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Devon's children are being left behind Our schools have been set up to fail

A rural childhood is an obstacle to success. Tim Graham/Getty Images

A rural childhood is an obstacle to success. Tim Graham/Getty Images


March 19, 2024   4 mins

When people imagine rural poverty, the sandy beaches, thatched cottages, and cream teas of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset rarely spring to mind. But out of sight of holidaymakers and second-homers, life is not so rosy. In washed-out South Western towns such as Minehead, Tiverton and South Molton, many disadvantaged families are struggling to provide a good life for their children.

The state of the schools down here doesn’t help. In 2019, only 40% of disadvantaged pupils in the South West passed their English and Maths GCSE compared with almost 60% in Inner London. That same year, just 17% of disadvantaged students in the South West went on to university, compared with 45% in London. A University of Exeter report found that the South West “has the worst educational outcomes for disadvantaged young people in the country”.

As a local teacher born and bred in Dulverton, I find this assessment devastating. But it’s nothing new: my father’s decision to re-join the military when I was eight was motivated by the abysmal reputation of the local secondary schools in our catchment area — and the generous army school-fees grant. But I believe that the blame lies with the Government, not with our schools and teachers.

While the Conservative government has promised repeatedly to “Level Up” the North East, little attention has been paid to the woes of the South West. Perhaps this is because employment rates here are among the highest in the UK. Thanks to the thriving hospitality, construction and tourism industries, there is a lot of non-skilled work available here — as well as a willing workforce. The South West is a land of hard-working tradespeople: despite its sparse population, it is home to the third highest number of registered self-employed workers in the country.

Yet this shouldn’t distract us from the region’s education crisis. The South West may be home to many employed people, but without educational qualifications they cannot hope to move from non-skilled work to higher-wage jobs. And I know just how valuable academic results are: I worked at bars and on yards for four years after university because I didn’t want to move away from my friends and family on Exmoor. However, because of my good A-level results, when I decided I wanted to earn more, I was able to apply to Teach First and move into a different, significantly more lucrative career. My classmates who left school with worse grades didn’t have this luxury.

It would be easy to blame the schools; to blame teachers for failing in their job. However, I believe the culprit is higher up the food chain. The Government continues to implement an unequal and austere system that will keep the future workforce of the South West poor. Not only has its budget for education in England fallen from 5.6% of national income in 2010-11 to 4.4% in 2022-23, but students in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset receive the lowest amount of funding in the UK by a staggering £460 per pupil. How can we expect students here to achieve good results when so much less is spent on their education?

“The Government continues to implement an unequal and austere system that will keep the future workforce of the South West poor.”

Every week, I run into difficulties where the extra cash might have made all the difference. The other day, Jack*, a pupil in my year 10 class, revealed to the behavioural team that he was struggling to keep up in class following multiple suspensions from school. I looked up his test records and found that Jack — at the age of 15 — had a reading age of seven. How could he possibly be expected to get to grips with the class text, Macbeth, before his GCSEs in a year’s time? The best I could do to help him catch up, given I had 30 other children to teach, was slip him a graphic novel of Macbeth in the next lesson. On cue, a member of the Senior Leadership Team arrived and congratulated me for “doing so much” because the graphic novel ticks the box of being accessible, looking fun and combining visual and verbal information. Of course, we both knew that Jack would not catch up on half a term’s content because of one book — but we just don’t have the funding or staff capacity to make a more effective intervention.

However, funding isn’t the only problem. There is also the lack of vocational training. Postgraduate jobs in the rural South West are hard to come by unless you happen to be either a teacher or an engineer near Hinkley Point. So it’s understandable that not all students here might be motivated by A-levels and university prospects. But the alternative option — an apprenticeship — has become far harder to secure. While there is a high demand for skilled workers in public services and trades around here, the uptake of apprenticeships in England has fallen 31% since 2017.

Again, much of the blame lies with Westminster. In 2014/15, the Government made it compulsory to have an English and Maths GCSE to apply for a Level 2 apprenticeship, which defeated the entire point of the vocational Functional Skills exam. I teach a resit class myself and can feel the frustration of these capable, hard-working young people, who would probably make excellent chefs, plumbers, builders or nurses if only they could pass a GCSE English paper. Do they really need to be able to write an essay on Animal Farm or understand trigonometry in order to read their emails, send an invoice and file a tax return? In a climate where universities are oversubscribed and postgraduate jobs are increasingly scarce, surely we should be doing everything we can to promote alternative avenues of lucrative employment?

It’s as if politicians don’t realise the transformative power of vocational courses. My own partner, for instance, was allowed to complete his plastering apprenticeship long before a GCSE in English and Maths became compulsory. He sat his functional skills paper, got his level 2 in plastering and now earns more than I can ever hope to match, despite my university education.

And while I am pleased to see Rishi Sunak pledge this week to create 20,000 more apprenticeships, I fear that he still won’t address the issue of entry requirements. Already, he is asking fish to climb trees, promising to make Maths compulsory until 18. And his party has so far failed to deliver on its previous promise to introduce more vocational study programmes. This tragedy is borne out at my local school, which lost their farming course — and on-site farm unit — among other vocational courses several years ago due to budget cuts.

These days, nobody expects much from the South West; a childhood spent exploring the moors is merely seen as an obstacle to success. Even universities have started adjusting their offers in line with the educational outcomes of the South West. When I applied for university, I received an unconditional offer from the University of Bristol. Why unconditional? Probably because of my South West postcode.

*This name has been changed to protect the child’s identity.


Rosie Taylor is a secondary-school teacher in Devon.


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Milton Gibbon
Milton Gibbon
7 months ago

So much to go into here. Loved the article. The funding gap of £460 is a bit of a red herring – if you click on the link that is the difference between the highest cost per pupil (Scotland) and the lowest. I don’t think you would find many Scots saying their education system which has rapidly declined under the ScotsNats provides value for money. The actual parallel to draw is within England where the gap between the highest (London) and lowest (SW) is £250 and this is after years of targetted funding of London’s schools – not exactly a massove difference. Secondly, in order to file a tax return you do need a decent level of ability with basic maths – it isn’t spmething anyone is able to do. Achieving a 4 at GCSE is equivalent to an old C grade (a pass). There needs to be some sort of line but I think a recommendation from a teacher should suffice – if you can’t find one teacher to give you a reference you probably won’t be able to do an apprenticeship.

Aphrodite Rises
Aphrodite Rises
7 months ago
Reply to  Milton Gibbon

Accountants are happy to file tax returns for a fee and many tradespeople use them.

Pat Price-Tomes
Pat Price-Tomes
7 months ago

And maybe many tradespeople can’t afford to use accountants.

Aphrodite Rises
Aphrodite Rises
7 months ago

There are people who are not accountants but who can help with tax returns. Though accountants generally try and ensure their fee is covered by savings in tax. If the tradesperson is not earning enough to pay an accountant then he/she should probably not be working for him/ herself but be employed instead.

Lindsay S
Lindsay S
7 months ago
Reply to  Milton Gibbon

Apprenticeships are linked to functional skills maths and English, today. However, what is worth considering is if you are on an apprenticeship that requires you to work 39 hours a week (likely more due to overtime), plus the required learning/written work alongside, plus maths and/or English functional skills, plus running a home and raising children. It’s a lot and many people drop out, citing the maths and/or English being too much on top of an already busy workload. Especially when many actually got their school qualifications but lost the certificate and cannot remember the examine board they were under.

Simon Cornish
Simon Cornish
7 months ago

To ‘discover’ something as fundamental as this 15 year old’s functioning illiteracy rather than it already be known, flags up for me why this school is failing its children. For the senior staff member to praise the author for providing the pupil with a graphic novel version of Macbeth as a suitable intervention to cater for his totally inadequate reading level is shocking. This strategy merely manages the child’s disruptive behaviour as he continues along his path to failure. Where are the serious interventions this school could have employed to address his obvious inability to access the secondary curriculum because of his poor reading, and presumably his writing as well? To compare Devon’s financial support and educational outcomes with London is to ignore the London weighting and enhanced payments that reflects higher costs and other factors such as much greater number of pupils with English as a second language. No, other comparable regions of the UK have the same financial support as Devon but through good management and a strong commitment to catering for the educational needs of all pupils, many school achieve good outcomes.

UnHerd Reader
UnHerd Reader
7 months ago
Reply to  Simon Cornish

I see you’re point, however there are many variables to consider- such as the class may have been recently taken over by a new teacher that hasn’t had access to the data previously- which seems to already exist, or the pupil may be new to the school/ frequently absent for incremental reading tests/ removed before they have a chance to complete- it is informative data but undoubtedly depends on the participants’ willingness to take the test seriously and complete it. The school may be at it’s limit with small group intervention and the child may already be on a waiting list for this- we are in a recruitment crisis after all. Absenteeism is a huge problem too after the pandemic- it’s possible the child’s lack of progress isn’t entirely the fault of the school system if the pupil is not consistently in lessons learning. I think the author is expressing frustration at not being able to provide better support in the moment. Further, some areas of the South West still have a middle school system, so ‘secondary’ school starts in year 9, thus problems might seem as though they’ve been neglected by secondary schools who could be playing catch-up on an inherited issue.

Jos Haynes
Jos Haynes
7 months ago
Reply to  UnHerd Reader

You seem to be looking for every possible reason for the boy’s incapacity and the teacher’s ignorance. Perhaps the two are linked.

UnHerd Reader
UnHerd Reader
7 months ago
Reply to  Jos Haynes

My point is it’s highly unlikely the teacher has consistently taught this child from year 7- year 10, or even perhaps for several consecutive years. Unfortunately school timetables rarely accommodate such consistency. Often classes are split/ shared between several teachers at a time and change hands frequently as staff leave/ timetables annually shift.
From my experience attending a school in Taunton in the South West I had 4 English teachers between years 7-11.
I don’t think labelling the child as incapable or the teacher as poor without knowing the context is particularly helpful.

Aphrodite Rises
Aphrodite Rises
7 months ago

I agree vocational courses should be open to anyone who is capable of undertaking whatever type of work the training leads to and academic qualifications are frequently unnecessary and an obstacle to people who would make excellent practitioners. My aunt was an SEN (state enrolled nurse; a nurse who was not academic and did not possess academic qualifications). She was a midwife in east London in the 1950s. But I cannot stand labels including disadvantaged. I strongly suspect, from my own teaching experience, that a large contributing factor to the greater academic success of London ‘disadvantaged’ children is many have highly motivated immigrant parents and live within a traditional family structure. When I went to school, the only equipment a teacher was provided with was a blackboard and chalk, and children were provided with textbooks. The budget per child has greatly increased but literacy rates have remained the same.

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
7 months ago

If ‘we’ weren’t squandering such a vast amount of cash on the ever needy Northern Irish and Sc*tch via the outrageous ‘Barnett Formula’ there would be ample funds to assist Devon & Cornwall.

However as you remain so suitably supine and don’t scream and shout and whinge and whine on every possible occasion, you will continue to be ignored.

0 0
0 0
7 months ago

I think you will find the good people of London soak up most funds per person
Public spending by country and region – House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
7 months ago
Reply to  0 0

Thank you, and thus London* is almost identical with the needy Sc*tch and Northern Irish, whilst the rest of England lags far behind.
Frankly this is an outrage.

(* No longer an English city it must be said but rather a multicultural cesspit.)

Martin Butler
Martin Butler
7 months ago

Plus you continue to vote Tory whatever, so why should the government care a toss about you?

Charles Stanhope
Charles Stanhope
7 months ago
Reply to  Martin Butler

I haven’t voted Tory since 1959.

Pat Price-Tomes
Pat Price-Tomes
7 months ago

Perhaps that’s part of the reason so many Devon families, including my own, are home eductating. I’m so impressed with the effects of HE on my grandchildren, 2 in Devon and others elsewhere. Reading this article adds to my conviction that for many families this is the best way to go at the present time, and until the education system becomes truly educational.

Lindsay S
Lindsay S
7 months ago

Absolutely, the problem isn’t so much the funding as it is the system, one that is designed by academics for academics and anyone non academic is consigned to the gutter!
forcing young people to stay in education till they’re 18 regardless of interest or ability and attaching maths and English qualifications to every single avenue is damaging to an entire group of young people who are growing up with no ambitions beyond a life on benefits. They love the mental health crisis, btw! I can’t work because I have mental health problems!

Dougie Undersub
Dougie Undersub
7 months ago

Sorry, Rosie, it’s nobody’s fault but the school’s – certainly not the Government’s – if a child can reach year 10 without his reading age having been established. And I would certainly hope that nurses are literate and that builders understand trig.
We should, I agree, make vocational education more flexible and available to all. Returning universities such as the University of Falmouth (sic) to their previous status as technical colleges would help.
Could it be that the high proportion of self-employed in the SW is due to the absence of large employers in the region? Chicken or egg?

Tony Price
Tony Price
7 months ago

I’m glad that you know also much more about this than the author of the article. And perhaps you didn’t know but nurses these days have to have degrees – crazy!

UnHerd Reader
UnHerd Reader
7 months ago

In the authors defence, it seems that the data has been discovered- just that further support hasn’t yet been provided. The school can only control what it has in front of it- if the pupil is frequently absent (through suspension or absenteeism) it is very difficult to ensure learning is progressing at home, even if support is already in place.
I share your agreement about the self employed data stemming from an absence of employment, though I believe the author might be trying to champion self employed careers by arguing for alternative entry requirements so that more can access these options.

Alex Lekas
Alex Lekas
7 months ago

How many times can something be described as the fault of govt before one considers the alternative – that this is happening intentionally and not because of incompetence or indifference. When a student is 15 and only then is his borderline literacy discovered, it’s hard to blame faraway bureaucrats; that seems like a local issue that no one is incentivized to discover.
This has been a long-running issue in the US, where the public system is more concerned with being in line with the latest in social justice wokery. Sure, the kids can barely read and few do math at grade level, but they’re experts on the oppressed/oppressor divide and can name all 57 genders. Colleges are forced to provide remedial work in math and English for a reason.

Christopher Barclay
Christopher Barclay
7 months ago

You don’t need to understand trigonometry to get a grade 4 at Maths.

Peter Churcher
Peter Churcher
7 months ago

I’m in North Devon, and have 4 kids. One in an apprenticeship (thanks to a good friend), one at college, and 2 home educated. I’ve also been involved in both primary and secondary schools for year, and I think you’re bang-on! However, I believe we need a culture change too. Schools simply cannot be educators, parents, disciplinarians, social workers, therapists, and even more. I believe we need to return to a school system that focuses on basic education and leaving the rest to the parents. Yes, some kids need additional support (I know this all too well) but that shouldn’t come out of the education budget, or at the expense of others’ education. I also wonder to what extent the stats are misleading. Loads of people I know didn’t go to university because they didn’t want to. They had jobs they liked or stayed to work in the family business, etc.

stephen david
stephen david
7 months ago

Now retired, but the head of a highly respected joinery in Uffculme in Devon, told me that they’d tried, mostly unsuccessfully, for years to work with the government apprentice scheme. The money wasn’t close to what was needed for the time spent. A bigger problem was that very few apprentices stayed longer than a few weeks. The few who did left as soon as they could (understandably) to set up their own businesses.
Perhaps these skills should be taught at schools instead of the those that, for example, teach young white Devon kids that they are responsible for the slave trade.

Kat L
Kat L
7 months ago

Sounds bad. I don’t know the govt structure of Britain but doesn’t someone represent your area? Can’t a group of you light a fire under their…ahem, feet? What can the smart ones do in your community to get together and help your kids ?