A SCHOOL governor has said white working class boys need more role models other than footballers to inspire them to achieve top school results.

Oxfordshire County Council education scrutiny committee member and Rose Hill Primary School governor Gill Sanders made the case after it was revealed disadvantaged pupils are still performing poorly at GCSE level.

Last year, just 28 per cent of Oxfordshire pupils who receive free school meals because their parents are on a low income achieved five GCSEs including English and maths at grades A* to C, below the national average of 33.7 per cent. Mrs Sanders said many of those on free school meals were white working class boys who needed more inspiration to achieve academically.

She said: “For a lot of white working class boys, their only role models are footballers.

“If a lad, or a girl, is really good at football then that is great, but it is about being realistic. Eventually these youngsters have to go out and earn a living.

“They have families who are doing mundane jobs and they are perhaps inclined to think that is all they can aspire to.

“They need to have people go into their schools like police officers, firemen, doctors, nurses and accountants.

“We need those sort of people to say to youngsters ‘you can do the job I am doing if you work hard’.

“It is about getting youngsters to understand that there are a lot of things out there that they can do.

“Careers information usually starts in the last couple of years of secondary school.

“We need to get to youngsters in primary schools.”

At the education scrutiny committee meeting interim schools and learning manager Sarah Varnom agreed with Mrs Sanders. She said the council was examining ways to deal with the problem, with all children who are under-achieving at GCSE.