Permanent school exclusions have actually fallen by over 1/3 since 2005.  GCSE and A Level results improve year on year and more young people than ever are going onto higher and further education than ever before. Read Report on Educational Achievement.

Only 7% of  young people gained fewer than 5 GCSE’s (09/10) and this percentage is falling year on year with more young people also obtaining better grades and greater numbers of qualifications.  However 1/3 of those that achieve no GCSE’s are on free school meals illustrating clearly the link between poverty and educational achievement.

At 11 and 16 deprived white boys are the group most likely to fail at school (poverty.org.uk).   Deprived BME young men also fall behind their peers at school, an issue which is often discussed in terms of race, but as illustrated by the results for deprived white boys is likely to be mainly explained by poverty and deprivation.  Read the Report on Class and Education.

 “Children from poor families and backgrounds are less likely to do well in school, achieving low or no qualifications, and they are less likely to participate in further or higher education or training. Poverty can affect a child’s social confidence and relationships with peers: children report that being seen to be poor carries a great stigma and fear of being excluded by their better off peers.” (DCSF)

According to most recent figures 18.4% of young people in the UK are classified as not in education, employment or training (NEET).  Read the Statistics.  At UK Youth we are working to  keep young people in education through our Youth Achievement Foundations and to offer them opportunities through our programmes to help them get back into education, employment and training.

The number of pupils permanently excluded from school in England fell by more than 11% last year.

Here is a report by the BBC explaining the rate of permanent exclusions in school - Click here to read