22 March 2017

Warning over segregation in England's schools

Thousands of state schools across England are segregated along ethnic or social grounds, according to research.

More than a quarter of primary and four in 10 secondary schools are ethnically divided, the social integration charity, The Challenge, found.

It says almost a third of primary and a quarter of secondary schools are segregated along socio-economic lines.

The Department for Education says all schools are expected to promote social integration and British values.

Researchers from The Challenge - working with the iCoCo Foundation and SchoolDash - measured how segregated a school was by comparing its numbers of white British pupils and those eligible for free school meals with those of the 10 schools closest to them.

They used official statistics for the years 2011 to 2016, examining more than 20,000 state schools. [BBC] Read more