Inquiry Finds 36% of White British Pupils on Free Meals Pass English and Maths GCSE

An independent inquiry has concluded that England's education system is not set up to serve white working-class children. The Independent Inquiry into White Working-Class Educational Outcomes found that white British pupils on free school meals remain the lowest-performing large demographic group.

The report analysed education data on 1.25 million white British young people receiving free school meals.

As of 2025, 36 per cent of these pupils achieved a Grade 4 or above in English and Maths GCSE, compared with 72 per cent of non-free school meal pupils. The inquiry interviewed thousands of young people and their parents along with hundreds of teachers.

The inquiry, commissioned last summer by the multi-academy trust Star Academies and supported by the Department for Education, issued 24 recommendations.

These include more early-years support, improved mental health services, restrictions on smartphone use in schools, extension of 30 hours of free childcare to all disadvantaged families, a major expansion of apprenticeships in white working-class communities, free local public transport for young people up to age 21, and a national priority on reading fluency at primary school for this group.

Co-chairs Baroness Estelle Morris, who served as education secretary from 2001 to 2002, and Sir Hamid Patel stated that the issues cannot be explained by low aspiration or lack of effort and cannot be solved by schools alone. They called for sustained national effort over many years.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said generations had been robbed of opportunity and that the communities in the report are her communities. She added that the report laid bare the scale of the challenge. The inquiry noted that the move to secondary education is a key point where students can disengage.