White boys "most likely to fail at school"

White British children from low income families fare worse at school than low income children from other ethnic groups, according to a new report.
Nearly half of "persistent low achievers" are white boys, says the research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Compared to other groups, white children who start their school careers as low achievers are more likely than children from other ethnic groups to finish as low achievers.
Low income is an important factor, but among children eligible for free school meals, white British children are more likely to be persistent low achievers than other children.
Chinese and Indian pupils are the most successful in avoiding low achievement. Afro-Caribbean pupils have the worst exam results over all, though their results have been improving faster than the national average, and when compared with white British pupils of similar economic backgrounds, they do no worse, say the reports authors.
Tackling low educational achievement