ABSTRACT
Schools in urban areas have been a concern in England for many years. These concerns were raised as educational performance in areas of social disadvantage was found to be lagging behind that of the national average. In particular, there were great disparities that were more prevalent in inner city schools ( Smith, 1996, p. 40). In 1993, the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted), the body responsible for education standards in English schools, in its influential report Access and Achievement in Urban Education, indicated the scale of the problem. Ofsted clearly stated that the residents of disadvantaged urban areas who took part in its survey were poorly served by the education system ( Ofsted, 1993, p. 6).
