Proof Multiculturalism works

It seems that Prime minister David Cameron was wrong to say that multiculturalism is failing - especially when it comes to the English language.

It turns out that kids from an Black or Minority Ethnic (BME) background speak English better than their white counterparts from low income families.

England's school commissioner Liz Sidwell, who was brought in by Michael Gove to tackle underperforming schools, fears the white working class in coastal and seaside towns are posing one of the greatest challenges to education reforms.

She believes that cities such as London, where there is a great mix of ethnicities and cultures is an important factor in helping them get a grasp of the English language.

Sidwell said,

"In the inner city, where there are all sorts of cultures, it stirs the pot. In a mono-culture, in particular seaside areas and coastal areas, they don't have the energy – they haven't come from a culture where they've got work, they think there's a more limited range of things they can aspire to. You have to open their minds that they can go to the city, they can go abroad. You can't turn around a school without turning around a community."

Dylan Wiliam, Emeritus Professor of Educational Assessment at the Institute of Education, supports Sidwell's assessment, adding,

"In comparison to other rich world countries, London is the only capital where [pupils'] achievement is above the national average. I think the evidence we have is that most immigrant families seem to have high aspirations for their children. Because London does have a relatively high proportion of recent immigrants, the aspirations of their parents are likely to be higher."

Even teachers admit that it is worrying that white pupils from poor backgrounds are underachieving. Only last year, Di Morgan, headteacher of Johanna Primary School in south London said,

“The truth is a lot of our white children in nursery have fewer words of English than bilingual children.”