BLACK pupils in some areas of England are more than three times more likely to be excluded from school.

The research, commissioned by Oxford West and Abingdon MP, Layla Moran, was published earlier today.

Analysis by the House of Commons Library found that in 96 of the 152 local authorities in England, the rate of temporary exclusions for black pupils was higher than for pupils overall.

The average proportion of pupils who received one or more fixed period exclusions across England was 2.33 per cent in 2017/18, compared to 3.42 per cent for black pupils.

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There were 410,800 fixed period exclusions in England in 2017/18, of which 25,500 were received by black pupils.

In Harrow, the temporary exclusion of black pupils was 4.7 per cent, almost three times higher than the overall rate of 1.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, schools in Birmingham temporarily excluded 1,049 black pupils, more than anywhere else in the country.

In Oxfordshire, of the 2,397 black pupils, 83 were were excluded once or more, a rate of over 3 per cent, while there were 135 instances of fixed period exclusions for black pupils.

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Ms Moran said: “It is a glaring injustice that black pupils growing up across the country are so much more likely to be excluded from school than their peers.

“The Government must urgently review what is causing this exclusion gap and take action to ensure every child has an equal opportunity to thrive.

“The evidence suggests there is a need for clearer guidance on what counts as an excludable offence, to prevent any forms of bias and discrimination.

“This could a take the form of a universal code to ensure greater consistency.

“This is particularly important given concerns that coronavirus could fuel a rise in exclusions later this year.”