By Isle of Wight Observer
The leaves are falling; it’s back to school – and fittingly the supermarket aisles are now stacked with Haribo (for Hallowe’en) and wine (for the teachers). I love this time of year, when the exercise books are still fresh, the pupils are relatively keen to be here – and everyone has a view about how best to run a school or a county education system.
Whilst our Island social media is engrossed with access to toilets during school time, and arguments about whether squid game-style exploits will improve punctuality to lessons, reporters sharpened their keyboards as the exam results came in. Our A-level grades? Worst in the country. GCSE grades? Ditto. You can almost set your clock every August as the Island doesn’t just slump but remains tightly stuck at the bottom of the national rankings.
I appreciate that it may be news for some, but many school staff like me are very well aware that the results just are not good enough. Again. The years of target setting, extra classes, constant exam practice, tearing hair out – and we are still bottom. Huge sigh, head–desk, reaches for more Haribo.
As a parent, teacher and local councillor, I have high aspirations for our Island young people. I love my job. Education achievements will open doors, widen horizons and set them up for a more prosperous life. So – why does it feel like we are stuck in a rut? How can we explain the predictable low results? And what can Islanders do as whole to raise them up?
This is going to be difficult reading. On every indicator affecting our children outside of the classroom, the Island is facing an enormous challenge. We are not bottom of the class when it comes to levels of child poverty (37 per cent – well above average) or numbers reliant on Free School Meals (risen by 63 per cent between 2019–23). We are top of the league when it comes to numbers of pupils with special educational needs (24.7 per cent – the highest in England), percentage of workless households (25 per cent) and, earlier this year, Isle of Wight East was granted the accolade of being the ‘second most left-behind constituency’ in England. Report after report shows that our wages are endemically low, the proportion of Islanders with a university degree is low, and hospital admissions for 10–24yr olds, as a result of self-harm, is the highest in the south-east.
Admittedly, other areas have overcome similar challenges. Results in London were poor, but increased pupil funding and demographic shifts have resulted in significant progress in recent years. The educational inequality gap is felt even more deeply here as, statistically, white British pupils (97 per cent on the Island) perform worse at school than those from every other ethnic minority background.
On top of this, our young Islanders don’t have such ready access to theatres, museums and businesses as they do in big cities to widen their horizons and show them opportunities to aim for. The cost of crossing the Solent is a barrier to aspiration for too many of my students. No other English county has to deal with these ferry companies!
When I stood in my classroom this week and welcomed all my students back, I was frank and told them about the reality they face: that when it comes to exams they are in competition with their mainland peers. I hope I continue to instil in them the belief that they, with hard work and guidance from determined school staff, can reach their full potential. But even before an Island child sets foot in a classroom, there are obstacles to success. It’s all our job to do better, not just the staff in our schools.