'Black boys should be separated'

Black boys may have to be taught in separate classes from their white peers to help them do better at school, according to a race relations watchdog.

Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, said it was necessary to prepare for such a radical option because so many black boys were failing to get good GCSEs.

He also called for tougher action against black fathers, questioning whether they should be denied access to their sons if they refuse to attend school parents' evenings.

Figures last month showed black teenagers continue to lag far behind their white classmates at GCSE, although there are signs the gap is narrowing. Last year 35.7 per cent of black Caribbean pupils in England scored at least five Cgrades at GCSE, compared with a national average of 51.9 per cent.

A Department for Education and Skills spokesman said progress was being made, with ethnic minorities "closing the gap", but there is "no room for complacency".

Mr Phillips told BBC1's Inside Out programme that many black boys suffer from a culture where it is not "cool" to be clever, and they lack self-esteem and good role models. "If the only way to break through the wall of attitude that surrounds black boys is to teach them separately for some subjects, then we should be ready for that," he said.

During filming, Mr Phillips returned to his old school, White Hart Lane in Wood Green, to get a better understanding of the problem. He went on: "We need more male black teachers, tempting them with extra cash if necessary. None of us, least of all the next generation of black children, can afford a repeat of the last 40 years."

7.30 tonight on BBC1 in the London area.