White working-class pupils have been failed by decades of neglect in the education system.

White pupils from working-class backgrounds have been failed by decades of neglect in England’s education system, a report by MPs says.

The Education Select Committee accused the government of a lack of targeted support for disadvantaged white pupils.

It says use of the term “white privilege”, suggesting white pupils are at an advantage, is the “opposite” of the reality for poor white pupils.

HM’s Government says it is committed to making sure no child is left behind.

Committee chairman Robert Halfon said it was a “major social injustice” and accused the government of “muddled thinking” in suggesting it could be explained by poverty.

“If you think it’s about poverty, then it doesn’t explain why most other ethnic groups do much better,” he said.

Poorer white pupils are falling behind “every step of the way”, he warned, and with almost a million young people being affected, it could not be “swept under the carpet”.

At GCSE, in 2019, 18% of white British pupils on free meals achieved grade 5 in English and maths, compared with 23% for the average for pupils on free meals

For university entry, 16% of white British pupils on free meals get places, compared with 59% of black African pupils on free meals, 59% of Bangladeshi pupils on free meals and 32% of black Caribbean pupils on free meals.

Mr Halfon also warned against using the term “white privilege” in education, saying it was divisive and likely to “promote disharmony” and “pits one group against another”.

The committee said that in education “privilege is the very opposite to what disadvantaged white children” experience.