Disadvantaged children need a break – not a system stacked against them | Frances Ryan

Education should be the way out of poverty to a better life, but ministers are making it the preserve of the wealthy

“It’s like giving some people a head start in a race and it’s your job to catch up,” says 13-year-old Kian in Generation Gifted. This month’s BBC’s series tracking social mobility through the lives of six teenagers presented an honest, at times painful insight into the barriers facing low-income pupils.

Several had disabled siblings or parents and had to get by on benefits. Some were in temporary accommodation waiting for social housing, and others in cramped bedrooms without enough room to study. In one particularly moving scene, Anne-Marie – who dreams of going to university to become a criminologist – paused as she Googled the cost of tuition fees. Her mum had thought a degree would cost around £500.

Related: Helping gifted children is all very well – but what about the rest? | Dawn Foster

The families who can’t afford a hot meal for tea are the ones expected to find thousands for university living costs

Related: As a working-class student, I know degree pricing would entrench elitism | Ellie Fry

Continue reading...

from Children | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2CBTYwT