Tuesday, 13th March 2007

Education Secretary Alan Johnson says schools need to focus on working-class boys to close the gap in achievement, launching a major Fabian research project on educational inequality.

A boys' bookshelf in every school library was one of the ideas proposed by Education Secretary Alan Johnson, as he told the Fabian Society that the education system needed to change to prevent working-class boys being left behind at school.

Setting out his ambition to break the link between social class and educational attainment, Johnson highlighted the scale of the challenge in closing both the class and gender gaps in achievement, noting that boys make up 70% of those with identified special education needs; 72% of dyslexics; and 88% of those with behavioural, emotional and social needs.

Launching a major new Fabian research project on educational inequality, Johnson said that this would make an important contribution: "Building on their highly influential Commission on Life Chances and Child Poverty, this will certainly help our deliberations at DFES in this important area." said Johnson.

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