and community leaders. This helps to raise the grassroot movements of diversity in schools, targeting teachers and students. 

Diversity work is being moved out of the PSHCE curriculum. Organisations such Black Curriculum, LGBTQEd network, WomenEd are also joining together to impact the curriculum in schools. Within the classroom, teachers are looking at texts through the post-colonial lens. Empire is being taught alongside Gothic/19th Century novels such as Frankenstein's Monster by Mary Shelley) and Robert Lewis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde - ‘ape-like’ Hyde as the colonial other, wreaking havoc in a respectable white body. Accurate contextual information is used to frame and interpret these novels. Teaching Empire is not only about looking back at outdated texts – it also speaks to many of today’s writers.

There are changes that teachers themselves are also making. A. Rauf, a teacher in a public school in Halesowen, England, has been instrumental in implementing change. Among other things, she has delivered several CPD ( Continual Professional Development) sessions where she focuses on Empire. She has also collaborated with TES and Penguin to develop these CPD sessions. In September 2021 she set up a Diversity Working Party to widen the reach of this work beyond the classroom.

However, work needs to also be done at GCSE exam level, incorporating exam boards into much needed change. Exam boards are reappraising their syllabi and despite the change being gradual, there has been change.

AQA, Britain’s leading examination body, was asked to add more racial diversity to their English Literature GCSE specification in 2020. However, they have implied no immediate change will take place. They have given information that is available on their website:

You may have seen our blog that shares our thinking on ‘How to ensure diversity in English Literature?’ and you’ll find other articles in the newly launched AQAi – which is a new online hub for insight, data and new thinking on the future of assessment and qualifications.

This mention of ‘future’ change is reminiscent of Martin Luther King’s White Moderate. King describes the White Moderate as ‘one who is more concerned with maintaining the status quo than with justice for the oppressed. When the status quo needs to be altered, King implies that the “white moderate” believes it should happen gradually, with patience.’

The status quo needs to be changed, for all our sakes. Black history, (in this context ‘black’ meaning ‘history involving non-white people’) is for everyone. One does not just study the History or Literature of people that look like us, and only us. We study an inclusive History in order to have an inclusive and complete picture. Black History and black writers are a part of the tapestry of the narrative of the world that all can benefit from. It is only by applying pressure to those in positions to make changes, will see any kind of progress.