Leading Article: Class is still key

New research from the Equal Opportunities Commission shows that your social class, rather than your gender, is the key determinant in how well you perform at school. It is important to be reminded that not all girls are excelling, and not all boys are falling behind. The importance of class appears to be a peculiarly English phenomenon. Children from low socio-economic backgrounds in Canada, Finland, Iceland, Japan, Korea and Sweden are not handicapped in the same way. The answer is to have strong leadership from the head teacher, high expectations of all pupils and good communication with parents.