Poorer Pupils Left Behind In East Brighton

Only 16 parliamentary constituencies in the whole country have worse educational outcomes for children eligible for free school meals than Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven.

The poor outcomes emerged from research carried out by the Sutton Trust, the social mobility charity.

It has prompted the campaign group Class Divide to call for a public review into why young people eligible for free school meals in east Brighton were doing so poorly.

An open letter addressed to Brighton and Hove City Council leader Bella Sankey said that the Sutton Trust ranked Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven 527th out of 543 English parliamentary constituencies.

According to the charity, just 4 per cent of young people in east Brighton have a degree by the age of 22. And at 28, fewer than half are in stable employment.

Class Divide founder Carlie Goldsmith said:

“Children on free school meals growing up in this constituency have some of the worst rates in the whole country on six measures.”

Those measures included school attainment, access to higher education, employment status and earnings of young people eligible for free school meals (FSM) after secondary school.

She said:

“There are only 16 constituencies in the rest of the country that are ranked lower than us and have worse outcomes for the children we force to live in poverty.

"This is a disgrace and must change.”

Campaign co-founder Curtis James, who grew up in Whitehawk, said that the school system did not help people from his background.

He said:

“When I was 14, a teacher told me I wasn’t ‘university material’. I grew up in Whitehawk. No one in my family had been to uni.

“The system we were in made sure we knew our place. I left school with one GCSE — in drama.

“At 17, my twin brother and I got a Prince’s Trust grant to buy some music gear. Just a bit of luck.

“One teacher believed in me and helped us. That tiny chance changed my life.”

In its letter, Class Divide said that the figures reflected a “systemic failure” that could not be explained by national conditions alone.

The letter said that Brighton and Hove thrived in so many areas and asked why were so many children left behind.

Class Divide called for an independent public review to focus on the causes behind the poor outcomes for young people in the constituency which includes some of the most deprived areas of Brighton and Hove, including Moulsecoomb, Bevendean and Whitehawk.

The campaign group said that the review should look at secondary education, post-16 pathways including further and higher education and apprenticeships, youth provision and support services and barriers facing young people from low-income communities.

The group also asked the council to support schools to develop “school equity and inclusion plans”.

So far, 275 people have signed the letter on the Class Divide website. To sign, click here.

The charity hopes to present the letter to the council before the end of this month.