White working class boys being left behind says MP

More needs to be done to address the "underachievement" of white working class boys, according to a Conservative MP.

Charlie Dewhirst, who represents Bridlington and The Wolds, called on the government to publish a strategy to improve social mobility for young white men living in poorer communities.

"I've been looking into the statistics and, in recent years, white working class boys have been underachieving versus other demographic groups, whether that's in education, employment or poorer health outcomes", Dewhirst said.

The government said it was launching "two place-based challenges designed to improve outcomes for white working-class children and disadvantaged communities".

"I wanted to highlight the fact that, too often in recent years, governments have taken targeted measures, they've identified groups they think need help and we're not thinking about the wider majority," Dewhirst told BBC Politics North.

Researchers found only 36 per cent of white British boys on free school meals reached the expected standard in GCSE maths and English – compared with 65 per cent of all pupils, according to the latest Department for Education figures.

CSJ said figures also showed white working class boys on free school meals were among the least likely to remain in education after the age of 16.

A report by the Education Select Committee in 2021 said white working class pupils had been "failed" by decades of neglect in England's schools.

MPs on the committee also questioned whether the term "white privilege", suggesting white pupils had an advantage, was appropriate when many disadvantaged white children struggled in the classroom.

In a 2025 Facebook post, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "It shouldn't be controversial to say we need to do better by white working class children – it's obvious.

"The Tories couldn't have cared less, Labour is grasping the nettle."

In response to the concerns raised by Dewhirst, a Department for Education spokesperson said: "It's this government's mission to cut the link between background and success, halving the disadvantage gap for this generation, so that every child has the opportunity to achieve and thrive – the reforms laid out in the Schools White Paper will do just this.

"Some of the biggest educational challenges are concentrated in specific places and communities, particularly affecting white working class children in areas of high disadvantage.

"These children, especially boys, have amongst the lowest attainment at GCSE and, since the pandemic, their average attainment has got worse, while for many other groups it has improved.

"To challenge this, the government is launching Mission North East and Mission Coastal – two place-based challenges designed to improve outcomes for white working-class children and disadvantaged communities, and provide a blueprint for change nationally – alongside our wider commitment to radically reform the way disadvantage funding is given to schools."