ABSTRACT
North School, a large junior school with 370 children, is situated in a smalltown area of industrial decline on the outskirts of a large town in the north of England. According to school staff, local unemployment ran at 75 per cent, and mobility was high. Those who could find work elsewhere moved out, and it was mainly people who could not afford to live elsewhere who moved in, in some cases after the break-up of a relationship. This account of a poverty-stricken area was endorsed by the appearance of the small town, with its run-down and boarded-up shops, and cramped terraced houses, tightly packed together. The proportion of children eligible for free school meals was recorded at 36 per cent, lower than at City School (60 per cent); but this low proportion may reflect parents’ unwillingness to apply, and a preference for feeding the children at home.
