Schools 'increase segregation'

Segregation is greatest in urban areas, research suggests

Children in England are more segregated in their school lives than they are where they live, a study suggests.

Research by Bristol University into secondary schools found high levels of segregation by ethnic group.

This was strongest in inner cities, where parents were choosing to send their children to schools where their race was dominant.

Children whose families originated from South Asia were the most segregated, said Professor Simon Burgess.

"It is an issue for concern. It's an age group where children are forming their views.

"Different groups grow up in different communities and meet each other less - that's not good for social cohesion," he said.

Riots

The report into the riots in Bradford in 2001 said that the segregation of different ethnic groups at school had played a part.

The report's author, Sir Herman Ouseley, said self-segregation should be ended, to increase understanding between groups.

For this study, researchers looked at how ethnically mixed schools were compared to the surrounding areas.

They found that in the average local education authority in England, 50% of children would have to move school in order to achieve an even spread of races across schools.

Professor Burgess said in most cases, the schools were reflecting the make up of highly-segregated neighbourhoods.

We are talking about white parents choosing but also people of Pakistani origin choosing as well Professor Simon Burgess

But in inner cities, playgrounds were more segregated than neighbourhoods.

Professor Burgess believes this could be because parents in urban areas often have a greater choice about where to send their children to school and are opting for schools where children are from their own ethnic group.

"In a city area, there are probably about a dozen schools you can get to," he said.

"We are talking about white parents choosing but also people of Pakistani origin choosing as well."

'First evidence'

The data, drawn from the school census of January 2001, are not detailed enough to show who is exercising most choice.

In secondary schools in England at that time, 87% of children were white, 6% were of South Asian background while 3% were of black heritage.

The data suggest that people of South Asian origin were more likely to be segregated than those of black heritage.

In about 10% of local education authorities, 70% of Bangladeshi pupils would need to move school to reflect the overall racial make up of the authority.

The authors say their findings are the first contemporary evidence on segregation in England's school.

Ethnic monitoring by local education authorities in England is a recent practice, unlike in the USA, where data has been gathered since de-segregation polices were introduced in the mid-1950s.