Black boys

Trevor Phillips, head of the Commission for Racial Equality, and himself a black father, had a warning for teachers, students and parents earlier this year. He told the national press that black boys' continuing poor performance at secondary school could turn them into a 'permanent underclass'.

He pointed to statistics that show that by the end of Key Stage 2 (age 11) progress made by black boys – in particular those of Caribbean descent – starts to take a dive. Last year's figures showed an improvement, but by the end of Key Stage 3 (age 16) only about 38% achieve 5 A*-C GCSEs (the national average is 52%). Exclusion rates are also higher among black boys.

Phillips' view was that a lack of self-esteem and few positive role models for black boys lie at the root of the problem. And he criticised an 'anti-clever' attitude – the idea that learning isn't cool.

Separate teaching is 'common sense'

What really got discussions going was his idea that separate teaching might be a response to it all: 'If the only way to break through the wall of attitude that surrounds black boys is to teach them separately in some classes, then we should be ready for that.'

He also called for a 'tough new strategy' to compel black fathers to attend parents' evenings.

Jamaica-born head teacher William Atkinson welcomed Phillips's 'common-sense approach'. Mr Atkinson's school, Phoenix High in Hammersmith, West London, has a high proportion of minority ethnic pupils. Nearly half its 760 students are black.

William Atkinson believes that black children can benefit from intensive tuition to overcome particular barriers such as low self-esteem. As one initiative among many to combat poor academic performance, segregated teaching 'could be helpful to re-orientate them from failure to success'.

He points to the fact that some children are already receiving tailor-made education in certain schools – talented children, musical children, special needs pupils, children whose first language is not English.

'Right across the educational landscape, arrangements are being made because the education system is fundamentally about meeting the basic needs of young people,' Mr Atkinson told The Times. 'So in the light of that, these proposals are not radical, they are common sense.'

Boys learn differently

Other views are that the real causes of poor performance lie in low expectations across the board. Institutional racism, fragmentation of families and admiration of a 'gangsta' culture all contribute.

Black educationist Dr Tony Sewell puts some of the blame at the door of teachers. Writing in the Times Educational Supplement, he said, 'Teachers who have problems with black boys will also have problems with white students and Asian students. What is needed is much more teacher training on how to make lessons engaging and training on how not to get drawn into children's power plays.'

Award-winning teacher Phil Beadle – the Guardian's Secondary School Teacher of the Year – says boys generally may need teachers to deal with them differently. 'Boys are not suited to many of the ways in which we expect them to learn. For instance, boys are bouncy; they don't want to sit at desks listening to someone talk at them. They would rather there be a physical aspect to their learning. This applies to all boys, not just black boys.'

He also argues for an upfront acknowledgment of cultural differences. 'Boys enjoy discussing their own emotional responses to things – even more than girls do. Boys need to discuss how their culture impacts upon their life and on their learning. And if we give them the chance to do this, we can have an honest appreciation of how cultural issues can sometimes be a barrier for both student and teacher.'

What's the government doing?

The Department for Education and Skills is working with the National College for School Leadership on black students' achievement.

Under the 'Aiming High' strategy, 30 secondary schools (including 19 in London) have taken up special guidance, with a senior teacher responsible for training in race equality issues in the school. Consultants with expertise in African-Caribbean achievement have offered support.

A separate pilot scheme is targeting three London boroughs, with academic tutors working specifically with black boys to engage them in education and raise standards.

Fairfield – a whole-school approach to black achievement

Fairfield High School in inner-city Bristol – a comprehensive with 660 students aged 11-16 – has seen an improvement in GCSE performance among African-Caribbean pupils over the past three years.

Stronger links with the community and parents, plus a range of changes in the school and the curriculum, have been the cause.

Fairfield's head teacher Nicky McAllister told the Times Educational Supplement that the school's approach to its African-Caribbean pupils had previously lacked coherence. 'So while we had some real individual successes from some of our African-Caribbean children, when you analyse the data, you're aware that they are not achieving at the same rate as others.'

In November 2003, Fairfield was invited to join the National College for School Leadership's African-Caribbean Achievers pilot programme. They instigated a whole-school approach to African-Caribbean achievement that included:

• supported after-school revision sessions in a local family learning centre
• neighbourhood renewal funding for Saturday schools for black pupils
• community-backed consultation events for parents
• more applications for jobs of learning support assistants from African-Caribbean communities
• links with the University of the West of England, whose minority ethnic students mentor Year 7 pupils
• staff training on pupil–teacher relations
• teaching materials that use themes from pupils' culture.

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