Ethnic minority students lead in education in Britan

London, Nov 24 (UNI) Ethnic minority students are overtaking white boys and girls in mastering the three R's, reveal new statistics.

In obtaining GCSEs in the crucial subjects of English and Maths, Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Black African and Black Caribbean pupils, have overtaken their White counterparts. Only Chinese students fare worse, slipping back slightly, but they continue to gain the best GCSE grades overall even when English and Maths are taken into account.

The trend, which sees Bangladeshi children making three times the progress of white pupils in getting Maths and English GCSEs, means that ethnic minority children are getting a better grounding in the basics.

The proportion of white pupils achieving five A* to C at GCSE this summer rose by just 2.1 percentage points from 55.1 per cent in 2005 to 57.2 per cent. This was above the overall national average of 56.9 per cent but one of the smallest leaps in improvement compared to other minority groups.

There was a 1.7 point dip for Chinese students from 81.0 per cent in 2005 to 79.3 per cent. Meanwhile, Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean, Pakistani and Black African pupils made the most improvement, with results up 3.5, 2.7, 2.5 and 2.0 points respectively.

However, when English and Maths GCSEs are taken into account, white pupils' progress slows down even further. Only 44.2 per cent gained five good GCSEs, including English and maths, this year - a rise of just 1.2 points on last summer.

Indian pupils increased their performance by 1.5 points to 58.9 per cent; Bangladeshi (up 4.1 points to 38.6 per cent); Pakistani (up 1.9 points to 34.4 per cent); Black African (up 2.2 points to 37.2 per cent) and Black Caribbean (up 2.1 points to 29.2 per cent).

The proportion of Chinese students who gained five A* to C, including maths and English, fell by 3.4 points to 65.4 per cent.

However, this still remained the highest proportion out of all ethnic groups.

Chinese, Indian and pupils of mixed white and Asian heritage also achieved above the national average across Key Stage One (age seven) and Key Stage Two (age 11).

Schools Minister Lord Adonis said the government was making progress in closing the gap between black, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and other students at GCSE.

But he added, ''There are some stubborn disparities between ethnic groups and problems around underachieving boys that need to be addressed. We must remove the barriers to their learning, engage with these children and give them an extra push they need.'' UNI XC SB GC1736