Young people’s prospects shaped by mix of postcodes, ethnicity and gender
New research published today by the Sutton Trust reveals how geography, gender and ethnicity all impact opportunities for disadvantaged young people, with big variations across England.
“Crossing Paths”, which builds on last year’s Opportunity Index, finds that many regional gaps in attainment are driven by the uneven spread of ethnic groups across England. It also found that girls, and certain ethnic groups, perform strongly at school but then underachieve in the labour market.
For example, Bangladeshi girls eligible for free school meals (FSM) perform 11% higher than the average student, but earn 20% less as adults. The GCSE attainment of an FSM Bangladeshi girl in the North West is almost 2 times higher on average than a white British FSM boy from the South East. Despite this, she typically earns almost £5,500 less at age 28.
Big differences in school attainment around England
Regional variations in the school attainment of disadvantaged young people reflect the differing local ethnic mix. London’s strong overall results are partly driven by its diversity. 5% of white FSM pupils in England live in London, while over 50% of Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean FSM pupils live in the capital.
Of all pupils eligible for free school meals, those from Indian and Bangladeshi backgrounds perform the best at school. Meanwhile, White British pupils consistently achieve the lowest results across all ethnic groups in England.
And despite the relatively strong academic performance of disadvantaged students in London – the so called ‘London effect’ – white working class pupils in the capital actually perform slightly worse than their counterparts in the North East, showing they are not benefitting from the stronger local education environment.
Carl Cullinane, Director of Research and Policy at the Sutton Trust, explains: ‘One of the big reasons for these gaps are differing experiences and attitudes to education among parents. White working class parents are much more likely to have had negative experiences of school themselves, which affects their engagement with schools and the importance they place on education.
‘This is illustrated by differences in using private tutoring. Poorer pupils from Black African, Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean, Pakistani, and Indian families were four to five times more likely to receive private tutoring than their White British peers.’
Ethnic groups with greater proportions of first and second generation immigrants have the highest school performance among working class pupils. This is a success story for integration and diversity, with the UK one of only two countries in Europe where second generation immigrants score higher than their peers.
In contrast, white working class young people, as well as those from Black Caribbean backgrounds, are more likely to suffer from the effects of multi-generational poverty, which can lead to feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness to break the cycle.
Mapping white working class opportunity
The Sutton Trust has published a new ranking of England’s constituencies, showing the differing outcomes of white working class young people across the country. You can find out how each constituency ranks via this interactive map and data interactive.
City areas tend to have a lower opportunity ranking for white working class pupils, most notably Newcastle, Brighton, Leeds, and Leicester among others. The top ranked constituency for white working class opportunities is Brent West (London), while the lowest is Newcastle Upon Tyne Central and West.
There are major differences in outcomes based on where white working class young people grew up. For example, the new analysis shows that those brought up in the Kensington and Bayswater constituency on average have 75% higher attainment at school, and earn over 50% more a year at 28 than those from Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West.
The charity’s previous 2025 Opportunity Index had showed that the top 20 constituencies for opportunity were all in London. However, when focusing on white working class pupils, London actually has a mix of both the highest and the lowest ranking constituencies.
There are also regional variations in the earnings of white working class people, despite earning the least overall among all ethnic groups. For example, in London and the South West they are closer to average earners, while in the South East they perform worst. Their low earning potential is partly driven by their location in lower earning parts of England, such as post-industrial and coastal areas.
Not all ethnic groups are equally rewarded in the labour market
Opportunities for social mobility in England are not spread evenly across ethnicities. Just 8% of white British and Black Caribbean adults who had been eligible for free school meals go on to become top earners. In contrast, Indian (19%) and Other Asian (20%) people from disadvantaged backgrounds are most likely to break into the top 20% of earners by age 28.
However, there are also drastic differences between education performance and earnings of working class adults from different ethnic backgrounds. Those from Bangladeshi backgrounds show the biggest gap. Their GCSE attainment is 5% better than the average pupil, yet their earnings are 12% lower than average.
In contrast, the relative performance of White British FSM pupils in the labour market is higher than their attainment would suggest, particularly for men. They perform 40% below the average pupil in school, but go on to earn 15% below.
Women and girls fare worst of all across England
There are clear gender gaps too. Working class women of all ethnicities underachieve in the labour market, despite their better school attainment on average.
And despite an ongoing national focus on white working class boys, the attainment of white working class girls is also getting worse over time relative to free school meal-eligible pupils from other ethnic backgrounds. This gap has almost doubled since 2016. This could partly be because white working class girls are more likely to be persistently absent from school than boys.
White working class women earned 41% below the national average. They also have the largest gender pay gap compared to other ethnicities. And while white working class men earn 17% less than working class Indian men, white working class women earn 35% less than their Indian peers.
The Sutton Trust is calling on the government to boost funding where it can make the most difference. This should start with rebalancing the national funding formula for schools back towards the most deprived communities, and restoring the Pupil Premium for disadvantaged pupils back to its 2014/15 levels, as its value has been decimated by inflation over that time. This will help to deliver on the government’s bold ambition to halve the disadvantage gap by 2040.
And national and regional leaders need to ensure place-based education and employment initiatives are based on data and evidence to better target areas most in need, and genuinely tackle existing inequalities.
Commenting, Nick Harrison, CEO of the Sutton Trust, said:
‘White working class young people continue to face some of the biggest barriers to education success in England, with many falling behind long before they leave school. And for too many young people hard work and academic success are still no guarantee of equal opportunity. Some disadvantaged groups, particularly working class girls, and many ethnic minorities, dramatically outperform at school, only to see those gains disappear in the labour market.
‘That should concern anyone who believes Britain is a meritocracy. Talent exists in every community, but the routes to success are massively uneven. We need to start by doubling down on focusing education support in the most left-behind communities, targeting those most in need. And we also need to look long and hard at biases in the labour market which are still blocking success for many of those who beat the odds and do well at school.’