Inquiry Finds White Working-Class Pupils Have Higher Absence Rates and Lower GCSE Results Than Average

White working-class pupils miss 13 per cent of school lessons, compared with an average of 7 per cent across all pupils, according to statistics released by the Independent Inquiry into White Working-Class Educational Outcomes. The same group is twice as likely to be absent as the average pupil and two and a half times more likely to miss more than half of all lessons.

The inquiry also reported that 34 per cent of white working-class pupils are recorded under special educational needs and disabilities, compared with 19 per cent of pupils from other groups.

The full report is scheduled for release at the end of June 2026. Lindsay Macmillan, Professor of Economics at University College London and founding director of the Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, said ministers should consider improving early years education.

She described the transition from primary to secondary school as a key point where white working-class boys become disengaged and called for clearer post-16 pathways that connect education to the labour market.

"You've got to start somewhere, and diagnosing the problem so clearly across the system is a really important start," Macmillan said. " White working-class boys remain the forgotten demographic in schooling five years after the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report, its chair Lord Sewell said.

"Five years ago, we were told by the woke left and liberal right that the evidence on class and family was uncomfortable.

Since then, this evidence has only hardened," he stated. Among white British boys receiving free school meals, 36 per cent achieved the expected standard in GCSE maths and English in the 2024/25 academic year, compared with a national average of 65 per cent. Education Secretary Phillipson said the numbers show tackling white working-class boys' outcomes is a necessary task.

"It is right that we set out the challenge and the data is really clear that white working-class kids get amongst the worst outcomes in the education system," she said. She added that class background and family resources are key indicators and that tackling child poverty remains a government priority.

The Government has announced plans for Mission North East to support working-class youth in the region.

Phillipson said a formal launch will set out further details, noting that officials have big ideas but do not yet have all the answers.