ABSTRACT
The evidence presented points to a firm, if qualified, conclusion. It is possible for individual schools to impact effectively on the achievement of children from communities who have traditionally not been well served by schools. If this is true it means that it is possible to work against social and cultural inequalities. But the qualification is that the effectiveness of schools is likely to be limited. Limited in terms of how sustainable, how reproducible and even how much change can really be expected in achievement for those groups of children. The limitations are only partly set by the teachers and schools themselves. The worlds within which they operate also pose limitations.
