A headteacher has launched a scathing attack on Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson following her acknowledgement that white working-class pupils are being failed by the system.
Serge Cefai, who leads St Thomas the Apostle and has spent nearly five decades in education, shared his exasperation at what he sees as yet another round of empty promises.
"Well, after 46 years in the job, it's the roundabout again we're talking about it all over again," he told GB News.
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"I'm sure she'll surround herself with lots of advisers, most of them barely out of nappies and with no real experience, and they'll come out with all sorts of nonsense we'll forget about in a few weeks' time."
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|Serge Cefai leads St Thomas the Apostle and has spent nearly five decades in education
Government figures have exposed the extent of educational failure among disadvantaged white pupils, with fewer than one in five achieving basic standards in core subjects.
Department for Education statistics show that 18.6 per cent of white British students who receive free school meals attained at least grade five in both English and mathematics GCSEs last year.
This is in contrast to the 45.9 per cent achievement rate across all state school pupils in England.
The data has emerged as Phillipson described the situation as a "national disgrace," acknowledging that numerous white working-class students fail to secure the qualifications necessary for university entry.
The furious headteacher added: "This isn’t just a school issue. Society as a whole needs to revisit how we bring up our children.
"Schools should be held accountable, quite right too, but what about the support agencies?
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"Every year we talk about the number of exclusions, particularly among white working-class children. For me, it’s not about race or creed it’s about children who need dealing with.
"When puberty hits, a lot of children get excluded from school, and then Ofsted comes in and looks at the data.
"There’s a strong correlation: most children excluded from school have been under social services care almost from birth.
"I don’t know how much money has been poured into that, but clearly it’s made no difference."
PA | Bridget Phillipson described the situation as a "national disgrace"
He added: "Let’s deal with feckless parents. Let’s call it what it is, poor parenting. Support them if necessary, but I’m sick to death of hearing about single-parent families where the dads are absent from the start.
"Feckless dads who never pay a penny putting enormous pressure on the home. But I have to say, women must take their share of responsibility too. Choose your children’s fathers wisely.
"Why isn’t society chasing down these dads who aren’t paying a single penny towards their children, never mind having nothing to do with them?
"It’s usually the taxpayer who picks up the tab.'
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