Education gap - South West England

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

This year, millions of holidaymakers will head to Cornwall and Devon for their sandy beaches and pretty coastal towns - just two reasons why the South West peninsula is England's top tourist destination.

Yet behind its wild coastal beauty and affluent towns lies a different story: one of lost opportunities and the unfulfilled potential of many growing up in the region.

On almost every measure, the region is among the weakest educationally, according to the South West Social Mobility Commission, a coalition of organisations trying to bring about change.

Disparities in GCSE results are often framed through the lens of a North-South divide, but that narrative can obscure the challenges facing children in coastal and rural parts of England.

[TaplowGreen]

From The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

This year, millions of holidaymakers will head to Cornwall and Devon for their sandy beaches and pretty coastal towns - just two reasons why the South West peninsula is England's top tourist destination.

Yet behind its wild coastal beauty and affluent towns lies a different story: one of lost opportunities and the unfulfilled potential of many growing up in the region.

On almost every measure, the region is among the weakest educationally, according to the South West Social Mobility Commission, a coalition of organisations trying to bring about change.

Disparities in GCSE results are often framed through the lens of a North-South divide, but that narrative can obscure the challenges facing children in coastal and rural parts of England.

As someone who was brought up in both Cornwall and Devon, I can confirm that it twas ever thus in the "real" Southwest

Away from the glamour of certain parts of Cornwall (thank you Rick Stein and others), there is real poverty amongst the locals, which does to some extent explain the hostility to "incomers", although a lot of that is simply moronic dogwhistling

[REVUpminster]

I can only speak for girls/women I know. My next doors neighbours two girls, both in their mid twenties now, went to Churston Grammar mixed school which is about a mile from where I am. One went to Cambridge to study medicine and worked and trained at Addenbrooks and is now a doctor at Weston Super-mare Hospital. The other girl went to Bristol and is an engineer.  I know another women in her mid twenties went to Cambridge and is working in a care home which she has reservations about but has been there over 18 months.

Torbay has two grammar schools, separate boys and girls, that are really sort after with pupils commuting to them by train to Torre. Up to 200 get off the 0820 arrival.

There is also a combined CofE/Roman Catholic secondary school.

Those four schools are real assets to Torbay.

Some of the primary schools have 600/700 pupils which was unheard of in my day.

[Chris from Nailsea]

I was born in Devonport (Alexandra Maternity Home - good luck finding that one these days! ) and grew up in Plymstock, a suburb of Plymouth.

There, I attended Plymstock School, then a 'Comprehensive', but which was still run along the lines of it having been, I seem to remember, a Grammar School.  There were some 2,000 pupils at that time.

I have many fond memories of that school, and don't recall any impression that I was being offered an 'inferior' education. Indeed, I still recall my geography teacher, Keith Stoyle, who inspired me with my continuing love of Ordnance Survey maps, and Mr Rogerson, who inspired me with my love of woodwork - just for example.

Chris from Plymstock. 

[infoman]

A few years ago I had great sympathy for the young people of areas like Cornwall and Devon and I still have.

Being unable to buy homes in the small hamlets and towns where they grew up.
As far as I am concerned the blame lies with their parents and grand parents who took the big bucks from those in more affluent areas of the country.
Who just visit  Devon and Cornwall for a few week ends a year   

[Chris from Nailsea]

A related article, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Mums hope school uniform swap will help families

A free school uniform swap has been set up by two mums who want to help stop families from "forking out" on "expensive" clothing.

Bex and Faye created the Tavistock Uniform Swap Shop in Devon where people could donate clothing their children had outgrown along with having a selection of new items as well.  A stall at Tavistock Library was set up on Thursday where they received three "huge boxes" of uniforms from lost property at local schools, as well as half a dozen bags from the community.

Bex said a lot of parents and guardians were "in the same situation" and she and Faye hoped it would help people financially while also stopping clothes being thrown away.

Donations in Tavistock included branded and unbranded jumpers, shirts, skirts, dresses, wet weather clothing, shoes, lunchboxes and trousers.

Bex and Faye, who have been friends for 10 years, said people who visited were "shocked" everything was free and they did not have to make a donation to do a swap.

Bex, who works at a nursery in Tavistock, said: "We are all in the same situation, it doesn't matter if you're working full-time, things are really expensive and if we can save on something like this, then let's do it."

In September, a new law from the Department for Education will be introduced on branded school items in England.  It means parents and guardians will not have to buy more than three branded items, plus a tie for children in secondary school.  The government decided to create the law after it was estimated a quarter of secondary schools still had four or more items on its list last year.

Bex said it was "relief" there was at least a limit on the branded items, but it depended on what items the school or establishment chose.  "I think in the long run, if the cost of living keeps going up, we are going to need to push for there to be less and less uniforms with logos, but it will definitely help," Bex said.

Mum-of-two Faye said the price of uniform depended on the school and what their rules were around branded items, but some school uniforms could set a family back about £60 per child.

(BBC article continues, with illustrations)